I have written and spoken about marketing budgets. I have advocated not spending less, but spending differently. I still believe that. Yet, I am a realist. Many, if not most, firms are combing through the expense portion of the income statement and making cuts in order to deal with this recession which just seems to worsen with each passing day. In talking with a professional in his early 60s who has lived through the past 4 recessions, he says this one is the worst he has seen.
As a marketing professional, be proactive. Comb through your own budget and offer cuts. Squeeze your vendors for the best price which I know can be difficult to do given that sometimes our vendors have become friends. I suggest focusing on spending money on those things which have the best chance of making the phone ring - sooner rather than later.
More likely than not, there is fat in your budget. To tell on myself, let me give you one example. In going through my advertising budget, we found we spend about $1000 per year on yellow pages advertising. First of all, Mercer Capital is a national firm so we don't get "walk-in traffic." Second, the majority of people will find us via the web. So, that was an easy cut to make.
My humble advice is to go through your budget and look for those expense cuts, if you haven't already. In tough times, there is pressure on everyone to do more with less and to contribute to revenue generation. Focus on both.
Photo: Rabbit Scissors from The Daily Planner (www.thedailyplanner.com)
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