This is one of the most delicate balancing acts any business has to undertake because it is one of the most expensive parts of running a business while also being of the most important aspects of business success. What this means in Layman’s terms is, you need to know how to reduce your marketing costs without it affecting your leads or, better yet, harnessing it more effectively to improve your sales. It all comes down to stretching your budget and getting better value for money.
Of course, the big question remains: how on earth are you possibly meant to do achieve this? Well, given we are not in the business of leaving questions unanswered, here is a list of ways you can do the impossible and get more bang for your marketing buck.
Time To Start Educating
If your marketing campaigns are still heavily relying on immensely generic advert pitches and calls to action when it comes to luring the audience in then, sorry to say it, but you’re behind. You probably know this already, though, given you are the one that is staring at low returns. Instead of telling pitching your audience and telling them you are the only option out there, you need to educate them on the reason why. You need to educate your potential customers on what it is your product or service does and how it is going to make their lives that much more amazing. You need to tell them how it will benefit them.
Money To Be Saved In Automation
Time is money. That’s how the old saying goes, right? It is also the motto of technology because that is exactly what each advancement aims to do; it aims to save you that much more time. Think about your current marketing processes and how much money and resource you have to sink into each of them. That’s where automation can save your operations a huge amount of time and money. That’s why so many businesses are turning to programmatic marketing. If you are suddenly panicking and asking yourself what is programmatic advertising and why haven’t I heard of it, don’t despair. It is just a way of ad buying, but one that is more economical than their human counterpart and a lot more reliable. Another great way to streamline your processes is to manage your entire social media using one tool, such as HootSuite, which can drastically reduce your resource spent to just fifteen minutes a day.
Know What Works And Stick
There is an odd phenomenon sweeping the marketing world where marketers like to keep switching up their approaches to advertising like it is a Lilypad system. Maybe this is because they think it will help draw more people in. Perhaps they think it will extend their net. It could even be that they want to be seen as proactive by the boss because they know perception is reality. However, why isn’t the important thing here? What’s important is know what works and sticking to it or knowing if your approach is wrong and leaving it. Yes, that requires trial and error but, once you have worked out what strategy is working best for your business, your best move is to stick with it and maintain your course for as long as you possibly can. It works. It’s a success. What’s more, you know this, so why spend – and risk losing – money on switching it up again. It doesn’t make sense.
Power Of Analysis
Data is the word of the modern era because almost everything collects and relays data nowadays. That is why it is so important you analyze your data on a seriously regular basis and know exactly what it is telling you. Trust us, the big reveal is going to come from here, more so than anywhere else. It will tell you what is working, what is leaking money, what trends are happening, where you should be focussing your might and everything like that. Once you know this, well, it is no longer a guessing game. All you have to do is look at what the customer demand is saying and then get to and innovate. It is as simple as that. You have the means to do it, so do it.
Check, Double-Check And Check Again
There is nothing worse than launching a marketing campaign only to realize the glaring errors in it once it is too late. And yes, we are talking about the simple things that you may think you can shrug off because the damage won’t be too harmful. We’re talking about grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, getting the dates wrong or misspelling a name. These can really sting you. How? Well to name but a few, your SEO will suffer from poor grammar and spelling, your leads will drastically reduce and your company will suddenly find itself dancing about in a rather negative light. That is where automating can come in handy and this whole idea of limiting human error. Grammarly is the big thing at the moment. All it takes is a little bit of extra time in the proofing and quality control stages and you could save yourself big time down the road.
Keep Your Clients Happy
When it comes to mind-blowing statistics, one of our favorites is this: it costs five times more to find new clients than it does to keep old ones. Fives times more. Okay, so maybe that isn’t a mind-blowing stat but it is certainly enough to make you reconsider your marketing priorities. Think about it, by switching your focus away from new customers and focussing on those you already have you could save five times the money. What’s more, it is relatively simple to up your retention rate and keeps your customers happy. It is about listening to them, offering them discounts, setting up promotions, being a little more personal when it comes to dealing with them and scheduling in regular calls to let them know what you are up to and ask what they think of your service. That’s all it takes. Little things.
Don’t Ignore Emailing Lists
When it comes to choosing free or low-cost marketing approaches, emailing usually doesn’t make the cut. But when it comes to value for money it is right up there with the best of them. Yes, it costs a little more and adds a smidgen to your to-do list but it is a way to build on that existing client base we just mentioned is five times cheaper to engage with. Think about it; most people who visit your website aren’t going to buy anything or do anything that earns you a pretty penny, after which they are gone forever. Ba-bye. However, if you can get them to sign up to your mailing list then you have a way of enticing them back into your life. What’s more, they have admitted that they are interested in what you offer. Don’t waste this opportunity and don’t let potential customers leave your site forever.
Engage With Your Customers
Social media has transformed the way people live their lives and the way businesses do, well, business. The latter is because social media offers you a way to get your voice out there, to engage with both existing and potential customers, o build up your brand and reputation, and reach further. Just know what your social media voice is. Are you going to be helpful, funny, entertaining, a storyteller or something else?Another thing to get into the habit of is not talking about yourself. It’s boring when you do it in a room full of people and it is boring when you do it online. Make it about the customers. Like their comments, share their posts, comment and chat with them. That’s how to do it; that’s how to engage.
