With 2019 well underway, there are several ways businesses can maximise their marketing spend and ensure they get the greatest bang for their buck. Here, we list five easy ways businesses can cut their marketing costs without compromising their efforts to raise leads and boost their brand.
Tip 1. Leverage data to focus on specific channels
Trying to master all marketing channels is not only difficult to do, but it can waste precious dollars. Rather than a full marketing blast on multiple channels, businesses could be better off focusing on select channels, whether that is content marketing, online advertising, social media, public relations or influencer marketing to mention some.
The best way to track which channel works best for your business is to analyse data to determine which channel creates the most leads and gets the most reaction from potential and existing customers.
A business may need to trial several channels before discovering which one works best. But once you discover a channel that’s driving leads, focus on leveraging that channel to create even more growth.
Tip 2. Repurposing marketing content
To ensure a fast and efficient response to market your business, repurposing media assets can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to get your brand out there and keep it there. Using a web-based platform which stores your media assets means you can easily search for and re-use that content quickly and effectively.
Once you have that content at hand, whether it is photos, editorial, or previous digital marketing campaigns, keep the momentum going by reusing content that works well for your business. Don’t just post it on your website, get your content out on social media and in the news media to get maximum leverage from your marketing assets.
Tip 3. Combining your talents
We live in a market that is saturated with entrepreneurs and small businesses, so finding a business that compliments yours is an incredible way to share marketing and be introduced into other markets. This can build momentum and new leads for your business, as well as the other business. Knowing how to provide value back to your audience, is fundamental.
An example of successful business partnerships is Macy’s and Buzzfeed’s partnership to create the Goodful™ brand. Created for Macy’s by Buzzfeed, the brand includes 100 home goods products and enables BuzzFeed to extend the digital brand’s reach by leveraging Macy’s customer base. You can read more about finding the right partner here.
Tip 4. Protect your reputation
In the aftermath of the Hayne Royal Commission, it is easy to see what businesses should avoid doing – screwing their customers. While this has been common in the financial service sector, it is by no means limited to it.
Ripping off your customers can result in huge brand damage. So, from the outset, treat your customers like they are king, and you can build marketing kudos by building your reputation, which may not cost you anything at all.
The story of AMP is very much one of how a great brand can be destroyed by corporate greed. But doing the opposite and being keeping your customers’ interests firmly in mind can be a great goodwill builder. Don’t berate or patronise them. Treat them with respect, and see how your brand can grow.
Tip 5: Store media assets on the cloud
The rise in intelligent content depends very much on the existence of the cloud and being able to quickly access your media assets. Imagine a business has hundreds of pieces of digital media, each with different elements, all tagged using scene, facial and object recognition.
If this data is stored intelligently on the cloud, the business can rapidly deploy and share owned assets. Connecting this content library to marketing teams, agency teams and their relevant digital marketing platforms is core to being agile and efficient and keeping costs down.
