Surviving with an Extremely Tight Budget
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There are cutbacks, and then there are slashes. Many of my readers have told me about the serious difficulties they face: One-person hospital marketing departments that also run the gift shop and support the volunteers. Hospitals serving a very poor community and facing severe state cutbacks. Imminent takeovers by larger systems.
The question I often hear is, "How can I ask for marketing money when we can barely care for our patients?"
There are many steps you can take to strengthen your marketing work, and not all of them involve spending more money: - Don't accept the belief that nothing can be done. Unless you are in bankruptcy court, resources can be found, with the right strategies.
- Get to know the people in finance. Take them for a cup of coffee. Learn what they are looking for, what concerns them. Their perspective should be useful in planning your budget or requesting additional funds.
- Be your own efficiency expert. For two weeks, track the hours you dedicate to writing a press release or a newsletter. Are you surprised to learn that it is taking you five hours to do something that you think should only take two?
- Identify the one task that you really hate. The cost of energy and morale can be significant. Can you trade this task with someone else? Does the task really have to be done? Is there an alternative to this task?
- Put together a proposal that shows the costs and the return on investment for a project. Underline not only the financial soundness of your proposal, but also the ways in which it will benefit the organization as a whole. Make an eloquent case!
Contact me if you'd like to talk things over. I'm at 617.489.1834, or send me an email.
See you in August!
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