As the financial year draws to a close, some businesses find themselves with unspent budgets. Instead of letting these funds go to waste, you can leverage them to strengthen your business and prepare for the year ahead. Here are four strategic ways to utilise your unspent budget effectively.
2. Boost Your Marketing Efforts
There’s still plenty of time to drive business growth in this financial year. So use unspent funds to boost and strengthen your marketing campaigns. It could be adding more assets to keep the campaign fresh, or buying additional media for greater reach and frequency. If you don’t have a campaign in the market, look at what you’ve done in the past year and see what you can reuse and put back into the market. Remember this is a great time to be in front of customers as they too may have unspent budget or want to set themselves up for the new year.
If a campaign isn’t an option then consider conducting market research to understand how you can reach new customers and re-engage existing ones. Or use the money to invest in refreshing your brand, templates or even updating your website.
2. Prepare for Future Marketing Investment
In today’s dynamic market, a robust, forward-thinking strategy is essential. Looking ahead and planning for the future allows you to prepare for both challenges and opportunities. We recommend that you create a marketing strategy at least every two years, so that you can account for the market, customer and regulatory changes. Then support this with an annual or six-monthly action plan. A Strategy will enable you to effectively target and engage your audience, boost brand awareness, drive sales, and ensure sustainable growth. It may also be pertinent to consider the value of external expertise; a marketing consultant can offer fresh insights and ensure competitiveness.
3. Upgrade Your MarketingTech
Technology is evolving rapidly, and staying updated can be a game-changer for your business operations. Utilising the end-of-year budget to upgrade outdated software or other critical marketing infrastructure can enhance efficiency and productivity. Whether it’s investing in new software subscriptions, design and production equipment or improving your cyber security measures, these marketing tech upgrades can significantly impact your business’s operational success.
4. Invest in Developing Your Teams’ Marketing Skills
Utilising your unspent budget to invest in the professional development of your team can have a profound impact. Consider financing additional training sessions, workshops, or courses that enhance their skills and knowledge. Not only will you help to improve employee satisfaction and retention, but it will also equip your team with the latest industry insights and techniques, ultimately benefiting your business’s productivity and innovation.
“Utilising your unspent budget effectively isn’t just about spending money – it’s about making strategic investments that propel your business forward. At We Are Savvy, we believe that every dollar you spend on marketing should be an investment, enhancing your operational efficiency and team performance.”
Caroline Healy, CEO of We Are Savvy.
The end of the financial year presents a unique opportunity to make thoughtful decisions on how to best utilise unspent budget. By investing in marketing with actions such as skills development, technology upgrades, or planning for your FY25 marketing activities, you can strengthen your business’s foundation, drive growth, and prepare for a successful FY25.
Please get in touch via hello@wearesavvy.com.au to talk about how we can help your marketing sparkle in FY25.