More and more marketing department are really starting to feel the crunch of the economy. Business has slowed down, layoffs have left your department looking like swiss cheese and as you sit there at your desk wondering how you can maintain your online PR and branding with a 30% budget cut you ponder if you should run for the hills or put on your boots in get in the trenches.
Many marketing managers and industry executives are faced with the daunting task to keep things moving despite recent set backs. There is still hope to keep your company message alive. One thing that many of us have now is a bargaining chip. If you are feeling the pain of what is occurring then chances are so are your vendors that you might outsource many of your efforts to. Make an effort to place some phone calls and see if you can get distribution costs for cheaper. With so many companies scraping for new business right now chances are they might just go for it. Don’t get to greedy or they might slam the door in your face.
Now is also the time to analyze your existing teams strengths and weaknesses. Find out what everyone is really good at. You might find that you have an employee that has been itching their whole life to become a writer. Put together a group meeting and have everyone write down what they feel their strengths and weaknesses are in the workplace and you might stumble upon some hidden gems that have been sitting right under your nose for the last nine months. You might find out that you have been outsourcing copy writing and there has been a writer that can just as easily accomplish the task at a much reduced cost. Often times you will have employees that are just to shy to come forward and offer a helping hand for fear of loosing their already loosely hanging job so its up to you as a team leader to find these abilities in the people sitting around you. By shaving off costs in one area you can reallocate funds into another area and keep your online PR and branding efforts moving strong through troubled waters.
