How to Secure Your Marketing Budget

Negotiating budgets is always a delicate process, especially when you’re strict about what funds your marketing strategy needs to make a difference. Whether you are able to speak directly to your Managing Director (MD) or have to go through someone else, it can be a difficult and sometimes awkward scenario.

But securing the right level of funding for your department can make the difference between success and failure for your marketing strategy. So how can you convince those higher up that marketing is a sound place to invest?

Context is key

For your MD, marketing may just be another department in the company and funds are limited. This means they have to make hard decisions about which areas can continue to have the same level of support.

To make sure yours it at the top of the list, you need to give them context. You'll need to demonstrate how marketing brings more value to the business as a whole. One of the best ways to do this is to provide evidence of how previous campaigns have helped reach company goals.

This may be by driving more traffic to your website, increasing conversions or raising brand awareness, all of these are key factors in a business' overall success. Doing this will help your marketing plans fit into the wider context of the company, getting them invested in your goals.

Present them with figures

MDs and decision makers are interested in figures so you need to present them with numbers they can understand. This can be difficult if you feel your results are being restricted by a lack of funds but there are plenty of statistics that show the potential of marketing if you invest in it.

Of course, it's much better if you can have figures from your own campaigns, but anything you can get to prove that marketing can help realize business goals will be of use. This will allow you to show that marketing is a science, something that can deliver proven results, not a wishy-washy area where you just hope for the best.

Prioritize your personas

Personas are something that impact every area of business, meaning your MD is likely to be confident talking about them. This makes it a great area to discuss in relation to your marketing strategy for the future. Identify the ways your customers will react to your business, what they value the most, and how your goals can help to realize these.

If you're able to link a key persona and your business goals with the marketing you are doing, your pitch is likely to be a major success.