If you haven’t read Part 1, it’s important you do. In that, we go into the actionable insights which will empower you to understand what to scrupulously trim to do less. Once you’ve done that, tune into your creativity because now it’s time to do so much more. I love this stage because by now the teams are all onboard with the change, and are actually excited about cutting out the heavy lifting, impact-lite programmes and making a much bigger impact on your pipeline, and your team’s morale!
So, now you’ve cut programmes and spend, you will need to figure out four things:
- Double down – when everyone around you is cutting budget it means they are also reducing marketing – that means there’s an opportunity for you to do more marketing (which is why the scrupulous trim is so important). When people tighten their belts, I loosen mine and spend it on the programmes I know deliver and double down. This isn’t just important because you’ll deliver stronger results, but it’s important because it can give you much more face time with your customers. When companies cut budget, customers and prospects can sometimes see it. This could be your opportunity to leap-frog your competition and get much more mind-share with your target prospects and customers.
- Re-engineer programmes – that are resource-intensive but make a big impact on revenue. You don’t need to bring in a consultant who’ll only listen and provide you with guidance, you need someone who’s been in your shoes, and your team’s shoes, who understands what to change or streamline – objectively. And do the work with you to get there. Re-engineer doesn’t only mean overhaul, it can mean adaptation or optimisation, or streamlining/simplifying to make a programme that already has a big impact have an even bigger one – but with less resources.
- Re-engineer how you work – one of the things I adore about having my own marketing company is we don’t do the ‘busy work’ my team and I used to do in our corporate lives. That means everything my team and I do, benefits our fabulous customers or grows our business. Use this ‘do more with less’ time to re-engineer how you report and reduce the ‘busy work’. If it doesn’t deliver value, facilitate great communications, or measure the things that matter – why do it?
- Engineer – re-focus and build new programmes that build pipeline for the sales teams. I love this part. Often in tech companies it’s running hands-on sessions for people using the product to get them excited about it – but if your product is more complex than a simple demo can convey, then focus on your buyers and run programmes which demonstrate the ROI to them, and demonstrate the value they’ll bring. Engineer new programmes that will make the right impact.
Wherever you are in your financial year, or budget planning cycle, I encourage you to take a moment and really think about the situation you find yourself in and the opportunities that are possible by doubling-down on what you know will deliver, focus on making a bigger impact by re-engineering existing programmes and ensuring that you’re really understanding what sales needs in order to move that needle.
This is just the start. There is so much more that you can do when the opportunity of doing more with less arises. I hope this blog series has inspired your creativity, but if you want help or to unpick your situation, talk to us. We’ve been there. Done it. Worn the T-Shirt. And still use the mug!
