Everyone knows it is good practice to have a budget and not let money blow away in the wind. So why would you spend marketing dollars in areas that are no longer effective in generating leads?
Analysis of your marketing budget should be handled similarly to your personal budget.
With so many marketing tips, rules, and tricks available, it is imperative for any successful business to first have a marketing plan in place. Next, analyze that plan and make it cohesive to the marketing budget.
Not sure what to do? Below are a few ideas that can make the difference between saving and losing marketing dollars.
Related Post: Inbound vs Outbound Marketing: The Rise of Self-Directed Marketing
Pay Attention to Your Industry
It is easy to get comfortable in the daily routine of running your business, checking emails, making calls, and overseeing the operational functions.
Do not become so aloof in your industry that you forget to educate yourself and your team.
Keep up on the latest trends, techniques, and tools used by others with similar business plans working in the same field.
By paying attention to the changes, you stay knowledgeable and current, which allows you to have an understanding of what your company can offer your ideal clients.
Change with Technology
When was the last time you looked at a phone book? When you manage to find time to watch television, do you watch the commercials? Well, other than the Super Bowl commercials. You cannot remember, can you?
Spending marketing dollars in areas such as, a 3 in. x 4 in. yellow page ad seems unconventional and almost pointless. If you are like me, the last phone book you received from 3 years ago is now used as a doorstop or coaster.
When you started carrying your smartphone, did you pay attention to how often you use it? How much information you look up and ask Siri for should be a sign to change your marketing dollars.
STOP spending money on that local television advertisement after News at 6.
Spend time utilizing inbound marketing. Who even watches commercials anymore now that we have the fabulous invention of the DVR, Hopper, and Genie. Instead of reaching out to customers with antiquated marketing methods, publish information that brings your audience to you.
Social Media - The New Word of Mouth
Word of mouth will never be an outdated source of lead generations.
It is definitely not a loss of marketing dollars since it is free!
Yet, the biggest mistake that causes a loss of marketing dollars and a lack of incoming leads is depending on personal word of mouth.
People are a great source, but notice that one-on-one personal contact with people is altering to the social cyber world.
Start a social media account like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest.
This creates a place for previous clients to use their word of mouth as word on screen. Those words spread faster and to a much larger audience, saving a significant amount of your marketing dollars.
Create an Inbound Marketing Plan & Implement
You understand social media and its importance.
Now, it is time to start joining the masses and create a marketing strategy that involves inbound marketing.
This concept is based on reaching the ideal client for your business while utilizing and protecting your marketing dollars.
Whether you choose to do it yourself or outsource the inbound marketing for your business, this is a plan that gives you more bang for your buck!
Creating blogs discussing helpful tips and suggestions can make a difference in your marketing budget and ROI. These blogs will reach viewers who need your services and plant your name in their minds.
Tracking your inbound marketing results and generating leads from blogs may take up several of your hours in the week, but they are all part of this new and powerful marketing strategy, and they are worth it.
Why would you spend thousands of dollars on newspaper, phonebook, and television ads reaching a smaller demographic? Instead, you can reach the masses through inbound marketing.
Outsourcing not only saves you those marketing dollars, it also frees employee time to work on the projects for those clients earned from inbound marketing.
Take these steps and protect your business and marketing strategy from disaster. You worked hard to build your business and gain the trust and respect of your community.
Show the competition and prospective clients the diversity of your company through inbound marketing. Reach a broader client base and prove you are the expert in your industry.
By keeping up with technology and marketing trends and implementing these new techniques and theories, you will maintain that expert reputation.
