As marketers, we are encouraged to think big when it comes to our marketing efforts so that we can yield the best results for our organization. And with new trends in marketing, customer behavior, and technology, the possibilities of how we craft our marketing strategy are practically limitless. Unfortunately, limited resources (especially marketing budget) can stifle our efforts.
These limited resources force us to get really creative with how we utilize our marketing budget. When it’s our job to manage our marketing spend, we have to cut corners wherever possible, identify ways to stretch the resources that we do have, and ensure that every activity is helping us get one step closer to meeting our goals.
As a person who, until recently, has been accustomed to being part of very small marketing teams with limited funds, I feel your pain — but I also know a thing or two about how to maximize your marketing resources. So, if you want to learn how to do more with less, keep reading for tips on how to manage your marketing budget with limited funds.
Look at Past Data to Identify Where You Can Get the Most Bang for Your Buck
Not all activities will produce the same results for every organization. While hosting or attending events might be a great way for one organization to fuel their demand generation efforts, another might find that paid ads and social media are more effective in helping them attract new leads. Therefore, you should focus your efforts and resources where they will make the most impact.
To figure out what works best for your company, look at previous data and analytics to see which marketing tactics are driving more conversions, generating more leads, and promoting more loyal retention. Using these results, decide which programs can go and how the money saved from these cuts can be reallocated to create even better results.
Revamp What You Already Have
Giving your brand and marketing a refresh doesn’t always have to involve completely going back to the drawing board. A few tweaks here and there can help you add new life to your current marketing efforts, saving you time and money that would otherwise be spent doing a complete overhaul.
This concept is applicable to any of your marketing efforts, from content to demand gen. While you’ll probably go into the marketing revamping process with an idea of what things you want to change, listening to what your audience wants is most important. Therefore, before you enhance your efforts, try A/B testing your current marketing efforts to gain a better sense of what kind of language, images, CTAs, and mediums resonate best with your audience.
Invest in the Right Tools
I once worked for an organization that had two instances of the same ESP because they were talked into it by a sales rep after experiencing deliverability issues with the first instance. In addition to experiencing deliverability issues, the ESP lacked the tools and integrations the organization needed to get the job done efficiently, which meant staff members had to manually perform several tasks that could have been easily automated. Not only did the decision to pay for not one but two instances of this ESP not do them any favors in terms of deliverability and engagement, the cost and resources could have been better used elsewhere.
The lesson here is that doing your research and investing in the right platform is essential to your success. Having a solution that meets the needs of your team drastically improves your ability to manage your budget by saving you time and resources while empowering you to handle the marketing tasks necessary to get the results you want simply and efficiently.
Automate Your Marketing Efforts Wherever Possible
Here’s where I take back everything I said about marketers on a budget not being able to dream big due to limited funds. Too many marketers spend too much time trying to juggle more than they can handle and fail to realize there’s a better way to do things. Trust me, I was in this position for years and was shocked when I realized that there actually existed a solution that could help me alleviate all the pain points I had been complaining about.
When I applied for and interviewed at my current role at Act-On, I was initially in disbelief that they could actually back up their claims about how their marketing automation platform empowers marketers to do the best work of their careers while lessening the lift and resources involved. But during my short time at Act-On, I’ve seen first-hand how our platform enables marketers to improve the personalization of their marketing efforts, save time and resources, and maximize ROI. Not only that, I’ve talked to countless customers who can say the same and have experienced incredible results from using our platform.
After reading this post, I hope you have a better sense of how to maximize your marketing budget and the options available for you to do that. If you want to learn how Act-On can help your team excel even with limited funds, I encourage you to talk to an expert and see what we can do for you.