tame your marketing budget

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tame Your Marketing Budget

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Bring a budget to the table for each project1

$Of course you have an overall marketing budget, but take the time to establish (and stick to) project-specific budgets.$




Don’t hide the budget2Be up front about your budget and if you’re working with a great creative team, they’ll appreciate not having to guess the bottom line number. they’ll respect your budget and exceed your expectations.




Be realistic about your timeline3Rush fees (or overtime) add up fast. When possible, build in enough time for your project to move forward in an orderly fashion. If it’s truly a “hot” project, include rush or overtime in your budget so there are no surprises.




Know (and communicate) as much as possible about the project4

What are your expectations? Desired outcomes? Audience, barriers, preconceived notions, likes, dislikes, major selling points, benefits, etc. A creative brief is a great way to organize your thoughts.

budget

timeline

benefits

expectationsaudience

concept

product




stick to the plan5

Changes of scope are big-time budget killers! If necessary, bite the bullet. But when a complete change of direction isn’t necessary … steer clear.




6Nothing can derail a project faster than a content expert who think he’s a designer or a copywriter playing like she’s a content expert. Identify appropriate roles and trust your team to do the things they all individually do best.

trust the teamcontent expert

designer

copywritersherrimayco.com @sherrimayco



Keep your review team to a minimum7

More heads are always better than one. But when reviewing creative, too many heads could mean disaster. everyone comes to the table with their own preferences and you could end up in a never-ending revision loop. Keep your team to key stakeholders.




Manage the process8 >

Multiple changes done at different the same time cost far less than the same number of changes processed separately. Begin by routing to all reviewers at once, be firm with about the date by which you need feedback.

review

then, gather the feedback, filter it carefully to determine necessary changes and provide a consolidated list to your creative team at one time.

“How about changing this?”

“How about changing that?”




eyesFresh

9Ask a detail-oriented colleague with little or no knowledge of the project to review it carefully. You’d be surprised at the things someone with “fresh eyes” will bring to your attention.




sign for approval10X Ask your reviewers to literally “sign off”

on the final approval draft. When people have to sign something, it triggers a “read this carefully” response! this can help to avoid costly changes once the project has gone to print.




Consolidate printing11Many printers are able to maximize press efficiency by running multiple projects at the same time. You can benefit with cost savings when you can coordinate similar jobs to print at the same time.

C M Y Ksherrimayco.com @sherrimayco



Order smart12But, the cost to go back on press for a small quantity can be startling. Determine the shelf life of the piece, order enough for the shelf life and increase your quantity by 5%-10% to cover unforeseen requests, samples, etc.

Although you don’t want to waste materials, the cost to print a small supply of extras is generally negligible.




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For more ideas on how to better manage your marketing budget, or if you have any other questions, ask the marketing & communications experts at Sherri May & Company.

602.547.7020 x101sherrimayco.com@sherrimayco

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tame your marketing budget

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