The troubled economy is forcing corporate leaders to reevaluate their spending plans across the board, and marketing is not exempt. In fact, marketing is often first in line for cuts as corporate leaders attempt to identify immediate cost reductions that may take longer to achieve in other areas.

In reducing marketing budgets, management faces difficult questions: How much is too much? Are we trading off long-term brand building, which may be acceptable in the current climate, or are we damaging our ability to drive revenue in the current period? Making these choices is particularly difficult if the marketing team lacks a systematic method of marketing spending and a proven method to link marketing spending to business outcomes.

The reality is that in this economy, budget cuts may well be necessary to survive. Few can wait to generate better information, and most don’t have to. In this Aquent-sponsored AMA webcast, Fred Geyer, a partner at Prophet, will outline how businesses can use their existing intelligence to address five tough questions and rigorously guide how best to reduce and reallocate their budgets in difficult times. Some of the questions Fred will help answer include:

• Do you have complete inventory of your growth investments, and can you identify waste (or inefficient spending)?
• Do your investments change your customers’ buying behavior?
• Are your investments focused on customers’ barriers to buying your brand?
• Do you have the right mix of marketing levers among your investments?
• Do you have a system to support “winners” and cut “losers”?

Don’t miss this free American Marketing Association webinar from Aquent. Register for Making Marketing Smarter Amidst the Cuts.