As the first year of Covid closes, what have we learned? What will we do again when the pandemic tamps down, and what will never come back? While we have our own lived experience, what does the broader data tell us about budget allocation?
Marketing. Some organizations that did in-person sales, trade shows and travel, realized a huge surplus from the shutdown last year and this went to keep other parts of the organization going, or dropped to the bottom line. What is your plan for this year? How will you reach customers now? Many companies moved that money to digital marketing and this allocation may be permanent. Check out this article on digital marketing by Marc Emmer to go deeper.
IT and Systems. It is not just marketing that got more attention last year. IT and systems/procedures improvements were a huge focus as we went home and communicated on line. As we begin to think about life after the pandemic, many people don’t want to go back to the office and the IT investments have made that possible. Further, many companies can save big bucks giving up their leases. And they can get the best talent for their niche nationally, or globally, not just in Silicon Valley, L.A or N.Y.
If you are not spending at least 3% of your budget on IT, you will be continually falling behind the companies in your industry that are probably spending closer to 6%. The good news this year is that we all were forced to implement 3 years of adjustments in the second quarter of 2020. Aren’t we all glad we got through that?
Communication. The data tells us that companies that cared about their team, listened, communicated clearly, and found ways to support their customers did better.
If you just continue to focus on these 3 things this year, we expect you to get superior results. Let’s track the data and see.
image courtesy of protocol.com