When it comes to right-sizing your marketing efforts, there are a few keys to success. With so many ways to communicate with current or prospective clients, it can be hard to know where to draw the line. While the best plans aren’t one size fits all, there are some simple guidelines that make sense for any small, business-to-business company.

Evaluate Your Resources
One of the most important steps to take in right-sizing your marketing efforts is taking a hard look at your resources. Start by taking stock of your team. Look at the skills you have in-house and your current workload.

A review of the budget is another important step. It will tell you where you’re spending money (and time). It should also reveal where spending could be tightened and areas with potential for growth.

One of the last evaluation points should be outlining the time required of those outside the marketing team. Define which items require outside approval and how much time should be budgeted for review. Also, look at which tasks require input from internal experts. Collaborate with the team to see if the current workload or any proposed items are feasible. Solve for any pinch points.

Spend Time Where Your Clients Are
Focus your marketing efforts on the communication channels your clients use. This might seem like a no-brainer, but often, firms market to clients the way they’d like to be. Instead of drawing on data or client feedback, they make assumptions about their customers’ habits and preferences.

Typically, organizations have a general idea of what is used, but to get a clearer picture, we recommend sending a small survey. It should ask which methods they prefer and include a short list (LinkedIn, email, phone, etc.). We’d recommend taking this opportunity to find out the tradeshows and professional organizations they frequent as well.

Identify Your Goals and Select Tactics
With a sense of your resources and client preferences in place, it’s time to focus on your company. Start by setting goals and measurable objectives for the year. Think about how you would achieve them and which tactics would be the best fit.

With an idea in place, weigh it against the information you gathered. For example, you may want to introduce more email communication or dial back your Instagram presence. Wherever you land, it should be unique to your business and prospects. Don’t worry about where larger firms are spending their time and money. Think about how you could have the best impact with the resources available to you.

Choose Consistency
When talking about great marketing strategies, consistency rarely comes up. However, it is the key to success. Look over your selected tactics and weigh them against your workload and resources. Ask yourself what you can accomplish on a regular basis. For example, larger companies may post to social media every day, but that is not feasible for most small, B2B organizations. Instead, they should focus on outputting content on a schedule, hitting the same days of the week with images and graphics that align with their brand.

Along with your team’s time, it’s also important to look at other co-workers who might weigh in. Work with them to determine how much time they have to give or collaborate on ways to streamline approval processes. Then, adjust your plans to work with their schedule where you can.

Let’s right-size your marketing efforts together. Contact us for more details about how to customize a plan that’s best for your organization.