How to Wrap Up Your 2019 Marketing Budget

As 2020, and a new decade begins, challenges are plentiful for the Glazing and Construction industry moving into the new financial year.

Whilst things like sustainability and technology are starting to take priority in the industry, Marketing and Sales are potentially being overlooked. At Insight, we are seeing a consistent increase in investment in prospect data and targeted marketing services, with businesses understanding the increasing necessity to stand out in a competitive market and build trust with prospects. However, we also get a lot of questions at this time of year, i.e how can I use the last of my budget on your data? How do I know what data works best for me? Do I need live data? I don’t have enough new budget for everything so what should I do?

Leading up to allocating your 2020 budget, we discuss ways in which you can really maximise your marketing and sales spend this year to ensure ROI and success.

How did my 2019 budget fair?

With a few months left of the financial year, reviewing what has and hasn’t worked in your marketing is important in getting ready to allocate budget for the new year. Did you have low engagement on your email marketing but high ROI from your direct mail campaigns? By understanding what went right and/or wrong should allow you to make informed decisions about how to focus your efforts on the next year.

Interrogating these results, assessing your data and planning ahead will give you the best foundations for your new plan and will give you an advantage on your competitors.

How can I get the best out of my budget?

A good place to start is by thinking, what do we actually want to achieve this year? It may be increasing new orders or increasing revenue from existing customers. Whatever it may be, knowing that goal will ensure the tactics you use to achieve it will be suitably aligned, ensuring limited budget wasted.

Do you really understand your prospects/customers? By gaining better insight into the wants, needs and challenges of your prospects and existing customers, you can prioritise what you want to say, how and where to say it and how much saying it means to you. When you then apply this information to your sales and marketing you can rest assured your business is on track to get positive engagement, increased amount of leads and greater customer advocacy.

Are you set up for success? In sales and marketing having the right tools is vital to ensuring you aren’t wasting money i.e. sales reps wasting time on old data or marketing not able to report ROI on their email marketing.

Our customers tell us the focus areas for them in choosing the right tools are as follows:

• The right data – compliant, easy to understand, relevant
• The right platforms – Email and CRM systems that can integrate into our existing processes
• The right follow up – ROI tracker, sales and pipeline reporting, management reports

Many of these tools are easily accessible for all sizes of businesses and can range in cost and quality so make sure you do your research and find the tool that works best for you and your business.

Should we wait to see

Not only has the industry felt the full force of Brexit and other political challenges in recent years but it has also seen the fall of companies once seen to be power houses in the Glazing and Construction industry. Budgets have been cut, and marketing and sales has been in a position of needing to prove itself. This can often mean that companies become hesitant to reinvest revenue into more marketing content or channels. Having a ‘wait and see’ approach has been the safe bet for many.

New regulations, limitations, government funding and economic climate now need to be seen as opportunities for businesses not chains holding them back. Now with Brexit leaving us like a bad hangover, and the new financial year creeping closer, businesses really need to consider how sales and marketing can keep them moving forward as standing still, will only get them left behind.

Utilising the last of your budget to ensure you can get ahead in 2020 will ensure you are fully prepared to face the hurdles undoubtedly to come. Insight Data has been working in the Construction and Glazing industry for 14 years and is focused on helping businesses achieve their goals. With real-time, live and dynamic data we provide our customers with the intelligence they need to be successful come rain or shine.

If you would like to discuss any projects or requirements with us, please feel free to give us a call on 01934 808293 or complete our enquiry form and we will come back to you.