Marketing – a cost or an investment?

Now we are all back from the festive break, our minds are turning to the year and what challenges we will have to overcome throughout the year. Many of these will be outside of our control, so as a business it is fundamental that we focus on those elements that are within our control and maximise the benefits we can get from these.

We only need to read the media at the moment and look at the pressures that are being put on the workforce at the moment, but this also means there are many opportunities as well. The key for the business is to protect your assets, the most important of these being your people. If you create a good environment where your team feel they are making a difference to both the business and the community they will be more productive.

The second major asset is your customers, both existing and new and it is fundamentally important to ensure that you communicate with them on a regular basis. When any business is looking at areas to control costs, marketing and communications are often the first to be reduced on the basis that the business has customers, and they just need to look after them.

The challenge comes when one customer closes or leaves you, having an immediate impact on your turnover and profitability. But where are the new customers coming from if you have cut your marketing?

It is imperative to maintain your marketing, even when you are looking to reduce costs, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there are no opportunities to improve its effectiveness. In most businesses where I have undertaken a strategic review of their marketing, there have been opportunities to reduce the marketing spend without reducing the results. More than often not this will be down to little or no monitoring taking place and with some checks and balances in place, this can be easily rectified.

By taking a step back and reviewing your activity it is often the most critical way to improve your results. Do this with your team as well and the results will be even more effective.

To find out how I can help you review your marketing to get the best return on investment and improve your effectiveness call me or email me owen@ewo.uk.com.