Chances are, your business already has a relatively strict marketing budget in place. Without investing more in your marketing strategy, you might still be interested in seeing better results.
Is it possible to squeeze out more return on your investment (ROI) without increasing your spending? And if so, how do you do it?
Enlisting Outside Help
It’s reasonable to assume that you already have excellent leaders within your marketing department. You’ve done the best you can, you’ve already achieved some significant results, and you’re just looking to push past a specific plateau or reach the next echelon of marketing results.
If you’re in this situation, it’s probably because you have some existing blind spots. You may be stubbornly clinging to existing channels or tools that are no longer the best choice for a specific application, or you may be failing to recognize new tools and opportunities that could help you slingshot your way into a new stratosphere.
Accordingly, one of your best solutions is going to be enlisting outside help.
One of your best options is to hire a fractional CMO. A fractional CMO is similar to a traditional CMO, at least in terms of experience, education, and core responsibilities. However, a fractional CMO is distinguished in that you can hire one on a short-term, temporary, or flexible basis. Recruiting a fractional CMO could give you excellent perspective on what you could be doing better in your marketing strategies, so you can accelerate your organization and eventually achieve your biggest marketing goals.
You can also choose to hire a consultant or other professionals to help you identify your blind spots and generate new ideas to explore.
The Initial Analysis
Everything starts with an initial analysis. You need to take a look at everything you’ve been doing and determine where the holes are. There are many key performance indicators (KPIs) you can examine as part of this analysis, including traffic generated, money spent, conversions won, and much more.
Which channels and strategies seem to perform best? Which areas seem like they could be improved significantly? Are there any new channels or opportunities that seem like they could rival or exceed your existing ones?
How to Milk More ROI Out of Your Marketing Budget
These are some of the best strategies to milk more ROI out of your existing marketing budget:
· Trim the fat. Identify areas that aren’t generating much of an ROI and consider cutting them entirely. Marketers sometimes struggle with the idea of cutting anything that generates a positive ROI, but cutting a relatively low-ROI strategy in favor of a higher-ROI strategy is typically favorable. Don’t be afraid to trim the fat.
· Double down on your best channels. On the opposite side of the spectrum, consider doubling down on your best channels. There are probably a few channels and strategies responsible for your highest rates of ROI, so why not increase your investments in them, especially if you’re cutting other areas of spending?
· Segment. The more focused and relevant your strategies are, the more productive they’re going to be. That means you can strongly benefit by segmenting your target audience and focusing on each segment specifically.
· Target more specifically. In line with this, focus on crafting more directly relevant, niche messaging. Broad, universal messages are perfectly pleasant, but they aren’t going to have the same impact.
· Conduct more AB tests. AB testing is one of your best tools for determining which words, phrases, photos, layout options, and stylistic choices work best for your target audience in specific applications. These tests also happen to be very inexpensive and easy to manage, so there’s no excuse not to conduct these valuable experiments.
· Reuse your best assets. If you develop permanent assets for your marketing campaign, consider reusing them in different applications by converting them to different formats and making small edits. For example, if you have a series of excellent blog posts on a given topic, you can combine them into an eBook and turn it into a lead magnet.
· Take advantage of free and inexpensive channels. Finally, make sure you take advantage of free and inexpensive channels. They won’t always be your biggest generators of new business, but they’re so inexpensive, they’re almost always worth including in your lineup.
You don’t need to increase your marketing budget to see better results in most cases. Instead, you can do more with the marketing dollars you’re already spending. You won’t be able to do this unless you work for it; after all, problems can’t be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. But if you’re willing to learn new things, get some outside perspective, and adapt to this rapidly changing marketing environment, you can ultimately generate a much bigger return for your investment dollars.