If the mums on your neighbor’s front porch weren’t enough to remind you that autumn has arrived, your dwindling marketing budget won’t let you forget. By October, most of us have spent the majority of our marketing dollars and are looking for ways to maximize what’s left. It can be easy to lose track of our strategic goals as we try to stretch that remaining budget. But just as setting out on a road trip without a map would be irresponsible—expecting to reach your end-of-year goals without a clear strategy can lead to wasted time, money and missed opportunity.
To make sure your fourth quarter marketing budget stays aligned with your marketing goals ask yourself these three questions:
Are you aiming for increased sales, brand awareness or customer loyalty? Sometimes, when we try to accomplish everything—we accomplish nothing. Be specific about your objectives. Prioritize the outcomes that are most important to you and quantify the targets you want to reach by year end. Rather than “I want to see us end the year strong,” try “our goal is to increase revenue by 20% in Q4.”
Analyze the ROI from your marketing efforts during the first part of the year. Make sure you know which efforts performed the best and allocate your marketing dollars to those channels. And make sure those channels are laser-focused on the targets you have prioritized for Q4. Obviously, keep an eye on emerging trends and opportunities, but don’t get distracted by shiny promises along the way without sufficient evidence to support a change in direction.
Once you’ve established the KPIs that align with your goals, make sure you track them! Monitoring conversion rates, social media engagement, website traffic and other key performance indicators will help you know when you need to adjust your strategy or amplify your efforts. With diligent tracking you can move resources away from less-than-successful channels and toward strategies that are delivering results!
Just as you wouldn’t hop in the car, drive aimlessly and hope to stumble upon your destination, you shouldn’t expect to attain your end-of-the-year business goals without a clear strategy and a budget aligned to support it. If you need help mapping out the best route to success in this last stretch of 2024, Central States Marketing is here to help!
