The impact of budget reallocation to make significant digital changes.

Agreeing and finalising budgets can be a lengthy process, and knowing how and where to distribute marketing spend (or any spend for that matter) can sometimes be a tough task. The important aspect is that we must remain flexible to allow for times of change, like these.

With a challenge for 2024 to be the year of digital transformation for our client Plumbs, the agreed budgets were signed off and approved by the client/board. The actual challenge for us was going to be maintaining marketing efforts where possible alongside completing a big-scale project to better us in the long run, and essentially, putting business as usual on pause to spend the budget more appropriately.

To make improvements for the future and provide additional longevity, we agreed there was the want and need to reallocate the budget by front-loading and combining multiple services to allow for a business-critical project to be carried out.

Why was there a need for a reallocation?

The project was both time-sensitive and essential to making future gains and progress. Albeit the reallocation meant that we would take the risk of reducing short-term gains, however, the pros would massively outweigh the cons. The website platform in question was rigid and close to being not fit for purpose. We re-platformed the clients’ website from Laravel to WordPress to make the site more flexible and easier to build future developments, making ongoing work more affordable and more efficient for everyone involved.

So, what did we do?

Door4 initially proposed a replatform to the client to move on to more suitable software. Along the way, we massively improved the general functionality of the site and improved the ease of using the site from both a front-end and back-end perspective. 

In order to allocate budget to the project, the proposition was to front-weight the clients’ budget towards the first 3 months of the year. This meant that we would put on pause the standard, business-as-usual plans to allow for the team to focus on the project. In turn, we used the budget to work on all aspects of the site right through from Design to Development to technical SEO.

Considering the potential impacts…

By carefully considering both the potential benefits and drawbacks and focusing on strategic investments, reallocating budgets towards meaningful digital changes can be a powerful driver of growth and success for any organisation.

This project ultimately means that the costs the client will incur down the line will be significantly less as it will be simpler to make the required changes. This means that we can reapportion the budget if necessary and use this in a smarter way to make strategic improvements on the account. 

Where we’re at now…

A careful plan post the 3 months of spend means that the combined costs of all 4 services (SEO, Content, CRO and Development) resumed when expected, meaning we can now continue making incremental gains across the board.

By allocating resources to initiatives that directly address the goals of contributing to lead generation and provide a strong return on investment, adjusting the monthly budgets for this client was definitely an investment with some short-term momentum loss for long-term gains.

The re-platforming work that Door4 have carried out has made a significant improvement to our internal processes and customer journey. Through the excellent insights Door4 provide on consumer behaviour, we can update our website easily and best establish a thorough CRO and SEO plan moving forward that will ultimately drive greater web conversion and improve our customer experience.

Sophie Page, Digital Brand Manager, Plumbs

 

Author: Amy Parker, Account Manager, Door4