Marketing Budget

Why should I have a marketing budget? This is a question we hear over and again when we are discussing managed marketing with our new and prospective clients.

Often we find a number 8 wire attitude towards budgeting for marketing – no real plan but when we find some cash we might throw it at a website or maybe a few leaflets or maybe we could do some radio spots.

Another train of thought is “If I budget it I will spend it and it may be unnecessary” which always makes me cringe as this means there is no plan.

It can be argued that a well defined plan and associated budget is the most important thing you can do for your company.

So how would you go about organising a marketing budget.

Marketing Budget Step 1 – Define if you can take the risk

You decide to budget $4,000 for a marketing campaign.

If you can only afford the $4,000 on the priviso you get 4 new clients you have come up against the marketing dilemma, there is now way of knowing before you spend the $4,000 you will indeed get the 4 new clients, you may get 4 or you may get 14 but if you don’t spend the $4,000 there is no way you can get the new clients.

With any marketing campaign there is always a risk of not getting the ROI you are looking for, and ad hoc marketing campaigns started on whims are the most likely to fail.

Some business owners have been known to keep on marketing their company in a way that is producing no results, usually due to having no marketing budget or marketing plan and having no way of measuring their ROI. In extreme cases this has led to closure of the business which is then blamed on bad luck or market conditions.

To minimise the risk of marketing campaigns failing it is best to get some expert input into your marketing plans and budget.

Marketing Budget Step 2 Define what you want to achieve

Do you want more sales, increased awareness of your brand, more leads or some other objective. Whatever your goal it should be defined exactly, therefore it is not enough to say I want increased sales, your plan should be more along the lines of I want increased sales of product X.

Marketing Budget Step 3 Define what you are already spending.

Unless you are just starting your business you will be spending money on marketing, you may not recognise this expenditure as a marketing budget, but you will be spending something on advertising, clothing, business cards or your website

Step 4 Define how quick you can grow

If you are a plumber and you gain 5 new clients a week you may be in a position to cope with that growth but what if you get 20 new clients?

Step 5 Implement your plan

Once you have decided to go ahead with your marketing campaign then it is important you carry it out fully and equally important to measure it. There are many campaigns started then left alone when the company gets busy, started again when there is a slack period and so on, you must have consistency in your marketing in order to grow.

To avoid getting in to this cycle you can call Assist Marketing 0508 20 10 20 or fill in our enquiry form and we can give you impartial advice and help on your marketing needs.