Maximising your marketing spend

Don’t spread it too thinly

Don’t try to do too much. If you have a marketing budget of £10,000, for example, you may be better off spending it properly in one or two places, testing the result and learning for next time. If your industry has a particularly influential expo, consider putting all your annual spend there rather than diluting it over several lesser events. Be in the best place you can afford to be at that moment in time and show your market that you’re a trusted partner.

Do the math

If paid customer or traffic acquisition is a norm in your industry, experts say the optimal balance for marketing spend is around one-third acquisition and two-thirds brand-building for a longer-term uplift in sales. In terms of paid versus organic growth, there is a 65/35 split with articles in reputable publications playing an important role in organic traffic.

Track your campaigns

If you are going down the route of paid acquisition, you absolutely have to track the performance of these campaigns as you need to know you aren’t throwing money away which would be better spent elsewhere. Also adjust your campaigns and monitor the impact to optimise over time.

Prioritise emotion

How did your marketing make people feel? Views and clicks are important, but the best marketing combines those metrics with brand uplift and customer behaviour surveys. Stay on-brand with the colours you use in campaigns and tell the human stories within your business and client base. Emotional marketing inspires people to act.

Visibility

While you are busy working within the business, what does the shop window look like to the outside world? A potential customer may be lost because you haven’t posted on social media for months, your website lacks case studies and blogs or there is no media coverage about your company. Engaging a campable PR company – or working with media outlets such as TechBlast directly – is still essential to decorating that shop window.

Direct sales

When it comes down to it, what is going to be the biggest driver of conversions? Direct sales, telesales, direct emailing, meetings and events are traditional but often effective ways to hit those all-important targets. If you can secure a speaking spot at an event or roundtable, you’re winning.

Targeted social campaigns

Paid social media campaigns can be ultra-targeted and highly measurable on platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram. These can be run on much smaller budgets than you might think.

Affiliate partners

Even in the age of the internet, advertising is famously unpredictable. By using affiliate partners to drive traffic, you can publicise your services without spending a penny – just be prepared to split the profit at the end.

Know your customer

Predicting customer behaviour accurately is not easy when dealing with unpredictable circumstances. There are many AI-based analytics tools which can provide greater insight into your data.

No substitute for experience

It is also important to harness human insight from experienced team members or consultants. Just be sure you turn to someone with a track record in your field or sector, and preferably vouched for by a trusted contact.