Part 2: Navigating Corporate Marketing Budgets In Today’s Economy

What would you do if you knew that cutting your marketing budget during tough times could actually harm your business more than help it? Join Ann-Marie and Tanya from Left Turn Strategy on this episode of the Turning Left Podcast as we explore the challenging realities faced by marketing directors and small teams in corporate companies during economic downturns. 

We'll break down why it's crucial to establish a strong digital presence that operates like an always-on sales machine and the importance of keeping your data systems up-to-date for smarter decision-making. Plus, we'll share some actionable insights on why maintaining your marketing budget can be a game-changer, even when business is slow, and how partnering with experts like us can help you navigate these turbulent times effectively.

We do agency differently - visit https://leftturnstrategy.com/ 

Reach out to Tanya Garcia on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/tanya-garcia-15521612 

Reach out to Ann-Marie Burton on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ann-marie-burton/

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:01

This is Anne-Marie and Tanya from Left Turn Strategy, and you're listening to the Turning Left Podcast.

Speaker 2: 0:07

The show that challenges traditional marketing by keeping things candid and cost effective for growing businesses.

Speaker 1: 0:13

Follow, like and subscribe for our unfiltered take and to keep us close. Good morning Tanya.

Speaker 2: 0:21

Good morning Anne-Marie.

Speaker 1: 0:22

How are you today? I am great. We just recorded part one of this podcast and now we're recording part two.

Speaker 2: 0:29

On to part two. So as a reminder, anne-marie, what is this podcast about and who are we speaking to today, specifically as part of part two.

Speaker 1: 0:38

We are specifically talking to our friends and clients and prospects from corporate companies those that may be a small marketing team or marketing director of one and we do a lot of work with our corporate clients. We also do a lot of work with our small business clients. If you're a small business owner, go listen to the podcast, the other one, the first part of this podcast.

Speaker 1: 1:03

Part two is for the bigger companies and we want to talk to you specifically about kind of two topics. One is a finding things a little bit too tough to manage on your own and to this economy we're in is an interesting one and we have heard from a lot of our, our clients and prospects who are, who are dealing with the combination of finding it too difficult to manage everything on their own and, oh shoot, the implications of this economy mean perhaps it's a slower time, perhaps the lead gen or lead nurture is not what it usually is.

Speaker 2: 1:43

You're getting pulled into different directions because there's a lot of pressure, to generate leads, because it's an interesting time, or to generate revenue. You know, if it's a sales driven organization, you could be being pulled or asked about a lot of ideas and you just need help, kind of navigating right now, right? I? Just want to jump in there.

Speaker 1: 2:08

Yeah, I think that's a really super fair point, and sometimes that's tricky to pull all that stuff together If you're a solo person on the team or you have a small team or a more junior team or whatever and you need you need some some support to answer those questions Also, you might need you need some some support to answer those questions correct. Also, you might be being pulled into some meetings to answer some questions that you don't know the answers because things aren't set up.

Speaker 1: 2:33

Yeah that's also a possibility, yeah, um, so why don't we talk about that? Actually that topic on digital ecosystem, so what? Would it need to be set up properly so that you can answer, you can pull quick reports and you can give some answers to the stakeholders who are asking you. Who might be pointing at the marketing team and saying, hey, there's a change here. Can you please explain? Yes, Agreed.

Speaker 2: 2:58

Yeah, so let's. I guess the first term and we talked a little bit about this in the first podcast, or part one of the podcast is kind of systems in place or a digital ecosystem. So when we're talking to our marketing directors of one and you know in particular, they may have a sales team on the ground or a smaller team what we aim to do, and really what everyone should aim to do now when we talk about marketing digitally, is to replicate what has worked for you on the ground when you've sold or converted business, and create a digital ecosystem or a digital journey that your prospective clients and clients can walk through, as we will sometimes say when you're sleeping at night, but not technically when you're sleeping. But we want to create an always on scenario where, if someone tries to find you or they've had a conversation that they can very simply find you online, we capture them with relevant information, get them to do something, get them to provide maybe some additional information so we can follow back up and really further nurture them through the journey, pass that information maybe over to the sales team, so it's more of a qualified lead that will help them convert at the end of the day.

Speaker 2: 4:20

So to Anne-Marie, what you were just saying is, in some cases there's sophisticated actually systems in place but what might not be happening because there's not a lot of time sometimes in a day is really looking at the data and the insights to help you make decisions.

Speaker 2: 4:39

Times in a day is really looking at the data and the insights to help you make decisions. Or in a lot of cases, there was a system that was put in place maybe five years ago and it needs to be changed and or updated, or even in some cases, there is no system in place to even gather insights. So, wherever you are, it's all very reasonable and we work with individuals who are wherever on that spectrum. But what we say during a time like this, where it's interesting and things feel and look differently, is to use it as an opportunity to tweak and change, update, level up in areas that likely have been in the back of your mind. But now is the best time to do it so that when things do start moving again, you have actually put some checks and balances in to really help you make smart decisions smarter it's not like you're not making smart decisions, but smarter, more insightful decisions going forward.

