When times are tough and business is difficult it’s a sad reality of marketing life that the marketing budget is the first area to come under the knife! In reality though, this is the exact opposite to what you should do. Keeping your business and brand in the forefront of your customer’s minds is critical – don’t take this for granted, the world of today is immediate!
What does make absolute sense however, is reviewing every area of marketing spend and looking at what is really driving value and results, what can be streamlined and in fact what processes can be changed or adapted for a more low-cost option. This includes looking at organisational design, internal resource as well as the physical cost of design, creative, production, print & mailing.
Continue to do what drives your business but for less. If you still use traditional channels, media, print & mailing then there are many alternatives. Understanding ROI is key, having clear performance results on hand to understand risk is equally important. Considering what is core to your business and what is not could unlock the potential to work with third parties for a lot less money and better commercial outcomes.
Digital is also a good place to start and essential for all businesses today but this comes with a warning. Digital means visibility, agility & immediacy and if you are not constantly on top of your game you can harm your business. Your communications need to be relevant and timely and whichever channel you use this doesn’t change. Digital channels have instant reach and therefore keeping them relevant and up-to-date takes effort and resource. There is nothing worse than old outdated and irrelevant content – so this might mean extra resource in this area.
In a production & print heavy environment you can improve ‘go to market’ timescales at the same time as improving quality and significantly reducing costs. Using modern and agile digital technologies and third-party services you can release much needed money to support other aspects of the business. Be clear at the outset of what is ‘in-scope’ and what is ‘out-of-scope’ and have clear commercial goals and timescales.
Think differently about your business don’t be restricted by ‘that’s the way we do things’, look at other industries, other companies and seek advice you have nothing to lose but much to gain.