By Gail Graham, Published November 13, 2014
We are turning that corner where everyone is focused on year end—making our numbers, finalizing projects, managing our expenses and making sure there’s time to enjoy the holidays. Too often, we are so busy finishing this year that we rush to put together a budget projection for the year ahead without a lot of strategic thought. Since marketing is sometimes considered a “soft” cost, there are times that companies will back into a marketing budget based simply on what they can afford, then the marketing team figures out how to spend the money.
My advice? Slow down and catch your breath right now. Take these five steps that will clear your head and allow you to focus on building a better marketing plan and getting the right budget for 2015.
- Look at the current plan. Review the strategy you had for 2014 and what you actually did during the year to see how accurately you forecast. What can you learn about your ability to project your spending and to stick to a plan? Do you need more or less funds, focus or flexibility?
- Clear the decks. Identify every project, campaign or other marketing effort that was less than successful in terms of business impact. Get your team involved and ask: “Were we wasting our time, or did we do a poor job on important work?”
- Identify your big wins. Pinpoint the ones that converted to new business or pushed your brand ahead, and examine them. How much is due to creativity (the right offer, eye-catching design) versus execution (targeting, campaign discipline)?
- Assess changes. Take note of the modifications that have occurred in your offer, as well as with your customers and your competitors. Do you have a bundle of services that’s stronger now, or have better pricing? Do your sales numbers reflect changes in demand and consumer preferences? Have any competitors become weaker or more daunting?
- Check your team. This includes employees and any of your important vendor relationships. Were they up to the tasks assigned to them? Are there shining stars you should foster more? Situations where you need to make a switch or add resources?
These questions will help you frame your thinking for the new marketing plan and show the stakeholders in finance, sales, etc. that you mean business. I’ve learned that one of the biggest mistakes you can make in marketing is to ask for a large budget you can’t spend—if it’s more than you can execute, that’s unfair to other departments in a scarce resource environment. You will always be better off acknowledging your own disappointments and being clear about where your success comes from. With a healthy assessment, you’ll find gaps you can fix—many of them simple changes.
This advice is along the line of, “Slow down to go faster!” It really works.
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