Part III: Stretching Dollars

In this economy, marketing budgets have to stretch like a contortionist at a taffy pull. As a warm-up, here are 10 ideas for getting the most from your dollars.

1. Define success. Decide what you want your marketing program to accomplish and how you’ll measure the results. That yardstick may be as formal as ROI or as simple as winning business from a coveted client. As long as you don’t spend more on marketing than you get back in revenues, you can call it success.
2. Consolidate your team. Get the right people on board with your marketing efforts, from the C suite to your outside resources. Multi-taskers who can fill a range of roles will ultimately save you time, stress and money.
3. Work smart. Solid planning and frequent check-ins with your team can save costly missteps.
4. Integrate tactics. One-off marketing maneuvers rarely pay for themselves. Consolidated campaigns give you more bang for your buck.
5. Target and micro-target. Which audiences within your market bring you the most business? Which ones bring you the most profitable business? Spend on them.
6. Skip ad spend. Advertising needs frequency and repetition to be effective. Unless you have that kind of money in the budget, move ad dollars to other tactics.
7. Go digital. Compare the cost of offset printing with digital press or print-on-demand services. Or produce pieces electronically. (We created an online-only annual report for one of our clients this year — no print costs!)
8. Waste not. If you must print, look for ways to save on paper and postage. Changing print dimensions or gang-printing pieces together can make a big difference.
9. Don’t get caught scrimping. Cheap is good. Looking cheap is bad. Spend where you must, and cut costs where no one will notice.
10. Listen. Listening costs nothing, except maybe lunch. Every chance you get, tune in to the marketplace buzz. The payoff can be priceless.

More ideas? Share them here!