As a wordsmith, I’m not ashamed to admit my least favorite “b” word is budget. It’s not that I feel particularly strongly about the standard planning ahead, measuring against, or finding the most cost effective vendor aspects, but because I absolutely HATE the accounting components. There is nothing that brings out my inner drama queen and hidden anxieties faster than watching already lean lines dwindle to nothing, and dollars turn into pennies.
Having spent some time navigating a next-to-nothing budget in a nonprofit - try $35,000 for a whole year - I developed a handful of “stingy” habits out of necessity that I can’t quite shake. Over time, the budgets I work with have grown, but this often resulted in more pressure, instead of less. However, even though I’m now working with a lot more, my “do more with less” mentality persists, and time and again, it has proven the key to staying on target and actually getting budget growth approved. Asking for funds to try new things seems a lot less egregious when core functions are handily covered and I’m still hitting numbers.
Over the years, I’ve developed these three very basic “Marketing Money Mantras” with the goal of grounding myself day-to-day, budget-to-budget. Try using these as a jumping off point to find some ways you can maximize your budget while keeping the creative juices flowing. Repeat after me…
“I will not lose focus on the basics.”
When we first start out in a new career, a new role, or launching a new program, we start with the tried and true tactics that have worked for us in the past. Once we get used to the basics and build our routine, it’s easy to forget where we started. We get so comfortable in our functions and expertise that we might even start to get bored, and start looking for the next cool thing, just to spice it up. We jump on whatever is trending,stalk market successes, and become convinced that if we can just throw enough money and/or staff at the “new hotness,” we’ll make marketing magic that goes down in history.
This spiral is the marketing equivalent to “keeping up with the Joneses,” and it’s just as damaging to strategy, identity, and yes, budget. If you find yourself spending too much time or money chasing the next big thing, it’s probably time to take your strategy back to square one. What used to work for you, and why did you stop doing it? Early tactics are often born out of the need to create something out of nothing, and it’s likely they were far less costly with better ROI than the fads you’re trying on now.
If you’re new to your organization, your team, or your position, you may not actually be sure what the “basics” of your particular role are, or what policies and procedures may have fallen by the wayside over the years. If so, don’t be afraid to ask a veteran employee. They’re often more than happy to reminisce about the good old days!
By revisiting the starting line, you can avoid costly mistakes like, oh say, dropping a chunk of an already very lean nonprofit budget on a billboard, while forgoing foundational tactics like direct mail (yes it’s still a thing!) and digital marketing.
“I can do the small things.”
If I don’t say this to myself at least three times a day, it’s not a productive day. When I see an increase in funding, it’s natural to start looking for ways to lighten my load by dispersing more “administrative” (as administrative as marketing can get) tasks to others. Sometimes this includes hiring additional creative vendors or agencies to outsource those things I can’t do. Over time, more and more tasks start to be funneled their way, and soon it isn’t just the things I can’t do, it’s also things I just don’t want to mess around with.
If you also find yourself outsourcing a lot of work, I challenge you to revisit what you’re sending outwards, and critically ask yourself “what can my team or I do in-house?” and bring it back in. Bring home the small tasks so your creatives and agencies can focus on the bigger picture – those things you literally, absolutely, cannot do yourself.
Fun fact: I double as an emergency graphic designer using Canva! My expertise is writing, but in a pinch I can make a few things here or there to avoid expensive outsourcing. While it’s definitely not in my job description, I get tremendous personal satisfaction seeing what I create make its way to the public while my talents continue to improve.
“I will not reinvent the wheel.”
If you’re new to your organization, here’s a tip I deploy my first few weeks everywhere I go: dive into the shared files of your organization and build a repertoire of templates based on what predates you. You’ll save yourself hours and tons of stress. If you’re a veteran, build templates from your own work as you go! Build them, store them, update them, and use them. If you work with agencies, encourage them to create templates too. You’ll save on billable hours and budget. If you don’t work with agencies, that’s all the more reason for your creatives to create templates to save time, energy, effort, and money.
Some of the most beneficial templates I use weekly are presentations, press releases, social media content (hey there, Canva!), website topic pages, and website images. Budget constraints (or lack thereof) aside, templates will free up both money and time. #cha-ching! 🤑
The Takeaway
The only thing more stressful than stretching a tiny budget is managing a big one, especially when you’ve never been responsible for such big numbers in your life. We all want to know we’re making wise financial decisions, and that our return on investment is going to be recognized come reporting time. Whether you’re rolling in cash or scraping pennies together, let these Marketing Money Mantras be your light in the dark.
Repeat to yourself:
- “I will not lose focus on the basics”
- “I can do the small things”
- “I will not reinvent the wheel”
Keeping these philosophies in mind WILL stretch your dollars, so you can elevate your impact and feel good about your spending.
What are some of the ways you’re bringing low-budget thinking to big budget spending? If you’re having troubles cutting costs, share in the comments and let’s brainstorm solutions!
PS. Know what other “b” word gives me goosebumps? Benchmark. But we’ll have to talk about that one over drinks at our next meetup opportunity.