Top considerations when setting your 2025 prospecting budget
Whether it fills you with joy or an ominous sense of dread, for many Marketing Directors it’s that time again… budget setting season. The UK is still feeling the pinch of the economic downturn, and that means you’ll no doubt be under pressure to – like a corporate David Blaine – somehow conjure more ROI from less money. Ta-da.
You’re not alone. Marketing Week’s State of B2B Marketing shows that, over the past 12 months, 59% of B2B marketers have been asked to deliver more with fewer resources. And that many are having to cope with team restructures (42%) and find ways to hit challenging new targets (41%).[1]
So while we can’t do actual magic, here are a few considerations when budget-setting – particularly around B2B prospecting – that might help the pennies work harder.
Testing, testing, 1 2 3…
When times are tough, it’s tempting to cut back on testing, innovation and experimentation when seeking new accounts, in favour of keeping business as usual ticking along. But doing so is not only devoid of razzle dazzle… it can be detrimental to your results in the longer term.
McKinsey research suggests that innovation is a key path to not only long-term value creation, but resilience and the ability to weather uncertainty. In fact, “as disruption increases, business as usual becomes riskier than innovation”.[2]
So how do you experiment to stay ahead and keep the stage lights on? Trying small-scale pilots of new channels (like our personal fave, direct mail, where a run of just 10 personalised pieces can generate serious return) could give you the opportunity to gather more prospect intent data and optimise performance without a large financial commitment.
Teamwork makes the dream work
These days, staffing challenges are twofold. Not only are marketers dealing with restructures and reduction in resource, but rising staffing overheads are adding even more budgetary challenge: 66% of UK businesses say labour costs are the most prominent pressure.[3]
While we can’t quite recommend sawing team members in half to double resource for free, there is another trick up your sleeve. Making the relationship between sales and marketing more seamless and effective can improve efficiencies when targeting new business.
Consider reallocating part of your budget towards initiatives that support this alignment, like an Account Based Marketing approach that focuses on the sales team’s top 10 hot prospects. By supporting the sales team, you strengthen the cross-functional relationship and also reap the benefits of the increased ROI. “We couldn’t have done it without marketing’s help!” When you and your sales leaders are aligned on where the effort is required and are working in tandem towards the same goals, you avoid duplication of effort and wasted spend – and help sales to generate maximum results.
This helps answer the age-old question too: should you fill your funnel with as many prospects as possible, or take a more targeted 1:1 or 1:few approach? Of course this partly depends upon your business model and whether you rely on volume to deliver your revenue. But in an environment where you’re pressured to deliver, ROI is more likely found with the leads that are closest to conversion – those your sales team have already identified as having the most intent. And proactive sales support backing the programme makes it more likely to succeed.
Let it go, let it go…
Now for the part you feared was coming… kill your darlings. To borrow a phrase from the world of literature, this means scrapping that much-beloved character in favour of making the overall story better.
One of the hardest things for any marketing leader to do is cut projects that aren’t delivering, particularly if you’ve already invested time and money in it. But clinging to underperforming campaigns because they’re already in motion is a classic case of the sunk cost fallacy: the congnitive bias where we refuse to abandon a strategy because we’ve invested in it, even when doing so would actually be more beneficial.
So it’s time to peek behind the curtain, ruthlessly assess your portfolio and determine what’s driving real value. Don’t be afraid to drop initiatives that aren’t generating or converting leads (yes, even if they were your idea…) and double down on projects that have the potential for the greatest ROI.
We couldn’t go a whole blog without mentioning it…
AI. There, we said it. Everyone and their mother in marketing is thinking about it. The State of B2B Marketing survey shows that 57% of respondents think understanding AI is the most important skill for B2B marketers going forward. Even more than understanding data (54%) or cross-functional collaboration (48%).[4]
As AI speeds towards world domination, many CMOs and Marketing Directors are hoping it will be the silver bullet to reducing costs and economising. And while it can certainly help release the burden of boring administrative tasks (goodbye, meeting summaries!), it’s a mistake to think of it only as a cost-cutting tool. AI can also drive growth and leads when used strategically.
It can be used to analyse vast swathes of prospect data in seconds, optimise ad targeting, or take the faff out of personalisation. Nutella used AI to personalise an astounding 7 million unique labels based on thousands of pattern and colour combinations. Each one was printed and given an ID to authenticate it as a unique jar – like a piece of art. And they sold out in just one month. That kind of magic is only possible with AI.
But when it comes to creative decision-making, ideation and concepting, human oversight is still essential. Because of the material it’s trained on (let’s face it, the internet is a horrifying place) AI is inherently biased. Humans help to prevent bias and ensure your lead gen campaigns are grounded in sound strategy.
Are you in or out?
In-house or outsourcing… that is the question. As you’re budget setting, you’ll likely be weighing up agency in-housing to save on costs versus using external partners. And while in-housing may save on fees, it could also increase staffing costs and place additional pressure on an already-stretched internal team.
Outsourcing allows you to tap into specialised expertise, access fresh perspectives and reduce the burden on your team. The right balance will depend on your goals for 2025, but many of our clients choose to outsource specific elements of their mix – such as direct mail or Account Based Marketing – while the in-house capability is focused elsewhere. We’re essentially the hidden ace up your sleeve.
So what will 2025 hold? Happily, business investment is expected to gradually recover, as interest rate cuts and the improving growth outlook gives businesses confidence.[5] But this still means marketing leaders must make sound decisions to get the most from their budgets. By allocating funds for testing, dropping underperforming projects, and leveraging strategic partnerships, you can make your funds work harder while fostering innovation.
At The Creative Consultancy, we specialise in helping marketing teams to make every penny count, particularly through Account Based Marketing programmes that target top prospects and support sales enablement.
Get in touch if you want to know more about how the magic happens.
[1]https://www.marketingweek.com/5-interesting-stats-state-of-b2b-marketing-2024/
[2]https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/strategy-and-corporate-finance/our-insights/innovation-your-solution-for-weathering-uncertainty
[3]Business West Quarterly Economic Survey Q2/2024
[4]https://www.marketingweek.com/understanding-ai-b2b-futureproof/
[5]https://kpmg.com/uk/en/home/insights/2018/09/uk-economic-outlook.html