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May 11 2021

8 ways to cut down your marketing budget

It’s no secret that the marketing budget is the first thing to get cut when revenues go down. It’s ironic that marketing is the one thing that will help you build awareness and get your product or service in front of the right people to buy it. In a perfect world, you should actually be spending more money when revenues are down so you can find new ways to connect with your audience.

In reality, most businesses are working with a finite budget and you have to find ways to stretch it as far as possible. So what happens when you actually need to cut down your marketing budget?

Here are 8 things you can do to cut down your marketing budget without losing everything you have already worked hard to accomplish.

Do a Marketing audit

You should never start by making cuts. You need to start by looking at what’s working and what isn’t working. This is something you should do every year so you can start fresh, but it also helps in times where you need to figure out where to save money.

Start by writing down all of the different marketing channels you have. Once you have that list, look at the metrics associated with each channel to see how well they are performing. Take note of the customer flow – from the point they learn about your brand to the point where they click buy. Identify the things that are helping you reach your overall goals and the things that aren’t.

Ask your customers

Unless you are starting from the very beginning, chances are you have at least a few customers. Ask them what attracted them to you in the first place. Ask them what they want from a business like yours when it comes to marketing. Equally important to finding out what made them make their final decision to buy is what was holding them back (if anything).

While you are at it, why not ask them where they like to get their information and hang out online. It will give you a better picture of your audience and how to connect with them on a deeper level.

Focus on what’s trending in marketing

While it can be hard to keep up with everything that is going on in the world of marketing, try to take advantage of things where you can. For example, now that video has become “the future of content,” try building it into your strategy.  Or if a platform is favouring certain content over other types, consider adding that to your strategy where possible. Instagram Reels are a great example of this. Not only does the platform favour this type of content, if your audience is on Instagram they are likely watching Reels on a regular basis already.

Adjust your target audience niche

Make sure you are trying to reach the right people. Sometimes we can get ourselves off track thinking that we are marketing to the right audience, when in reality, there may be someone better we can connect with. This may require you to have a deeper look at your brand strategy and the buyer personas you have created. If you haven’t created those things yet… better late than never!

Create efficiencies across channels

BIG fan of this one. One of the reasons so many small businesses struggle is that the strategies that are being created are all separate pieces. If you are a solo entrepreneur or you are operating with a small team, then you will likely wear many different hats. It can be hard to stay on top of things. So, you have to work smarter, not harder with your marketing strategy. A great example of this is writing your blog content with your social media content in mind. One blog, written in the right way, can translate into multiple social media posts.

Focus on a referral or loyalty program

So nothing is ever really free, but word of mouth is pretty close to it. If you have to cut back on your marketing spend, why not get your customers who love you to spread the word? While it might cost you a discount or product for giveaways, you could also expand your customer base with your existing customers acting as brand ambassadors. Keep it simple. Don’t over-complicate it. You don’t need fancy technology to run a great referral or loyalty program!

Prioritize and then cut things

If you are, in fact, cutting things from your strategy, take everything you learned from your marketing audit and your conversations with customers and organize your list of marketing channels/tactics. Put the most effective ones at the top of the list and the least effective at the bottom. You also need to consider factors like timing. If you are looking to see faster results, then consider putting the longer-term strategies lower on the list.

Once you have your prioritized list, cut the things that are towards the bottom – or at least put them on hold (if they are long-term strategies).

Work WITH your agency

Find an agency or freelancer that understands tight budgets. There should always be a way to make it work to stretch your budget further. A great option would be to create a bit of a hybrid workflow situation where you can do some of the work and your agency can do some of it. That way you can cut back your budget, but not stop everything completely. And you still have the support of an expert team to help you get things done at a smaller budget.

If the past year has taught us anything, it’s that entrepreneurs can pivot – and we will pivot and adjust until there is nowhere to go anymore. The challenge is finding ways to work within your parameters. And that sometimes means cutting your marketing budget. So before you just blindly slash everything and burn the business you love to the ground, have a deeper look into where you should be cutting to do it with purpose.

 

Candace Huntly is Founding Partner at SongBird Marketing Communications, an award-winning agency working to take organizational and individual brands to the next level. With a passion for all things related to creativity and strategy, she specializes in business intelligence, marketing & branding, content strategy & development, media & influencer relations, and social media. Basically, if you need to put your brand, product, or cause in the public eye, she will find a way to do it, while making the approach unique to you.

Connect with Candace

Sign up for our free 20-minute consultation and we’ll help you figure things out.

A version of this article was originally posted to the SongBird Marketing Communications blog.

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Candace Huntly · Tagged: cutting down your marketing budget, loyalty programs, Market trends, marketing audit

Apr 15 2015

What’s your gratitude policy?

sandra

Customer loyalty is something that we all strive for. Whether you’re a small business owner or a CEO of a multi-billion dollar empire, we are nothing if we can’t retain our current base of customers or clients. So how do we do this? Is it about points programs, birthday or holiday freebies and membership discounts, or is there more to it?

We’ve all heard the complaints about some of the loyalty programs out there. The notion that there are self-serving and benefit the company more than the customer isn’t anything new. You know the ones I’m talking about – where you feel like you have to spend thousands of dollars to earn something worth a few hundred (if you’re lucky!).

So how do we show our gratitude to loyal customers in a way that makes them feel good about their continued patronage of your business? The best thing to do of course is ask them! Surveys are a great way to find out exactly what your customers want when it comes to loyalty programs. We could think we have put together the best program in the world, but if it doesn’t leave our clients feeling appreciated, then we’ve missed the mark!

While surveys are a great tool, you have to provide incentive for people to complete them. Again, just like the loyalty programs, the prize for completing the survey has to be something that your customers actually want! Look at what your most popular product or service is and see what kind of reward you can create that will allow you to get enough responses to your survey that you are confident it actually represents your client base.

Just like any relationship, the relationship we have with our customers and clients has to be cultivated on a regular basis. It doesn’t have to stop with loyalty programs.   We can actually start picking up the phone and reaching out to our customers. This isn’t a sales conversation; this is really an informal survey. It’s a conversation that asks how things are going for them in relation to the product or service you provide. Ask if there’s any way that you could improve their satisfaction with the business they do with you. Actually tell them that you are grateful for their continued business!

I’ve heard it said that any relationship without reciprocity will die and I believe that applies to all relationships, personal and professional. Customer loyalty cannot be taken for granted. The competition out there is fierce and there are limits to how low we can take our prices and how fast we can deliver our services. If we want to retain our loyal customer base, we have to ensure that they know that we value their business. They need to know that we’re not taking the fact that they spend their time and money with us for granted.

I’ve heard it said that gratitude is the greatest multiplier of good. When a customer not only gets quality products and services, but also feels appreciated and respected by the company they do business with, it can only benefit you and your business. When potential customers here how much you care about and respect the people you do business with, they’ll be lining up to work with you!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve! Connect: www.embraceyourdestiny.ca www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook www.twitter.com/sandradawes

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Written by Dwania Peele · Categorized: Sandra Dawes · Tagged: business, Canadian Small Business Women, CEO, clients, customers, discounts, Embrace Your Destiny, empire, gratitude, loyalty programs, patronage, policy, Reciprocity, relationship, Sandra Dawes, Satisfaction, small business, small business owner, survey

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