When times get tough for your organization and financial cuts have to be made, your marketing budget may look like the perfect place to start. And if you already question the effectiveness of your current marketing efforts, then it may be an easy decision to axe marketing altogether and apply your finances elsewhere.
However, taking that step shouldn’t be that easy. Understanding the constantly evolving role of marketing will make you reconsider how you value this area of your budget. In fact, we’ve outlined four critical reasons why you may NOT want to cut your marketing budget in the future.
1) Readjusting Your Audience Makes a Difference
Beyond your initiatives to draw attention to your organization, marketing is fruitless without knowing who your target audience is and capitalizing on their needs. Depending on your individual organization, that target audience may be consistent or it could fluctuate — either way, it’s worth it to reevaluate their needs, concerns and interests.
And part of this process involves weeding out people who you don’t need to market to. Once you’ve established and pinpointed your exact audience, this will allow you to use marketing techniques more effectively and ultimately yield a higher return on your marketing investment.
Keeping your marketing budget intact gives you the opportunity to conduct this research and reap the benefits down the line.
It’s also essential to make it a point to find out if there’s a new segment of the population who can benefit from your services and/or products. When it comes to catering to a group of people who you’d like to work with, the value of challenging your assumptions shouldn’t be underestimated.
2) There’s Value in Investing When You’re Down
Some businesses make the mistake of cutting their marketing budget when they reach the bottom of a sales cycle or slow season. At the time, this may seem like the perfect fix. However, the optimal time to invest in your marketing is exactly the opposite of this.
Making the move to boost your marketing efforts during a recession or during the initial stages of a market recovery allows you to generate momentum when the market comes back up. While businesses will do this on the market’s upswing, doing it earlier will give your organization the opportunity to get a head start on attracting new clients and engaging current customers.
Furthermore, this gives you the chance to potentially beat out your competition who may be scrambling to catch up as the market improves.3) Social Media Can Be a Promising Outlet
While manufacturers may not realize the benefits and adapt to the latest social media trends and resources as quickly as other industries, having the right marketing team onboard allows you to maximize the internet’s inevitable impact.It’s true — customers and partners of manufacturers are likely not scrolling through the day’s latest topics on Twitter, but they may be part of a forum on LinkedIn that caters to their specific interest in the latest manufacturing trends. Maintaining a healthy marketing budget allows you to pique your target audience’s interest wherever they may be for a more efficient and directed campaign.
4) Redefining “Marketing” Works to Your Advantage
Think back to the way you marketed your company a few years ago.
Is it the same today? What’s changed? What would you do differently? Can you do things differently?
Asking these questions allows you to gain perspective on how rapidly marketing is changing. The amount of effort that you invest today will lay the groundwork for the next few years — and generating that momentum is crucial to maintaining a steady stream of interest from both prospects and customers.
In addition to the nuts and bolts of marketing via the web, remember that every member of your team can contribute to your marketing efforts as well. Marketing can also include the mindset where every employee is an ambassador for your company whether they are working on or off the clock.
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