How To Cut Your Marketing Costs Using Automation In 2022

Contents 

1. Introduction: Difference between cost optimisation and reduction and why does cost optimization matter in marketing?
2. Creating a robust marketing automation strategy to Achieve Successful Cost Optimization
3. 7 Ways Businesses have Benefited from Marketing Automation
4. Conclusion – Why You Should Consider Investing in Effective Cost Optimization with Marketing Automation Today 

Introduction: Difference between cost optimisation and reduction and why does cost optimization matter in marketing? 

Image source: Gartner 

A research claimed that 90% of marketers were looking forward to increasing their digital marketing budget in 2020. But soon after, the tables turned. As the pandemic engulfed one nation after another, there was a mindset shift reported by Gartner that said: “65% of marketers are bracing for budget cuts due to COVID-19.” While the world economy is slowly returning to its former glory, many organisations are still struggling to answer the question the pandemic has thrown at them- optimisation or reduction? Let us understand the difference between the two. 

Cost optimization refers to a continuous effort that aims to reduce spending and increase the most important value for your business. It balances the company spending in order to get the best out of every penny spent. Cost optimization reduces your business costs by finding the best prices, terms, and process standards for all purchases. It also simplifies and streamlines your platforms, applications, processes, and services. Whereas cost-cutting or cost reduction is a temporary strategy that businesses deploy to deal with budget restrictions in the short term. It is typically used as an interim solution until new or additional revenue streams can be found. The cost-cutting strategy is often a significant part of a company’s overall day-to-day business. A cost reduction is usually implemented by reducing expenditures in areas that are not strategic or profitable. 

Also read: How To Spend Your Content Budget Effectively In 2022

In the past few years, marketing has transitioned from a support function to a Line function, but unfortunately, only a handful of organisations recognise this. Owing to this neglect, marketing has become one of the most vulnerable disciplines in any organisation that is first to suffer the brunt of budget cuts. Therefore, a marketer must always be on his toes, prepared for the worst! Implementing cost optimisation as a practice in marketing, instead of the last resort can help a marketer retain & conserve the resources while strategically working towards delivering marketing goals. Cost optimisation as an inclusive and sustainable practice can become a safety net for a marketer when the storm finally hits. 

Creating a robust marketing automation strategy to achieve successful cost optimization 

Image source: Freshworks 

Cost optimization is the process of increasing revenue and decreasing costs. In marketing, it could mean anything from reducing the number of emails sent to a customer to optimising the price of a product. Welcome automation! 

Also read: Tools For Marketing Cost Optimisation In 2022 

Marketing automation is an umbrella term used for all types of technology that help automate marketing processes. Marketing automation is not just a new name for an old concept. It is a new way of thinking about marketing. It has evolved from the traditional practices of email marketing, social media marketing and CRM to become a full-fledged enterprise solution that can be used for everything from customer acquisition to customer retention. Marketing automation is great because it helps automate repetitive tasks and personalizes content, and allows teams to more efficiently market their brand. It also allows you to scale marketing campaigns without needing to hire an extra team. Marketing automation will help make your workflow much faster and more organized, saving you time and effort that would otherwise be wasted on inefficient processes. 

Building a robust marketing automation strategy is a 3-step journey: 

1. Know your buyer’s journey: Every customer will have a specific journey before he/she takes the final call. Automation can be used at different stages of your sales funnel to match the customer’s decision-making stage. For example, you might want to use automation during the first contact in order to grab a lead’s attention or at the conversion point if they’re ready to buy. It’s always advisable to sit with your team and figure out what you want from automation, is it gathering leads? Or is it educating new leads about your brand or services? Or is it engagement or retention that you are targeting through automation?
2. Set your goals: Goals are nothing but ways to measure your efforts. Once the roadmap has been crafted, it’s now time to set up cameras to monitor your progress. It’s essential to have objectives and benchmarks when deciding on different types of automation. You want the return on investment (ROI) to be worth it, so you are paying for the best forms of automation for your business! Remember, the goals you decide should be S.M.A.R.T i.e Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound. Refer to [1] to know more about S.M.A.R.T goals.
3. Work on optimisation: Finally, when you have some data in place, leverage it to optimise your marketing automation efforts:
   1. Frequently assess how well your automation tools are working.
   2. Be cautious of misleading numbers in vanity metrics.
   3. Acquire customer feedback (For details, refer to [2]). 

7 ways businesses have benefited from marketing automation 

Image source: Cetrix cloud services 

Today, the pace of doing things has become lightning-fast and to cope with this maddening speed, what is needed is superhuman abilities. Therefore, automation has evolved into a necessity, not just in marketing but in every sector. Marketing In Asia (M.I.A.)’s recent data indicates that most of the respondents have found value in automation with 51% saying it is fairly priced and 12% saying it is worth the price. 

Image source: MIA research report Optimising The Cost Of Digital Marketing For Businesses 

This comes because of the benefits automation had to offer. Our data revealed that one of the topmost perks (45%) of implementing marketing automation was the increase they witnessed in their marketing ROI. Next was acquiring new customers (44%) followed by lead generation and optimising productivity (39%). Some other benefits acknowledged by the participants were: improving database quality (35%), improving campaign management (31%), measuring performance (29%) and aligning marketing and sales activities (20%). 

Image source: MIA research report Optimising The Cost Of Digital Marketing For Businesses 

Conclusion – why you should consider investing in effective cost optimization with marketing automation today 

Marketing automation is a bridge between the marketing and sales team, two verticals that need to be aligned for seamless business operations. The more potential clients a marketing team reaches, the higher the chance for the sales team of closing the deals. With a marketing automation strategy & ongoing optimization efforts, you can measure and improve your ROI easily. This way, you can make more informed decisions about what will work best for your business and save time from things that won’t get you the numbers.  

Download our report to gather insights on various tools available to help you start your automation journey. 

Endnotes 

1. Marketing Budget 2022: Guide to the Cost Components in a Marketing Budget, The Strategic Allocation Model & Best Practices 
2. https://www.freshworks.com/crm/marketing/marketing-automation/strategy-blog/