Managing small marketing budgets in 4 steps
Small budgets. We all have them.
Unless you're in the rare breed of having so much marketing budget you literally don't know what to do with it so you splash it on coming up with creative ideas to run once because you want to win awards… then you're going to be faced with the challenges of trying to work out how to manage a small budget to solve what often feels like a huge list of objectives.
The ever wise Jon Evans from Section1 has shared his excellent insights in Marketing Week and I thought it worth adding my own thoughts from many experiences dealing with degrees of small to non-existent marketing budgets.
1. Start with the problem you're trying to solve
I like to call this the "job to be done" part of the project. It is so so tempting to describe the problem as 'make more sales' but it needs to be so much more specific than this. You don't have the budget, time or resource to implement all the tactics to achieve this, so focus focus focus on nailing the 'who', 'for what', 'why' and how' of a JTBD and you will find yourself with tight problem to hone in on.
Identifying the 'burning platform’ thats standing between you and a step-change in sales or business performance, means taking the time to dig into your data, your customer feedback and your own market research. You need to be super clear on what the BIG thing is. It’s not doing ‘anything’ but doing the 1-2 things that
2. Be clear on what you can (and can’t) justify doing to achieve your goal
Saying 'no' is hard. Really hard. Especially when everyone online is giving their opinion on the must-have media channels... TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, TV, OLV, eDM, instore, print, magazine, OOH - You name it. We 'should' be there. There are ALWAYS going to be new media channels promoted as the ‘hot new place that everyone is at’. Reality is that it takes a lot (lot) longer for the majority of the audience to adapt to the new channel… and even if they do go there, does YOUR product fit the environment. Incontinence products on Tik Tok? Probably not…
A short-burst campaign where you try to spread your tiny budget over lots of different places (and create new content all the time) is going to be a huge waste of money, effort and time.
Your target shopper won't have time to get into action and you'll find yourself spending the rest of the year trying to justify why you need more money to deliver results...
Better to advertise for as long as you can stretch it, with the same core message and content. We're talking 'until you're so bored with seeing your own advertising' - to know that at least a decent portion of your target might just have seen it a few times.
3. Treat EVERYTHING as "marketing" (because adverising isn't the only thing)
There is a lot of conversation around marketing = advertising. This is so far from the truth that it can lead so many off track and spending all your precious money on advertising and losing sight of all the many other touchpoints that
Any time that a potential shopper sees, hears or experiences your product is part of your 'marketing'. Sampling at a farmers market? Marketing. Running free demo sessions at an event? Marketing. Making sure your packaging and website are on-point with clear CVP? Marketing. Getting your product on shelf in the right retailers? Marketing. The packaging you send your product to consumers in? Media.
Your budget for marketing and advertising activity is limited. Guard it and focus it on the places that deliver the best overall result.
4. Put all your eggs in one basket and watch it closely (focus focus focus on winning in the small pond)
Win where you can, with what you have. This might mean absolutely focusing on smashing it in one retailer or retail channel, or one geography / city. While this won't make you a millionaire overnight, what it WILL do is give you valuable lessons on what works and what to avoid as you grow. Like growing a plant, you don’t throw a seed in and expect a full tree in a week.
When your budgets are small, its about doing a lot of smaller ‘experiment's’ with your spend to identify the areas that solve your problem. Business and marketing is about learning what your CUSTOMER wants, where they shop, what they are looking for, and how you can deliver their needs best.
Having a small budget means thinking creatively, acting consciously, and refining regularly. It doesn’t mean throwing out ideas after a week or leaping into new social media channels without a plan. You don’t have the time, resource, energy or funds to be wasteful.
