Marketing budgets are most at risk during the economic slump.  Gartner, Inc., an information technology research and advisory firm, has proposed six marketing processes that can be automated to drive revenue and cut costs, maximizing marketing budgets and Return on Investments (ROIs).

According to Kimberly Collins, managing vice president at Gartner (News - Alert), “Blindly cutting marketing budgets during an uncertain economy will impair a company’s ability to retain and grow its customers, now, as well as when the market returns to more stable growth.”

 

“By aligning both investment and cost reductions in the right way, organizations will be best positioned to come through today’s trying economic times,” added Collins.

 

Gartner has recommended and categorized these processes into two main sections. Three of the processes, customer retention management, lead management and online marketing, for driving revenue; and the other three , creative production management, marketing fulfillment and financial management to improve accountability and cut costs.

The processes are, Retention Management which suggests retention of high-value customers.

Retaining high value or potential high-value customers is essential in difficult economic times.

The second process is Lead Management. Companies can improve lead quality and ensure higher conversion rates by sales. Gartner advocates leveraging marketing insights, such as using marketing data and content to augment leads prior to sending them to sales.

 

Online Marketing, the third process, is a way to reach customers and helps measure marketing ROI. Gartner advises companies to identify and prioritize three to four online marketing initiatives and measure marketing ROI, increasing budget programs for those delivering high ROI.

 

Creative Production Management is the fourth one. Automating creative production or product launches reducing time to market and improves resource allocation and efficiency, cutting marketing costs. A marketing resource management (MRM) module for creative production management can incorporate calendaring, tasks, project management, business rules and workflow.

 

The fifth process from Gartner is Marketing Fulfillment, where Marketing fulfillment solutions provide 24/7 access to collaterals via portal, print-on-demand and procurement capabilities, helping companies save on paper, shipping and physical storage costs.

 

The sixth process is Financial Management, where, improving marketing’s accountability is required to convince the finance department of the value of marketing’s programs. Gartner suggests creating a standard set of planning, budgeting and financial management processes for the marketing organization that, in turn, include processes for monitoring and alerting, thus allowing for ongoing financial management and reallocation of funds.