You’ve got a clear vision for your brand, but there’s a problem. Your marketing budget is a lot smaller than you’d prefer.

It’s a situation many businesses find themselves in as they balance producing quality assets with making every buck count as they do it.

And we’ve got good news for you. You can do a lot with a little if you have a plan.

We’re going to help you figure out which design deliverables to focus on first and how our team works with you to maximize your budget.

Rethinking your priorities

When you’ve got an endless list of campaign deliverables, what’s the first thing you should do if your funds are limited?

Rank each deliverable in order of importance.

Your company’s marketing and sales materials and their design should always stem from the objectives you’re trying to reach. So, with this in mind, strategy leads, and design follows.

Doing this forces you to zoom out and identify which of those materials will make the most impact on your business now. If you can determine the asset(s) needed to meet your business goals, it reduces the odds of pouring money into the ones that won’t be as effective in the short term.

Here’s what we recommend to figure it out.

Step 1- Revisit your goals and audience

Since we just talked about business goals, do you know what yours are?

We always encourage clients to keep their objectives and strategy at the forefront. In addition, before even thinking about design, we would also advise that you have a solid understanding of your audience.

There are a few questions we suggest asking yourself as thought starters so you can determine which assets to work on first.

• What are your top objectives over the next 3–6 months?
• Are you looking to launch a new product, build brand awareness, or boost conversions from an existing marketing funnel?
• Where is your audience most likely to encounter your marketing?

As you answer these questions, you’ll start to clarify your marketing and, thus, design priorities.

Step 2- Audit your current assets

Once you know which goals you’re working towards, it’s time to take stock of what the company has done previously, like brochures, email templates, product images, and social media graphics.

During this audit, you’ll start to notice gaps that can be filled with a new design.

Or even better, you may also discover that you don’t need to create a new asset if you can repurpose an existing one, allowing you to focus more on higher-priority deliverables.

Step 3: Identify pressing deliverables

After working through the previous steps, it’s time to nail down which design deliverables are necessary for achieving your immediate goals. Not the “would like to have.” We’re talking about the mission-critical assets that are the “must-haves” for your campaign or other initiatives.

Use these questions to help you identify your must-haves vs. nice-to-haves:

• Do you need to support a specific campaign or product launch? If so, which KPIs are you targeting?
• Do your sales or outreach teams lack effective, professional marketing materials? Are you measuring the performance of these materials?
• Is there a customer touchpoint that’s falling short (e.g., your website’s homepage, product packaging, etc.)? Why isn’t it working?
• Is there a time-sensitive event or seasonal deadline that requires new visuals? If so, what will be the most impactful assets for it?

You want to prioritize design assets that are directly linked to revenue generation, audience outreach, and building brand recognition. In turn, anything that is cool or trendy should be deprioritized unless it’s necessary for your long-term strategy.

Step 4: Map out deliverables

Now, let’s start categorizing the must-haves you’ve identified. Using a phased approach allows you to prioritize and spread out costs, making larger design deliverables more manageable.

It helps to think of them in terms of:

• Phase 1: “We need it now!” These are the must-have assets you need immediately.
• Phase 2: “This can wait, but we need it soon.” The creative in this category may not be urgent and can wait until later.
• Phase 3: “It would be nice to have eventually, but it’s not “must-have.” These are aspirational assets that can be considered when more resources become available.

Taking more of an incremental approach to your company’s marketing assets gives you the space to concentrate on the ones that provide the greatest impact.

Step 5: Bring in your creative partner

When we work with clients, our team doesn’t just execute. We’re partners with you in the creative process, helping to align your budget with the best solution for your business.

Our team accurately estimates the time and cost for your prioritized deliverables. We help you avoid overspending on low-impact items that won’t move your business forward.

Prioritizing your deliverables on a budget

Even if your budget isn’t the biggest, it’s still possible to communicate with your customers without skimping on design quality. We like to think of it as a challenge that encourages creativity in different ways, allowing you to focus on the assets that will work the hardest for the business.

By prioritizing a few high-quality assets that directly support your objectives, you can maximize your budget. As we like to say, strategy-first creative always wins, no matter the budget size.

And when you partner with us, we bring this energy to every project.