8 Ways to Improve Your Marketing Without Spending More

When something derails your business strategy, your marketing budget will likely be affected. Whether it’s a global pandemic or other disruptive incident, your team may be faced with some difficult choices.

Fortunately, there are some things you can do to help cut costs when faced with a downturn that no one saw coming. Here are 8 ways to rethink your marketing spend right now.

1. Start with your tech stack

Take a deep-dive into your existing technology platforms and see if there are functions you’re not taking advantage of or duplicate platforms that are superfluous. For example, our marketing department uses two different design collaboration platforms, and the dev team uses a third one. We’re consolidating those into one platform so we can save money and quit paying for multiple platforms that serve the same function.

2. Check in with your account reps

Schedule a meeting with the account reps for the platforms you’re using. Ask them to walk you through functions you don’t understand or aren’t fully utilizing. Ask if they have insight into other integrations or use cases that can help you get more value from the platform. They are the experts, and they’ll be happy to help.

3. Review your agency spend

Your agency is one of your best strategic partners, but are you paying them to create templates for emails that your team could be building on their own? Review your spend. Make sure you’re utilizing your agency in a strategic capacity and consider bringing the email creation process in-house.

4. Leverage the materials you’ve already purchased

If you ordered company-branded swag to hand out at a trade show or other event, don’t leave it sitting there. Instead, use it to gain some business value. Offer it as an incentive for:

• Completing a survey
• Scheduling a demo
• Subscribing to your blog or newsletter
• Forwarding your offer to a friend
• Participating in a case study or focus group

Figure out what customer actions are going to be most valuable to you right now, and leverage your swag to gain some valuable insight.

5. Review customer profiles

If you have to cut your marketing spend, make sure you invest the dollars you can spend in the right place. Customer profiles are the key to your success here. Examine customer profiles to identify the types who have the potential to be (or already are) long-term, repeat customers and brand evangelists. Narrow your focus, target that group, and invest where it will have the biggest impact.

6. Co-host events to generate business

If you can partner with other organizations to host a webinar or podcast, you can share the responsibilities and costs, and work together to build business opportunities. Talk to your partners and identify potential ways to publish joint content and share leads.

7. Cut back on test spending

This isn’t necessarily the best time to spend money on testing unproven strategies. Lean in to what’s worked well for you before, and save the experimentation for a more stable time. Don’t forget that the best strategy is the one that helps you make a genuine connection with your customers.

8. Do more with less tech

More technology ≠ better emails, or better marketing, for that matter. Look for tech solutions that will simplify whatever it is that’s causing slowdowns. If it’s taking too long to get email campaigns out the door, look for a platform that simplifies the process. If you’re overwhelmed with an increase in email requests, invest in a true email creation platform that handles project management, collaboration, and approvals all in one place. A platform that makes life easier and keeps campaigns on track can deliver a remarkable ROI in the long run.

Your needs have likely changed over the last two months, and they’ll certainly change again before a new “normal” is established. But even if your marketing budget fluctuates, evaluating your marketing spend and using it strategically to target the right areas will put your team in a strong position to move ahead.

With Knak, anyone can build beautiful emails that keep your brand at the centre. Want to see how it works? Let’s chat! Schedule a demo and let us show you how Knak makes it easy to create incredible emails from start to finish.

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