These days it seems like we are living in a culture of less and less, while consumption is at an all-time high. Every day, we’re bombarded with thousands of marketing messages. As people tend to block out interruptions be it through TiVo, Twitter, Facebook or Caller ID, the question is not necessarily how big your marketing budget is, but how you use it.
Let’s face it; people are becoming thriftier as the ‘recession’ sinks in this year. On Wall Street, there has been recession gainers (Ford) and losers (Gannett) depending on the long-term financial plan. I suspect that people still spend as much as they did years before, but are becoming more conscious of their income and expenses. That’s why some companies are hurting, and others are succeeding.
Now is not the time to dial down marketing budgets. Now is the time to re-evaluate it and allocate resources where they will bring the biggest net effect to the bottom line in a long term way. For instance, instead of getting that yellow pages listing, build a great Website that serves people with information they need to know about your business. Instead of letting people go, consider working remotely at home. Instead of using several applications to do one job, use one to simplify things.
‘Spend wiser, not less’ is what I’m getting at. Tie marketing activities to ROI and not simply tradition; you and your business will enjoy the results. Shameless plug: Infusionsoft enables you to measure and organize leads and customers; that way you can keep an eye on the conversion and the cost per lead while following up to make every new lead count. But on a much larger scale, that’s why many large companies use Salesforce for their CRM solution.
As entrepreneurs, it’s beneficial to always have an open mind to new advances in technology and communications. Social media, print media, broadcast media – it’s important to be aware of the trends in those industries. Knowledge is leverage when negotiating how to spend your advertising budget. Having the ability to track and maintain where your customers, prospects and cost per lead is crucial to knowing marketing.
With a little creativity and hustle, you can go a long way in making your marketing dollars last while going big at the same time. How have you done more with your marketing, yet still get the word out about your business?
