One of the most frustrating things for marketing teams is waiting for senior sign-off. You know what the best strategy is to grow your company, however, you lack the final sign-off on the budget. This has been an increasing problem for marketing teams over the past year. The cost of living crisis and the media focus it has gained have meant companies have been cautious with spending. Furthermore, marketing teams have been streamlined. Before, employees were already rushed but with the reduced departments there isn’t time to continuously chase senior teams for their buy-in to projects. Unfortunately, I am unable to wave a magic wand that makes your leaders sign off all the plans you’d like to enact. However, from speaking to senior leaders I can share some of the reasons why your management is hesitating to give you the go-ahead for your marketing activities.
Leaders are risk-averse right now. They want to mitigate the risk to their company which means investing in third-party marketing costs is at the bottom of their lists. You need to showcase how you’ve mitigated risk. Provide customer testimonials from any third parties you’d like to partner with.
If you’re suggesting a lengthy contract commitment, this is likely a huge reason why your senior teams are avoiding approving your budget. Times remain uncertain with global and national economies still recovering from the pandemic. Furthermore, although market prices have begun to stabilise, inflation continues. The long chain from materials to consumer means that price reductions haven’t been passed on yet. The UK has been hit hardest by the economic instability with the highest continued inflation and joint lowest GDP growth compared to other rich nations, as reported by the BBC. The continued uncertainty of the continuing effects of Brexit serves as another uncertainty British business leaders must consider.
Secure your senior leader's buy-in by providing an option with a shorter contract length. Ideally, your plans will be forward-thinking. However, by securing a shorter-term initial investment you can convince your leaders of the impact of the marketing activation leading to a longer-term buy-in.
Another point of your proposal that is likely holding your management back is the high cost. As a marketer, you want a large budget. You’ve watched enviously at the Barbie marketing team and the enormous budget they must have had and dreamt of what you could achieve with the same investment. However, let’s be realistic. You are much more likely to secure the initial commitment from management if you have a lighter investment requirement.
At Lem-uhn, we understand the difficulties marketers are facing. In October, we introduced three partnership options to meet your needs depending on your budget and aims. We also have the option for new customers to take advantage of a three-month initial contract. We work with you from the start as a partner helping you to secure your management team’s investment.
PR is notoriously difficult to showcase the proof of the ROI. Unlike other forms of marketing, we don’t have the data to showcase the direct investment and return. This is largely due to the multiple tasks that PR achieves: SEO, sales, education on why your company is needed by your customers, in-bedding messaging in consumers ’ minds, long-term customer acquisition, and brand trust and value, to name a few. However, due to the close relationships and trust we have with our clients, we have access to Google Analytics which showcases some direct sales and SEO results we achieve. Want to see some examples? Shoot us a message and we can send you some.
If this resonates with you and you want to work with an agency that puts you first to make a partnership work for you and your team, you can book a free PR Strategy Audit with us. We’ll analyse your strategy and suggest how it could be optimised to reach this audience and convert to sales while also securing sign-off from your senior management.
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