cutting marketing costs

As a fractional CMO (Chief Marketing Officer) and long-time marketing executive, I’ve been told countless times that the marketing budget needs to be cut for one reason or another. In 2022, after a pandemic and at the door of a recession, “cutting the budget” is a constant refrain. No matter how many times I point out that marketing during a financial downturn is crucial—that spending your marketing dollars during these tough moments will bring its ultimate reward—the song remains the same. Cut marketing costs; cut marketing costs.

As a C-suite leader—CEO or CFO—your job is to grow the company and keep it financially solvent. I get it; I really do. When faced with a spreadsheet filled with outgoing dollars, you look for the easiest possible savings. Marketing, for some reason, always ends up on the top of the list. So, if you’re going to cut marketing costs regardless, then you need to know what absolutely must remain.

Brand Management

When facing troubled times, some brands run the risk of releasing messaging that could be construed as tone deaf. With so many people voting with their wallets during a recession, maintaining your brand is not negotiable. You need marketers who fully understand your brand, mission, vision, voice, and messaging—and on top of all that, you need marketers who understand your brand’s position in the current economic environment.

Businesses will still need software, supplies, and services. Consumers will still need food, clothing, and comfort. Luxury buyers will still seek out their favorite travel, clothing, cosmetics, and car brands. Your marketers will best know how to reach these buyers with the right brand messaging to add value and convert sales even as belts tighten.

And, if one of your brand messages does manage to come off as tone deaf, make sure you have marketing leadership on staff who know how to navigate the blowback.

Customer Retention

Don’t simply assume that your current customer base will stick around to carry you through tough financial times. While you’re looking to cut marketing costs, your buyers are also looking to save a few dollars. Your competitors could be mighty tempting, especially if your company cuts the corners that focus on customer retention.

Some customer retention strategies can be expensive but anything you do spend is worth the investment. However, there are plenty of strategies you can put into place that don’t cost much at all. First, there are loyalty programs that you really can’t afford to cut, but you may want to reevaluate the rewards and how your buyers value those. Increase education opportunities through webinars or podcasts for B2B brands and social media videos for B2C comsumers. Yes, you may lose a little in the short term as you continue to create opportunities to make your loyal customers feel special, but when they’re still brand advocates on the other side of the recession, you’ll see a big return on your dollars spent.

Marketing Technology

I know, MarTech sounds like a buzzword without a lot of substance to it. To be fair, plenty of marketing technology out there is in the “nice to have” category but isn’t what we’d consider essential. Some marketing technology, however, has absolutely revolutionized the way we communicate with potential buyers. These pivotal pieces of technology must remain—along with the marketing staff who knows how to use it.

Automation and smart marketing technology, such as that provided by HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, Manticore, or Landmark, helps you save time—which in turn saves money—and assist in changing buyer behaviors—which in turn brings more money in. If you already have marketing automation processes in place, keep them. If you don’t have them yet, consider acquiring this particular type of technology to help you cut costs in other areas.

These programs also offer additional marketing technology that you shouldn’t try to function without, such as CRM software, email marketing programs, social media management, and digital analytics. It’s all there in one place with some of the more robust programs, which means your marketing department may be able to divest smaller solutions and aggregate all activities under one solid, very important program.

Marketing technology also assists with customer retention, particularly through personalization and automation. By personalizing each interaction, those buyers feel that you know them by name. Automating your processes means you’ll remain in constant contact with those buyers while providing relevant and timely information that helps them make decisions about future purchases.

Marketing Leadership

Perhaps the biggest of all mistakes a company could make is cutting marketing leadership when the budget gets thin. If you do this, who can help you maintain and grow your audience so that you’re ready to soar when bank accounts are stable again? You can’t count on a recent college graduate with some Instagram experience to develop marketing strategies and execute the necessary tasks.

A great marketing leader will know how to best put your marketing budget to use, and that includes the right staff to keep your marketing moving through good times and bad. If your business simply cannot afford to keep marketing staff and a marketing leader on board, then consider a Fractional CMO who can help fill the gap and maintain your marketing—and perhaps even help grow your business—while times are tough.

A good Fractional CMO brings their own staff along—at no additional charge to you. Instead of choosing a social media marketer straight out of college and a content marketer with two months of experience over a seasoned marketing executive, you can benefit from a real marketing leader who has vetted her own team of marketing professionals and can outsource your marketing needs to experts.

I really do get it. You may just need to cut marketing costs. But, as a legitimate marketing expert—and a Fractional CMO to boot—I’m telling you that you cannot survive a recession without these four things, so you shouldn’t try. If you’d like to discuss how a Fractional CMO might help you continue your marketing activities during this financial downturn, don’t hesitate to reach out.