Speaker 1: 5:38

Yeah, it's absolutely good. I also think our corporate clients have stakeholders. In our other podcast we talked about owner-operated Well, they are the stakeholder, so if things are not going well, they can look at themselves In a corporate situation. There may be answers that you need to provide and sometimes people asking don't realize how you get those answers either. So everything you said is critically important.

Speaker 1: 6:13

Yes, also, I think there is a time to when there's pressure in the market. That's when you also need to advocate to retain the budget for marketing. It is one of the most commonly slashed budgets when things are slow. But it's counterintuitive because you could be spending and that doesn't mean it could. You could be spending in active places or in preparation place that there's a whole bunch of um areas and I think that's where a partner like Left Turn can come in to help provide some counsel and suggestions based on our experience what makes the most sense, what will be? You know what are some of the more profitable or more successful areas to spend on and where could you make some cuts versus just a cross off the whole line and then realize, oh my gosh, next quarter, when the needle didn't move and we didn't put any money there. That's not a good place. So you want to continue to be active in some capacity, whether it is, like you said, auditing, improving or implementing.

Speaker 2: 7:17

That's right. That's right. And I think the biggest discussion we're having now is I think you said it really well is the cut in the budget is usually you know, top of line, bottom line, like I'm just going to cut X amount, where the discussion we're having with our clients is okay. If that is a requirement and reasonable, we understand that. Let's take a look at you know what is in market, what is happening, what is working, what is generating kind of the against the KPIs you have and you need versus across the board.

Speaker 2: 7:54

And if you have data a lot of cases it's been there but no one's had a chance to look at it it's very easy for us to go in and very simply put some recommendations and we have tools that we use that allow us to do that very efficiently and quickly.

Speaker 2: 8:09

And then in some cases it's maybe taking some of that money to invest a little bit into a system that would allow you to get some results, to make those decisions, and in all cases it sets you up for kind of a stronger go forward, which is really what you know we all have to think about. We're in that scenario. I mean we're more in the owner operator, but I mean really, I mean we're more in the owner operator, but I mean really, I mean that's the scary part for all of us, right, it's what's the right thing to do right now, while we kind of wait out this interesting time in the economy. And. But I guess and the point is, don't take your foot off the gas. You may need to let up a little bit, but there's some things that you definitely need to continue doing or do differently to set you up for the next phase.

Speaker 1: 9:00

Yeah, I'm going to talk about another topic that we've heard a lot about. Again, it's been almost five years since COVID. When the business is slow, what do corporations do? They always look in the past and say, well, what worked before? Well, five years ago. I mean, a digital ecosystem has changed dramatically over the last five years. But if you go back to 2019, what were a lot of corporations doing?

Speaker 1: 9:27

Trade shows, meetings, those conferences, that type of thing. A lot of companies are going back to that because we can, maybe it worked in the past and they haven't been able to do them in the last few years because things have been on hold. So we've had clients come back. We haven't done this for five years. I need a trade show booth. I need, I need some signage, I need a speech written, I need, you know, new whatever all the collateral that's required, and we haven't done it for five years and maybe the team isn't even in place anymore, like. So that's a kind of a rebirth piece that we've helped many people with, from you know, small pull up banners to a complete and that beautiful massive trade show booth we did for Schneider Electric. That was amazing.

Speaker 1: 10:15

I mean, there's all kinds of opportunities we can help with. So that's also something just to put out there. If we're going back to some of the old tactics, more traditional tactics, Left Turn can help in those areas as well. Absolutely.

Speaker 2: 10:30

Absolutely Okay. So that was our second marketing director of one needs to still or smaller team needs to generate leads or bring in, continue to support and bring in business. Times have changed. What are the things we can do? I think a conversation with us to just kind of look at what's in place. That's really what we'll look at, what's worked for you in the past, what's in place, you know what's your strategic areas of focus, and let's have a conversation and kind of break it down for you quickly and easily and get a path forward.

Speaker 1: 11:08

This is actually kind of some of our favorite conversations, because when it's like a puzzle, yes so yeah, it is it's a puzzle, so how? Okay? Great, let us have a fresh perspective and provide some of that um insight, and and a conversation is always easy to have, so please reach out to tanya or emory a left turn, and we'd love, we'd love to talk to more corporate clients. We can share with you some of our experiences with our current clients and tell you more about that, because the experience is varied.

Speaker 2: 11:41

Yes, and we've done a lot of cool stuff, for sure.

Speaker 1: 11:45

So it's a right choice for a left turn Right choice for a left turn.

Speaker 2: 11:49

Right time, especially today, now, in today's economy, right time. I mixed it up, anyway. Anyway, did you we'll?

Speaker 1: 11:56

see if any of the audience members caught that I know I need lunch all right every okay, have a good day for more on what we chatted about today.

Speaker 2: 12:09

Check out the show notes and don't forget to follow for notifications on future turning left episodes. You can also connect with us on LinkedIn, facebook or Instagram at Left Turn Strategy.