New online tools give marketers access to information formerly available only through research. Usually expensive research. But as we monitor the latest feedback from Google Analytics or Flowtown, we shouldn’t forget another proven tool: online surveys.

At Greteman Group, we’ve long championed the use of web-based survey tools to garner unique, collective insights from both clients and their customers. We never fail to uncover some nugget of truth that launches our strategy and creative in unexpected, results-generating directions.

Here’s How It Works

We create online surveys that we send to our main client contact. He or she forwards the survey link to key colleagues, customers and partners. This is especially valuable in new client-agency relationships. Survey feedback helps uncover a brand’s perception in the marketplace – and how that aligns or differs from the client’s. Even though we bring strategy and fresh thinking to these conversations, nothing can replace feedback from the folks who live and breath the brand.

Two benefits to a web-based survey tool that no other tool can match:

1. Efficiently gathering a large quantity of information.

Email chains and Twitter hashtags are nice, but if you want to get the answer to a question like “What is your company’s #1 reason for having a website?” nothing can replace that delightfully long bar after the “Increasing sales” or “Informing members” answer that received 100% of votes from the internal team. Not only does information like this affirm strategy, it dictates next steps, such as how the website will be built to drive sales or inform members.

2. Calling internal questions and driving strategic decisions.

But what the survey returns a lot of “non-100% answers?” What if half your team thinks your brand should be bright and fresh, and the other half thinks classic and muted is a better reflection of the company? Or a majority of your customers are on Facebook and you’re not? These are the kinds of facts that only a survey can reveal, and they can often force clients into much-needed exploration of a policy, process or position. These decisions must be made before a re-brand, campaign or project can take place.

Nothing has proven more efficient or effective than gathering and analyzing results from web-based surveys when embarking on a new client relationship or campaign.

You’re ready. You’ve just developed a new brand or a new product, and now it’s time to get your message out there. It’s time to develop your engagement strategy.

There are many potential engagement channels – paid media, media relations, social media, internal communications. We’re going to focus on the paid component and how you can help your media buy dollars stretch farther.

Here are five ways you can make every dollar count.

1) Value-added opportunities

Ask your advertising rep if there are any value-added, no-cost (or low-cost) opportunities available to accompany your paid media schedule. Print publications may offer a bonus ad with a confirmed full-year schedule, websites may provide 100,000 free impressions with a six-month commitment, or a TV station may provide free banner advertising space on its website for the duration of your TV campaign. It never hurts to ask.

2) Media Relationship-Building

Keep in mind nonpaid media relations opportunities that might arise and how you can nurture those. If you’re opening a new sporting-goods store, for example, you may want to consider advertising in a neighborhood paper if it reaches and targets the store’s audience. The relationships built may lead to more editorial opportunities for grand-opening announcements and beyond.

3) Everything’s Negotiable

Is there a publication you’d really like to place in but your budget won’t allow for it? Let them know your budget is limited and ask if there’s flexibility with the pricing. If you have an amount in mind, let them know. Oftentimes reps are willing to work within your budget. After all, something is better than nothing.

4) Working Together, They’re Better

When you’re scheduling your campaigns and media buy, flight it out so that you have as much media running concurrently as possible.

Say, for example, you want to run the campaign over six months using online, print and television outlets, but you have a limited budget. It’s proven you need to see something multiple times before it registers, so you could instead run shorter, stronger flights incorporating all three media channels every other month (three months total) during that six-month time period. Scheduling the media to run together, you’re concentrating the campaign’s overall reach and frequency.

5) Plan Long-Term

As you plan for each fiscal year, develop a media-buy budget based upon your leadership and marketing teams’ planned initiatives for the coming year. If possible, break that overall budget out first by campaign, then by outlet/publication.

As you start to work with advertising reps to plan the year’s first campaign, provide them with the overall dollars you’re planning to spend with their outlet/publication during the next 12 months. They’ll be more willing to negotiate rates/pricing, incorporate frequency discounts or add in value-added opportunities if they know how much is coming their way over the entire year.

Note, if that overall budget decreases at any point in the year, they’ll likely prorate the invoicing to compensate if a minimum buy isn’t met.

Incorporating the above tactics into your media planning is sure to stretch your dollars. As you plan for your future marketing buys, it’s also important to build relationships with your advertising reps, be respectful to and show appreciation for what they do – just as you would with clients and colleagues.