Crap, is it really that time of the year again?
Every year research and insights department heads across large and small companies go thru a grueling, soul-searching ritual, starting mid summer (for most).
While the kids are out school, the weather is nice, summer vacation season is in full swing, your friends in finance are gearing up for what feels like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2017.
It first starts with an unsuspecting email to all cross-functional heads, including media, research, product, marketing, creative, etc. per your company structure. The email is seemingly benign, even laced with a dose of saccharinity only a head of Finance (or equivalent) can pull of, informing you that over the next few weeks, your department will be preparing submissions for next years budget.
You might do a double take, check your calendar and sink in your seat with the rude awakening that it’s already been 365 blissful days since the last battle…
But it often ends with interdepartmental warfare over increasingly shrinking budgets, looming prospect of change, gut-churning compromises, and the Kafka-esque pressure of doing 3 times more work, that’s 3 times more complex, in a 3 times more difficult market reality with 1/3 of the prior year’s budget and 1/3 of the team in 1/3 of the time. Oh, and, if your company is a bit progressive, you see some amount of your “traditional” research budgets shifting into things loosely named as “digital analytics” or “big data platforms” or “data infrastructure,” etc.
Ok, that may be a bit of a hyperbole in reality, but not in the emotions that are involved, especially if you’re a passionate professional who cares a lot about consumer centricity in your company. Now, if you happen to work at a company where you have that coveted “friend of the consumer” at C-Suite your feelings and experiences may be less negative, but the trend of shrinking budgets is here to stay. And that’s no bull.
Yes, it’s indeed time to compile and turn in your expected budget for 2018. The process may include a number of steps for a typical insights dept. team, which may vary but the size and industry, but my observations show that the thinking and often the accompanying emotions are quite consistent.
This is where this article turns into a nifty listicle. Yes, practical bullets, so you can more easily consume on your mobile device and act on, hopefully. Maybe even forward to peers in your team or in your predicament in other divisions, companies, etc.?
Five steps to help you survive – rather win the war if not the battle — annual budget planning
- Be proactive. Don’t wait till that time of the year to think about next year. Or rather next 5 years. While you might not know what changes are in place, your gut is right that at this rate of change, one year is really meaningless. Thinking strategically about what your company needs to build to be ready for “the day after” tomorrow is key – even if the vision for “the day after tomorrow” is fuzzy.
- Inspire your internal clients. The victories come when you have more troops sharing your vision of that victory. Don’t just ask about what research needs marketing, product, creative, etc. think they have over email or in a 30-60 min routine meeting. Typically, most teams look at what they have needed last year, and regurgitate that back +/- X% for this year. Rather, inspire them to think more strategically, building towards that “day after tomorrow” vision for the company and the role of the consumer in that world.
- Collaborate with Finance. You read that right. Financial pressures are real and here to stay. Educating and involving your partners in Finance (and beyond) should be a top priority. Going through difficult ROI conversations are sometimes the shortest way out of not losing your budgets. Here is an extra ROI tip; tap into your external partners, providers, suppliers, etc. to better understand ROI and value of projects not just at this time, but each and every time you commission a project, whether it’s a big honking tracker, another A&U installment, or 500 tactical concept tests you might do in a typical year. Good partners, who do not operate with 2007 mentality or arrogance, should ensure there is true ROI for you.
- Engage your external partners. This is beyond ROI in #3. Yes, cost of doing business goes up annually, but tech advancements, data commoditization, explosion of provider choice, should put help more effectively manage cost of doing research. Lastly, in this age of AI, machine learning, and shiny objects, don’t forget something simple… human creativity and imagination. Are there more creative or imaginative solutions for the traditional methods that you and your company has become used to? Heck, why not hack a little?
- Develop a research and insights framework. This involves a little more honest and maybe challenging introspection. Are you researching your own research? If your team is asked to do the same project over and over again, or a large proportion of your spend is on repetitive tactics due to lack of foundational insights, then there might be an opportunity to build a unique consumer insights framework for your team and company. An actual framework will facilitate intelligent management of not just research dollars, but rather the impact of your work within the broader enterprise. You do want your team’s hard work to have impact, right?
Of course, there is a lot more to annual budget planning or budget management. But we hope you still have some time to act on some of these ideas this year. Are they helpful? Let us know. Oh, and as a shameless plug, check out some our special “client empathy” services on many of these client-side topics, like how to do ROI, etc.
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