How to get the most from your marketing spend this financial year

A common challenge for small businesses is figuring out where to spend money on their marketing strategy. The key to a successful marketing plan lies in investing your budget wisely in campaigns and platforms that promise a good return on investment.

By smartly distributing your budget, you can make your plan work well and get the ROI you want. This blog gives you tips on how to plan, carry out, and maximise your marketing spend on different channels and campaigns for better results and profits.

Understanding Your Marketing Objectives

Aligning your marketing spend with clear, measurable objectives is the first step to maximising your marketing budget. Setting SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals ensures your marketing efforts are focused and trackable. Whether it’s boosting brand awareness, generating leads, or increasing sales, defining your objectives will guide your budget allocation and help measure your success.

Auditing Past Marketing Performance

Reviewing the past financial year’s marketing activities is invaluable for understanding what worked and what didn’t. Analyse previous campaigns, channels, and tactics to identify high-performing areas and those needing improvement. Using insights from tools like Google Analytics can help you make data-driven decisions and refine your future budget allocation.

Allocating Budget Across Channels

Distributing your marketing funds across various channels – digital, traditional and experimental – ensures a comprehensive approach to reaching your target audience. Given the rising dominance of digital marketing, investing in online channels such as social media, search engine marketing (SEM), email marketing, and content creation is critical. Traditional methods like print ads and events can also be effective, depending on your audience.

For an in-depth guide on budget distribution, see this Stripe article.

Investing in Marketing Technology

Marketing technology plays a pivotal role in maximising efficiency and ROI. Tools for marketing automation, analytics, customer relationship management (CRM), and social media management streamline operations and enhance data-driven decision-making. Small to medium-sized businesses should consider essential tech investments that provide the best return. This Small Business Xchange article provides more in-depth information and recommendations on marketing tech investments for small businesses.

Prioritising Flexibility and Adaptability

In a fast-changing marketing landscape, keeping part of your budget unallocated allows for flexibility. This enables you to seize new opportunities and make adjustments based on performance data throughout the year. An agile approach helps you stay responsive to market changes and innovative trends.

Measuring and Optimising Marketing Spend

Tracking the effectiveness of your marketing spend through key metrics and KPIs is essential for continuous optimisation. Monitor metrics such as conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, and return on ad spend (ROAS) to gauge performance. Use these insights to refine your strategies and ensure your marketing dollars are well-spent.

Emerging Trends to Watch

Stay ahead by keeping an eye on emerging trends like AI in marketing, voice search optimisation, and personalised customer experiences. These trends can significantly impact your marketing strategy and budget allocation.

Maximising your marketing spend requires strategic planning, agility, and a data-informed approach. By setting clear objectives, conducting thorough audits, wisely allocating your budget across channels, and leveraging marketing technology, you can achieve greater returns and sustained growth.