to deal with budget cuts in marketing and freezes on hiring //

Marketing leader is one of the most difficult jobs in today’s world. It’s difficult to meet aggressive goals in a short timeframe with limited resources and a small, often inexperienced staff. You’re not the only one.

I have been speaking with many marketing executives to better understand their struggles and the ways they are overcoming today’s challenges. Some of these challenges include hiring freezes and budget cuts. Others are unrealistic targets, decreased awareness, and an increased price-sensitive market.

Several of these challenges are ones that marketers have been facing for years. Many of these challenges are new, but many have been heightened by the economic problems that have affected both consumers and corporations.

Post-pandemic times have been as volatile and unpredictable. There is a lot confusion, chaos, and uncertainty about what’s going on, what will occur, and what can be done.

Here are three patterns that I have heard repeatedly from marketing leaders in my coaching sessions and conversations about the challenges they face and how to overcome these.

1. Customers are always available to talk with

Talk to your customers when times are good. Talk to your customers when times are tough. Never stop talking to your customers.

It’s important to talk with them regularly, especially in this current climate. They want to share feedback, give their opinion, and feel heard. Conversations with customers can help build loyalty, increase retention, and even upsell them on additional services or products.

All these benefits are very important. Yet, few marketing leaders actually talk to customers regularly. It’s because they don’t make any effort to start conversations. It’s a pity, since talking with your customers can have no negative consequences.

Budgets for B2B marketing are stagnant in 2022

I am a firm believer in proximity to the customer: Whoever is nearest to the customer, wins. This often comes down the companies who spend the most amount of time with their customers in terms of conversation, connection and community.

By talking to your customers, you can also learn what is important to them . Your job is to listen to what your customers are saying, to synthesize this information and to help the senior management focus on the important things.

2. Prioritize ruthlessly

Marketing is similar to raspberry jam – the more you spread, the thinner it becomes. This is true for your team, budget and efforts.

You must focus if you want to make a difference. This is one of the most difficult things to do for marketing leaders. The majority of leaders I spoke to had a long list of “priorities”, but not enough time or resources available to address them.

You can’t keep up the pace if your budget has been cut or your staff reduced.

It requires a different level of commitment and decision-making, which I call ruthless priority. This prevents wasted money, time and effort. It also keeps the team focused on their goals. It’s also easy to use.

Communication is a crucial first step. Leaders in marketing must be able to communicate their limits and protect themselves and teams. You must draw a line and explain to all employees what that means. No one will set realistic expectations and boundaries if you do not.

In the future, you can always do even more… once you have more budget and time. Prioritize ruthlessly until then.

Most marketing leaders are in agreement that optimizing conversions is a top priority.

3. Optimize conversions

Revenue is important to every marketing leader. We need to close sales, create opportunities, and capture leads. Conversions are the key to all of this.

Most marketing fails to convert. Conversions are difficult to achieve, particularly in the current environment, due to consumer behavior, price-sensitivity, and increased competition.

Most marketing teams are also too focused on producing new content or launching a campaign, rather than optimizing conversions. In my conversations, I learned that the lack of conversion optimization is due in part to a shortage of resources and skills. But also to a failure to prioritize. We know that conversion optimization is important, but we don’t do it because we have too many other priorities.

It is important to improve and iterate on campaigns before launching them. To optimize and analyze. Invest in improving and optimizing your conversion rate.

You can get the same (or less) resources to produce a better outcome. Increased conversion rates result in greater engagement, increased leads, and higher revenue. Profit margins are also higher.

Small improvements add up quickly. Even a small improvement in your conversion rate can result in huge gains. Your team will also begin to understand why certain marketing campaigns work, so that they can create more effective marketing from the start.

It’s no surprise that optimizing conversions is based on speaking to your customers. This effort must be prioritized ruthlessly. You’ll get the best ROI by focusing on conversion optimization, regardless of whether you have a large budget or a team.

All marketing leaders mentioned the constant struggle to balance short-term successes with long-term benefits. How can we demonstrate results today while driving future growth at the same time? This is why optimizing conversions is the holy-grail of marketing, as it provides both short-term AND long-term results with a minimal initial investment.

Focus on the basics

Marketing leaders will always face the same challenges, regardless of the economy, the competitive environment, or the consumer’s demand. The constant seems to be doing more with less.

There is no magic bullet. Influencers, TikTok, and AI won’t help you with your marketing. You will never have enough money, a large enough team, or enough support from the top. Don’t let this discourage you.

Marketing is for people who love their audience and believe in the value they offer. They will also dive in and take on challenges in order to reach even the most ambitious of goals.

Remember that you are not alone. Each marketing leader faces a similar set challenges. We can all take a step back, breathe deeply and review the basics.

Marketing can be made easier by talking to your customers, prioritizing conversions and being ruthless.

The article How do you overcome budget cuts in marketing and hiring freezes first appeared on MarTech.