A wise man once said that with great power comes great responsibility, and this is especially true for CMOs. For most marketers, the goal is to be in that position of power, where you’re controlling every aspect of your company’s marketing spending.
But, with that responsibility comes expectations. To meet those expectations, you’ll need to carefully consider each aspect of your marketing plan, where you’re spending money, and what kind of return you’re getting on each campaign.
As an astute marketer, you’ll want to monitor every aspect of your company’s marketing carefully, and that includes the small factors you may not have considered in the past. Today, we’re going to take a closer look at some lesser-known factors that can have a profound effect on your marketing budget.
1. Changing Regulations
One often overlooked factor that can have a profound effect on your marketing budget are the regulations in other countries where your brand has a presence. Take for example the recent legislation that was passed throughout the EU that required all websites operating in Europe to get users to opt-in for cookies before they were able to track them.
This change in legislation left many marketers scrambling to remain compliant with the new laws, and caused a strain on quite a few budgets. You’ll want to always make sure you’re abreast of any changes in the landscape not only in your home country but abroad as well.
2. Changes to Google’s Algorithm
In the past, changes to Google’s search algorithm were fairly well publicized. These days, Google tends to keep their cards a bit closer to their chest. As a result, it can be hard to know if Google has implemented, or is planning to implement any new changes in the near future.
This is something you’ll want to keep a close eye on since it can have a profound effect on search engine marketing, especially if you’re focused on SEO. Of course, knowing about these changes won’t stop them from coming, but it will make it easier to adapt without squandering your marketing budget in the process.
3. Changes to Facebook’s Algorithm
Just like Google, Facebook is constantly changing the way the site works to improve the user experience. Often, these changes can have a profound effect on publishers, brands, and individuals as well.
By staying up to date on these changes, you’ll be able to avoid being blindsided when one of the changes inevitably affects the content you’re creating and sharing. Plus, there are times where these changes present big opportunities for savvy brands who are looking to increase their reach on the platform.
Fortunately, Facebook has always been relatively forthcoming about any changes to their algorithm, so it’s easy to know what’s coming, and how you can adapt to the change.
4. Social and Cultural Factors
In the past, this was practically a non-issue. But in today’s business world, many social and cultural factors may have an impact on your overall business as well as your marketing budget. These factors can include things such as consumer activism, demographic changes among your target customers and even political issues, as we see right now with companies like Keurig and Papa John’s.
While sometimes these factors cannot be accounted for until it’s too late, they do represent important issues which can affect a company on the whole as well as your marketing budget.
5. Internal Changes
What’s going on internally can have a significant impact on your marketing budget. This can include major things, such as an IPO, merger, bankruptcy or other massive shift in how your company does business.
It can also include things on a much smaller scale. For example, losing a member of your team whose skillset allows you to achieve specific goals outlined in your marketing plan. Or, planning for budget increases during key promotional times throughout the year.
Usually, these kinds of factors allow you ample time to amend your marketing plan, but you’ll still want to monitor any internal changes closely to ensure you’re ready for any impact they may have.
6. External Changes
On the opposite side of the spectrum, you’ll need to factor in any external changes that may affect your marketing budget. This can include factors like seasonality, changes in consumer trends, and changes in our world at large.
Some of these factors require you to think on the fly and implement changes in real time at a moment’s notice. While it’s tough to plan for many of these external changes, they present opportunities as well. In general, you’ll want to be vigilant in spotting any external changes that may affect your business, so you’re in the best position to solve any new problems that are presented to you.
