The first thing that some businesses do in a downturn is slash their marketing budget – is this good housekeeping and business prudence or a knee-jerk reaction that will have long-term consequences?
A big mistake in fact.
We’ve been in the marketing industry for over 25 years. We’ve seen recessions come and go – been there for the highs and the lows – and we know all too well that the firms who continue to market themselves effectively not only survive but thrive.
Those who don’t, fall by the wayside.
And yes, you might think this is all well and good coming from a consultancy that specialises in marketing – it’s in our interest to keep marketing as a priority – but the statistics support our claims.
Statistical reasons to spend money on marketing
Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) provides the best ROI of all marketing efforts with an almost 750 per cent average return over a three-year period, according to some projections.
Meanwhile, Hubspot claims that:
“Market share (SOM) tends to strongly correlate with share of voice (SOV — the percentage of [marketing] expenditure spent by the brand).
“Specifically, where a brand SOV is higher than SOM, the brand market share tends to grow, and the opposite is valid.
“If SOV falls below the brand’s SOM, then market share is likely to fall over the year following. The principle is valid in both B2C and B2B.”
On top of this, content marketing costs 62 per cent less than traditional marketing methods and generates three times as many leads.
Read this section if you’re an accountant or in financial services
If you’re an accountant, the best bang for your buck comes from the following marketing areas. The percentage represents the ROI you are likely to receive when investing in these areas.
- SEO – 1,031 per cent.
- Webinars – 416 per cent.
- Email Marketing – 380 per cent.
So, if you invest £1 in SEO, you can expect around £1,031 back in client engagement. *
Read this section if you are a solicitor
For solicitors, you can expect to see the following ROI in these areas:
- SEO – 526 per cent.
- Webinars – 261 per cent.
- LinkedIn Organic – 185 per cent.
If you invest £1 in SEO, you could see £526 back. *
Read this section if you are in FinTech
If you own or are part of a FinTech company, the marketing in these specific areas will have the highest ROI:
- Online PR – 335 per cent
- SEO – 308 per cent
- Affiliate Marketing – 227 per cent
This means that if you invest £1 in online PR, you’ll get £335 back. *
Other reasons to maintain your marketing budget
It’s not all about immediate sales and return on investment – the softer side of marketing is also very important.
Blogs, articles, and press releases build trust with your audience, helping to ensure returning clients and building relationships with new ones.
It also provides visibility in a crowded market, which is especially important during times of hardship, recession, and downturn.
Advertising could also increase the number of opportunities open to you and your firm. It can’t hurt to have an extra 500 LinkedIn followers or some space in the local newspaper.
It might even get you invited to events, conferences, and meetings with the big industry names.
Similarly, you could find yourself with a wider range of potential employees if your firm’s name is well known, which might help you navigate the smaller talent pool currently on offer at the moment.
In short, there’s a tonne of reasons not to cut your marketing budget this year.
How to get more out of your marketing budget
If you aren’t already outsourcing your marketing, you could find that it significantly reduces costs and frees up a lot more time for you and your team.
By taking on all the responsibility for your firm’s marketing you’re simultaneously restricting the amount of time you can spend on normal operations as well as restricting the quality and frequency of your marketing efforts.
A far better option is to outsource your advertising to an experienced agency.
Get in touch and find out what we can do for you and your firm.
* Data sourced from FirstPageSage is intended as a demonstration and is not a promise or suggestion that you will see similar results. Rather it is a demonstration of what is possible through the use of marketing.
