6 Ways For Marketing Agencies To Save Money

If you're a marketing agency, you know that most of your income comes from client projects. The more clients you have, the more money you make. That's why it's imperative to constantly be looking for ways to save money and cut costs - so that when those slow months come around, your business doesn't suffer as much as other companies would during a recession. 

We will talk about six top ideas on how marketing agencies can save money and keep their profits high. 

1. Use A Virtual Assistant 

A virtual assistant is someone who works for your company remotely. They usually do simple tasks like data entry, social media management, and blog writing - all from the comfort of their own homes. This means that you don't have to pay them an hourly wage! Instead, they work when it benefits you. That's why hiring a virtual assistant is a great way to save money and cut costs. In addition to this, they're usually very affordable and can handle just about any task that you need them to. 

2. Use Virtual Marketing Tools 

Marketing is one of the highest costs for marketing agencies. That's because you have to pay a monthly fee if you want to use some of the bigger programs, like Hubspot and Marketo. In addition to this, there are usually add-ons that cost extra money, such as custom fields or advanced reporting. This is where virtual marketing tools come in handy because they offer similar services at a fraction of the cost! 

3. Reduce Your Own Pay 

If you're the owner of a marketing agency, the chances are that you get paid more than your employees. After all, you founded the company and did all of the hard work to make it what it is today - so you deserve some reward for this! But if money is tight, reducing your pay might be a good idea. By doing this, you can reduce your salary to a certain percentage and then take that money and give it back out to the employees as raises. This is an excellent way for marketing agencies to save money because not only do they get an immediate cash injection, but their employees will be happy! 

4. Reduce Your Own Hours 

This is a very similar point to the one above, but it's worth mentioning as another way for marketing agencies to save money. You can reduce your own hours by taking on fewer clients and working from home more often. This allows you time to focus on growing your business instead of simply focusing on keeping afloat. In addition to this, it also saves money by reducing the number of clients you handle - which means that you won't be spending as much time closing deals and striking new client relationships. 

5. Use Shipping Audit Software 

While most marketing agencies aren’t doing a tremendous amount of shipping, chances are every agency is sending and receiving enough packages per year to make auditing software worth the investment. UPS and FedEx audit software helps marketing agencies save money on business shipping by providing them with tools to track their deliveries, view the status of all incoming and outgoing packages, receive notifications about any delayed or missing shipments, and more. This reduces unnecessary costs while simultaneously improving business processes - because you're aware of what's happening with your shipments at all times. 

6. Implement Process Automation 

This is one of the best ways for marketing agencies to save money because most process automation software for marketing doesn't cost you anything. Instead, it's a service that runs in the background - allowing you to do your job more effectively without spending any extra cash. This saves time and effort so that when tasks are completed, they're done so accurately and efficiently. That way, your employees can focus on high-level tasks that require more attention instead of wasting time on simple administrative duties. 

This means that marketing agencies can save money by not hiring as many people or as much support staff - which allows them to reduce the cost of their services while simultaneously improving performance levels! There's an added benefit here because using process automation software to save money reduces the cost of salaries and your marketing firm workforce.

How To Live On A Lean Budget

A survey from Gallup found that only about a third of Americans maintain a household budget. Roughly half of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck, meaning many of us have to get creative in how we shop for things like groceries, clothes, and entertainment. Living on a shoestring budget can be stressful, but it is possible with some of these creative tips to shop and make the most of what you have. 

Grocery Shopping On A Budget 

Food tends to be one of the biggest spending categories in anyone’s budget. The USDA estimates that Americans spend an average of 6% of their budget on food; 5% of income also goes to dining out. How can you stretch that grocery shopping budget to go even further? First, time your shopping trip to capitalize on sales and promos: Wednesdays: The middle of the week is often when grocers release their weekly circular. “You'll have first dibs on sale items for the week ahead and, if you're lucky, the store may still honor price reductions on items you forgot to pick up from the previous week's sale,” says one expert. 

Avoid Tuesday and weekends: Weekends tend to be busier as people shop on non-workdays. Tuesdays can also be crowded as other shoppers try to take advantage of last week’s expiring deals, and therefore sale items go quickly. 

Shop late or early: The hour before closing is when some grocers reduce prices on bakery items or produce items that won’t last until the next day. Early in the morning is also when there is less competition for sale items. Next, before you head to the store, download an app. Not just any app, but one that gives you discounts: try Food on the Table, an app that lets you type in your food preferences and then generates a list of recipe options based on current promotions at your go-to grocery store. Or try using an app that lets you retroactively apply coupons to items you purchased by scanning your receipt and claiming deals. Many grocery stores also have apps that deliver exclusive offers and digital coupons. Finally, put your dining out budget into your grocery shopping budget. A meal at a fast-food restaurant costs around $8; if you stop eating an $8 lunch every day during the workweek, you can save $40 a week ($160 a month!). 

How To Budget For An Apartment 

Rent is a big budget item for most people, and there are lots of hidden costs in budgeting for an apartment. Whether you’re on the hunt for a new lease or looking to reduce your utility costs and other apartment expenses, there are a few key things to consider when budgeting for your apartment. First, if you’re looking to sign a new lease, try to find an apartment that’s close to public transportation. Longer-term leases (a year or more) tend to be cheaper, as the landlord doesn’t have to search for a new tenant or spend on renovations as often. If there are fixes that need to be made, offer to do them yourself in exchange for a discount on the security deposit. 

If you’re in an apartment and hoping to save on utility costs, go beyond basic steps like turning off lights and turning down the heat. Think about turning off the devices that consume energy in a passive way, like your microwave and water heater that you aren’t using constantly. Winterize your apartment to cut your cooling and heating bills (winterize is a bit of a misnomer, as many of these steps can also keep your apartment cool in the summer). And, avoid running your energy-intensive appliances – washing machine, dishwasher, or dryer – during “peak hours”. Electricity companies tend to discount rates during the night when fewer people are using their grid. 

Thrift Shopping And Other Frugal Shop Ideas 

What about other expenses: clothes, gifts, and entertainment? There are creative ways to shop on a budget for these items too. Thrift shopping is an obvious choice for saving your clothing budget. Many shoppers also turn to fast-casual brands like H&M and Forever 21 – but be aware that those retailers may be more expensive in the long-term. Spending $10 on a t-shirt that lasts fewer than 10 wears is worse than spending $50 on a shirt you’ll own forever. “Unless it's practically free, you're better off buying clothing items from good brands with a reputation for well-made items,” says Frugal Finances. Look to see if clothes are well made by checking the seams and material. Seams on a good quality item will be perfectly straight, with no dangling strings; any patterns should match up well. The material should be higher-quality. Look for natural fibers and blends like wool, and avoid synthetics like polyester. 

Live On A Lean Budget

For gifts, go for something thoughtful rather than expensive. Find gifts that are unique to the recipient and require time, rather than cash. For instance, give someone the gift of time by babysitting or hiring a house cleaner. Give your family member a recipe book of meals from your childhood. 

Or, start a new tradition – holiday cookie-baking, for instance – that leads to memories rather than things. Shopping on a budget isn’t always easy. Sometimes, what you really need is a little Lift to cover a shortfall or meet a financial emergency.