“Ours is not as big as theirs.”

We hear that phrase a lot when we’re discussing marketing aspirations with clients. There’s a common misconception that if we can’t match our competitor’s spend, we can’t match their brand influence. And that’s just not the case in every circumstance. 

When it comes to marketing budgets, we definitely believe in a quality over quantity philosophy.  If your competitor spends $5,000 a month on social community growth but never engages their audience, you can easily make a stronger impact with a $500 budget and stellar engagement.  And honestly, who cares how big your social community is if they are nothing more than a number?  The whole point of a community is to influence loyalty and enthusiasm about your brand and that can only happen with an intentional and repeat connection, but that is another entirely other blog post.

If you’re a marketer that worries that your budget just isn’t big enough, consider how you can use your budget on stealthier and smarter marketing strategies that will go further than flashy videos, expensive purchased POS data, and get this: a bigger tradeshow booth!

 So just what does this “stealthy” marketing I speak of look like? Consider this: rather than only spending enormous amounts solely on data that only tells part of the story, look into building a smarter website and investing in software that will allow you to collect data on who’s visiting and ask questions to find out about what they care about. You can even dedicate a portion of your social media ad spend to gather market intelligence from your Facebook audience if you have a well-thought out ad strategy. Would you trade a larger tradeshow booth for the ability to see when and what a specific buyer from Walmart is looking at on your website?

The other piece of great news when it comes to this “stealthy” approach, is that when you start to see the results, the conversation about a bigger marketing budget only gets easier. Start by identifying what you CAN do with what you have now that will be most effective, and then think through what you will do with more money next year, the following year, and beyond. With long-term strategic planning and thinking, you only stand to win more valuable marketing dollars through your successes. 

So if you only have $500 a month to spend, and you’re asking yourself if you can even make a dent, the answer is yes.  Without a doubt, a $500 investment that is well implemented and well measured will deliver positive results for your brand every time.  Are you ready to get started? Take a look out these 5 marketing game-changers under $5,000. If you need help creating a “stealthy” marketing plan that will win you more marketing dollars over time, reach out to DMA Solutions and we would love to help.