Cut Marketing and Advertising Expenses: Smarter Budgeting for Better Results

Aloha Small Business 'Ohana,

Small business owners are my life. I love speaking to you, hearing your stories, your love/hate relationship with marketing, and it's not uncommon for me to meet someone who says "I don't spend anything on marketing." or "I don't do any marketing." I disagree.

Every interaction you have with a client is marketing in action. The words you choose, the tone in which you communicate, your message, who your Dream Clients are, and how you select which events or meetings to attend, are all examples of marketing in action. If you aren't spending money and time on marketing, you are bleeding money and opportunity.

Keep reading to learn how to optimize your marketing and advertising expenses for better results while saving money. After all, if you want to stay in business, and retire one day, your business needs to be profitable.

IT'S IMPORTANT TO ANALYZE MARKETING AND ADVERTISING EXPENSES

Analyzing your marketing and advertising expenses is crucial for small business owners who are in growth mode. By understanding how much money you spend each month on marketing and advertising, you can determine the effectiveness of your current strategies and identify areas for improvement. It allows you to evaluate the return on investment (ROI) for each marketing channel and make informed decisions about where to allocate your resources.

Moreover, it gives a deeper understanding of the true cost of marketing and advertising beyond the direct monetary investments. Consider the time and effort invested by you or your team members. By quantifying these expenses, you may discover that you already invested a significant amount of money and/or time into marketing.

By conducting a thorough analysis of your marketing and advertising expenses, you can identify any inefficiencies or areas where you may be overspending. This knowledge empowers you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your budget for better results.

UNDERSTAND THE COMPONENTS OF MARKETING AND ADVERTISING EXPENSES

To effectively manage your marketing and advertising expenses, it is important to understand the various components involved. These components may include:

• Agency or consultant fees: If you work with external agencies or consultants, their fees should be considered as part of your marketing expenses.
• Paid advertising campaigns: This includes expenses related to running ads on platforms like Google Ads, social media platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, or other online advertising channels.
• Content creation: This encompasses the cost of producing marketing content such as blog posts, videos, infographics, and social media posts.
• SEO and website maintenance: These expenses cover activities aimed at improving your website's visibility on search engines and ensuring its smooth operation.
• Marketing tools and software: This includes the cost of using marketing automation tools, customer relationship management (CRM) software such as HubSpot, monday.com, Salesforce, or Zoho, or analytics platforms.

Understanding these components helps you track and allocate your expenses effectively. It enables you to identify which areas of your marketing strategy are consuming the most resources and assess their impact on your overall goals. 

IDENTIFY WEAKNESS AND REPETITIONS IN YOUR MARKETING STRATEGY

By closely examining your expenses, you may discover patterns of inefficiency or areas where you are overspending without achieving significant results.

Look for instances where you are investing resources in marketing channels that are not delivering the desired outcomes. It may be time to reallocate those resources to more effective channels or tactics. Similarly, identify any repetitive expenses that can be consolidated or optimized to reduce costs.

Furthermore, analyzing your marketing strategy allows you to identify any gaps or missed opportunities. It helps you understand if you are targeting the right audience, utilizing the most suitable marketing channels, and conveying your brand message effectively. By addressing these weaknesses, you can make your marketing efforts more streamlined and cost-efficient.

DEVELOP A COST-EFFECTIVE STRATEGIC MARKETING PLAN

One way to save money on marketing and advertising is by developing a clear strategic marketing plan. A strategic marketing plan outlines your business objectives, Dream Clients, key messages, and the marketing tactics you will employ to achieve your goals.

By having a well-defined plan, you can focus your resources on the most effective marketing channels and tactics. This prevents unnecessary spending on strategies that do not align with your objectives or resonate with your target audience. A strategic marketing plan also helps you allocate your budget more efficiently, ensuring that each dollar spent generates maximum impact.

When developing your strategic marketing plan, consider the following:

• Set clear and measurable goals: Define specific objectives that you want to achieve through your marketing efforts. These goals should be measurable, allowing you to track progress and evaluate success. Remember SMART goals?
• Identify your Dream Clients (target audience): Understand everything about your Dream Clients so you can help them solve their pain and create powerful connections. Define their demographics, interests, and pain points. This knowledge helps you tailor your marketing messages so your brand resonates with them.
• Choose the right marketing channels: Evaluate different marketing channels and select the ones that are most likely to reach your Dream Clients effectively. Consider factors such as cost, reach, and audience engagement.
• Create compelling content: Develop high-quality and engaging content that aligns with your brand and resonates with your Dream Clients. This content can be used across various marketing channels, maximizing its impact.
• Monitor and evaluate results: Regularly track the performance of your marketing efforts and analyze the data. This allows you to identify what is working well and what needs improvement, enabling you to make data-driven decisions and optimize your strategy.

By following these steps and developing a cost-effective strategic marketing plan, you can significantly reduce your marketing and advertising expenses while achieving better results.

Are you worried about the time it will take to create a strategic marketing plan? Or you may feel you don't have enough knowledge or expertise to do it on your own. If you would like a strategic marketing plan crafted for your company, as you work alongside our Big Kahuna, Alexis Skigen Rago, it doesn't take as long as you may think.

We just need 3 weeks to create your company's custom strategic marketing plan through the Mana Marathon (click here for more details). This solid strategic foundation and marketing plan allows the execution to happen faster and reduce resources as there is clarity in direction, actions, and desired results. Think of it as a small upfront cost for long-term gain; in the end, your ROI will far surpass the cost of your strategic marketing plan, like my clients who grew revenue 130% in 11 months, crossing over into 7 figures.

LEVERAGE DIGITAL MARKETING CHANNELS FOR COST EFFICIENCY

Digital marketing channels provide numerous advantages, including lower costs compared to traditional advertising methods and the ability to target specific audiences with precision.

Here are some digital marketing channels that can help you optimize your budget:

• Search engine optimization (SEO): By optimizing your website for search engines, you can improve your organic visibility and attract relevant traffic without incurring additional advertising costs. This is also referred to as organic search.
• Social media marketing: Utilize social media platforms to reach and engage with your target audience. Social media advertising allows you to target specific demographics and interests, ensuring your marketing efforts are focused on those most likely to convert.
• Email marketing: Build an email list and use email campaigns to nurture leads, promote your products or services, and maintain customer relationships. Email marketing is a cost-effective way to stay in touch with your audience and drive repeat business. Please, respect the inbox of your subscribers and don't bombard them with multiple emails a day, or content that lacks value or purpose.
• Content marketing: Create valuable and informative content, such as blog posts, videos, or infographics, to attract and engage your target audience. Content marketing helps establish your brand as a thought leader and can generate organic traffic over time. Content is key to building trust with your audience.
• Influencer marketing: Collaborate with influencers in your industry to promote your products or services. Influencer marketing can be a cost-effective way to reach a larger audience and build credibility for your brand. This doesn't need to be a celebrity, rather, think of it as geeking out with a power partner.

By leveraging these digital marketing channels, you can optimize your marketing and advertising expenses by reaching your target audience more effectively and efficiently.

Quick Recap: Analyzing your marketing and advertising expenses is essential for small business owners in growth mode. Understanding the components of these expenses, identifying weaknesses and repetitions in your strategy, developing a cost-effective strategic marketing plan, and leveraging digital marketing channels can help you optimize your budget and achieve better results while saving money.