Tight marketing budget, sounds like an oxymoron.
Business advertising requires overinflated money reserves. Without huge budgets, the business of marketing your business is an impossible task. Everyone knows that. You know that. We all know that.
There are non-terrible lies, like the ones you tell kids at Christmas.
Can we pretend you have a big marketing budget? Just for the purpose of this cool, next bit of content? We know you haven’t so it’s just for fun. Great, thanks.
You have a huge marketing budget. We’re talking Amazonian proportions, think – Amazon.
All other companies look at yours and wish theirs could be that big. They whisper to the rest of the industry, “look at that budget, it’s so big…”.
We’re not sure how well this metaphor is working. Sorry if it’s making you feel uncomfortable. It’s making us feel uncomfortable.
Throwing money at a thing never really works without a strategy and that’s one way to waste your cash. Soon, that impressive budget won’t be so big.
Can someone open a window? It’s hot in here.
We have no idea of the value you place on your marketing. You might have an admin temp running your social media.
That admin temp might be a whizz on Canva. There’s no judgement here.
Maybe you have an agency working on your behalf and that’s brilliant, we understand there are some ‘great’ alternatives.
That’s the one thing we can all relate to. It’s happening to us too – we’ve had to stop buying things from Wish. There are only so many mankinis a bunch of creatives can wear.
All this belt-tightening hasn’t made the competition any less fierce. In reality, the competition is more cut-throat and it’s only going to get more cut-throaty. Businesses are squeezing out all the value they can because they know there will be another competitor ready to pick up the pieces when mistakes are made.
It’s not the size of your budget that counts, it’s what you do with it.
That’s the last appendage metaphor.
After this really long introduction, we finally get to the tips. Get ready, they’re worth the wait.
OK, this might not have been a great place to start because this is obvious. You know this, right? But do you really know this?
If we said, tell us all you know about your client analysis, could you? If we threw some questions your way, questions like this:
• How often do you review your market?
• Are you aware of changes?
• Do you listen to your clients?
• Do you ask for feedback?
• Do you know what your customers hate about marketing?
• Do you know what they love?
• Are you hitting the right tone?
• Are you speaking directly to them?
Could you answer them?
Don’t shrug that stuff off, it might seem obvious but this will save you time and money. So sit down, grab a pen and work through all of those questions. And you can only leave that desk to pee!
Jeez, more stating the obvious!
You’ve probably not been abusing your customers, talking to them like dirt, or ignoring their emails. Of course you value your customers! They pay you money. If anything you might be shouting them lunch, or treating them to cocktails and a show.
But how well do you value them?
Because if it’s all about the money, you might view them like a horde, a faceless mass moving through your funnel. That not only sounds weird but a little cold. And what about your existing clients? It sucks to be greedily grabbing at the new customers without any thought to your old faithfuls. Repeat custom is something to be nurtured, so offer the good stuff to everyone, not just the new people. You want to create an environment that breeds loyalty. If you’re struggling to get new business just now, neglecting your current portfolio could be disastrous.
We miss going on trips, so this is likely to be the only journey any of us have for a while.
Knowing how your clients move through your buying process is going to help you be a better business. And you want that. We all want to do better, so mapping the moment they make their first contact through to purchase will reveal your strengths and weaknesses.
But it doesn’t end there.
How well you did after will set you apart from your competition.
We know that’s got you thinking.
Your aftercare service can make or break you. How are you dealing with a negative customer experience? Because you can turn that around. By making that customer feel validated and heard you might just make them return. And that’s what you want, people to keep coming back. Let them say nice things about you and how well you dealt with a difficult situation.
Go and refine your steps, optimise your website for your audience, make sure all your colleagues are knowledgeable. This takes time investment but it’s worth it because your customers are worth it, and you’re worth it!
When your budget is tight like skin-fit denim, you need to choose wisely.
You’ve got various ways of reaching your audience:
TV advertising
Radio
Digital
Outdoor
In store
In person
And some more, feel free to use Google.
But you don’t have to be everywhere. The channels you choose need to match up with your business and what you’re already doing. Take a look at where your audience hang out. It’s no good spending your money on print if they won’t respond to that.
Your demographic will tell you all you need to know, and if you’re not sure who your audience really is see tip 1.
Don’t think of a small budget as a bad thing, just change the way you look at it. Some of the points here could be done with little money but the time investment might be great, especially if you’re doing it yourself. Prioritise and get your business fundamentals in order before you spend a penny.
That wasn’t a reference to urination.
If you think TIN ROBOT sounds like the right agency for you, get in touch!
