Is your budgeting process dragging into the new year? Or, has planning fallen by the wayside while you act as a direct response shop, maximizing every marketing penny and pulling in as many new prospects as possible? Either way, it’s undeniable: Every facet of your marketing spend is important. And the success of your communications — and the return on your marketing dollars — is a telling measure.

Whether your budgetary pockets are deep or shallow compared to last year, there are plenty of ways to get smarter about your resources, and optimize them to increase your efficiency and achieve better results.

From our more than 30 years of strategic communications experience, there are five things we’ve found ourselves discussing with our clients again and again.

Okay, so these won’t sound groundbreaking, but they’ve helped frame thought processes to move the needle forward. We are sure that if you put them into fresh context, you’ll find they help you leverage the budget to strengthen your brand and acquire new clients.

Here they are:

1. Ready, Aim, Create

First, focus on the “ready” and “aim” portion of your efforts. What is the strategy? Does this project move the business forward or are there higher priorities to tackle first? How will we measure success?   Is the creative concept compelling, on-brand and will it resonate with your audience? Before creating anything, go back to the basics of asking all of the right questions.

2. Take a holistic view.

It’s just like nutrition: Both deficiencies and excesses can impact your health. If you look at your communications as a whole, you may find gaps or overlaps that mean you’re wasting resources, or worse, losing revenue opportunities.

Be critical. Instead of that massive general capabilities piece that says — and tries to do — too much, would a series of shorter Web pages or other pieces be better?  Would these items be more effective in targeting a particular customer segment, or serving a specific touch point throughout the sales process?

We ran into this in the past year with a major banking client, who found they were discarding hundreds of thousands of dollars in printed pieces. We started with a communications audit to see how all their marketing materials dovetailed with their business plan. Then, we mapped out the decision-making process of their customers against the selling process of their sales force.

Once we did this, we were able to design personalized direct mailers that drove potential clients to PURLs (personal Web pages), enabling our client to track and measure success, and generate leads for the sales force.

3. Test how well you know your audience.

The way your target audiences make buying decisions is quantifiable. Every once in a while it pays to make sure that what you think you know about your customers is still valid. Demographics can change. And purchasing psychology is always dynamic, changing with trends and events that influence sentiment.

Beyond surveys and focus groups that produce results from self-selected groups, listening software and analytics can uncover impressive insights into customer and trends into purchasing consideration and sales. Also, it’s important to realize that off-the-shelf methodology rarely works, but well-thought-out monitors supported by strong analytics are able to guide new sales paths, products and communications.

4. Integrate messages across materials, audiences and time.

In an integrated marketing system, each channel of communication supports all the others.  That means every message and item should communicate your brand attributes and core positioning, helping you acquire clients and build your brand.

We recommended a single positioning and umbrella messaging strategy for one of our international clients that was facing slowing growth and an evolving brand. This involved thinking about which long-term messages would be most useful, build the brand and help them acquire new clients. All subsequent communications were integrated beneath this umbrella, and this enabled them to create a brand with staying power while acquiring new clients.

5. Listen to your sales force.

Marketing managers who maintain an ongoing dialogue with their sales force have their finger on the pulse of their markets, and have a higher probability to anticipate the outcome of their strategies. After all, sales professionals are closest to their clients and prospects. They know the buzz on the street and where it’s emanating from. Ask them  which tools in your communications inventory they’re using, which they’re not — and why.

Optimizing your marketing is an intellectual and creative challenge. By following these guidelines, you can make your marketing more effective and optimize your budget.

Ultimately, you’ll have greater success in securing new clients and building your brand.