By Hailey Lipiec, EGC’s Social Media Manager and Jonathan Baker The state of the economy is a common concern among everyone, everywhere. In the professional world, marketers have special and separate kinds of concern. What follows are guidelines that chief marketing officers (CMOs) have devised and successfully applied in navigating uncertain economic times. The Economic Expertise of CMOs As declared in e-Marketer, CMOs are frequently on the front lines of dealing with the pressures that accompany cutting costs in a difficult economy. They are therefore experts in what may be termed “economic crisis management.” Knowing How and Where to Cut Budgets Perhaps the greatest challenge is keeping budgets as cost-effective as possible without compromising on the quality of the brand. Aggravating this situation is rising ad costs and competition in the media for top placement. As a result, CMOs must recognize where to “trim the fat” but avoid cutting off the top of the funnel. Suppose brand’s ad appears on connected television (CTV). This ad may not instantly motivate a customer to make a purchase. This ad is still relevant, however, because it creates brand awareness to future customers. This CTV ad should therefore not be removed from the marketing budget. Smaller Brands Can Implement Low-Cost Strategies to Save Marketing Costs In some situations, smaller brands have especially tight budgets. As a result, they must rely on the strength and solidity of their foundational content. The production teams of smaller brands must ensure they have top-quality content in the forms of crisp product images, high-resolution video, and product display pages. The search engine optimization (SEO) teams must check that all online content is optimized and user-friendly. These low-cost (or even no-cost) strategies are fundamental methods of maintaining visibility and growing sales. When Possible, Stay Focused on Long-Term Goals as Opposed to Short-Term Metrics The cliché of “slow and steady wins the race” was never more fitting than when marketing in a shaky. This is difficult to practice, particularly if campaigns need to be changed in mid-flight. In these situations, marketers are tempted to rely on short-term metrics. Short-term metrics present a limited overview of marketing results to the company. In an example like the CTV ad mentioned earlier, the short-term key performance indicators (KPIs) of a brand’s social media campaign won’t relay data of possible purchases. Still, this campaign may inspire future interest. Marketers who have the patience to play “the waiting game” will be rewarded with more accurate results. Communication with Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) This may be the most obvious guideline but open communication among departments with that of the CFO cannot be stressed enough. This is because CFOs are the first team members to express skepticism over how much (if any) money should be spent on everything from campaigns and ads to possible partnerships. Weekly meetings with CFOs will ensure that they and all other departments are in sync with where company funds are being allocated. By doing so, potential challenges or concerns are dealt with early and efficiently. The previous section refers to “possible partnerships.” If you wish to boost your brand’s awareness and are seeking a full-service marketing agency to partner with, find out how The EGC Group can help. From traditional to digital methods of advertising, we will help make your brand’s presence known and remembered—regardless of the state of the economy.
