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RISING WOMEN EXPERT
ADVICE...
How do I establish a Marketing Budget?
Allocating a workable and affordable budget is the key to creating a
successful marketing program. Without establishing a budget, it makes
planning and measuring results quiet difficult and before you know it you
have overspent and returns are small.
To establish a budget, it is a matter of determining what your overall goal
is, and then selecting a budget planning method to suit. Regardless of the
method, a marketing budget is a projection only and should be used as a
guide and constantly updated. Some methods include:
Percentage of Expected Revenue - General rule of thumb is allocating
20 percent of expected revenue. For example, if you expect to make $100,000
this year, you would allocate $20,000 as your budget.
Everything You Can Afford - For a business who wants to grow fast,
this is an option but is fraught with a bit of danger! You set aside the
money you need for business expenses like wages and then set aside funds for
your family, then whatever is remaining you, throw into marketing. This is
an aggressive and risky approach and you need to make sure you have the
funds behind you.
Desired Customer Growth - You need to establish how much it is
costing to bring in one customer. Multiple the number of desired customers
by the cost per customer. Your figures need to be accurate and you need to
make sure that you can accommodate the customer growth.
Industry Specific - Researching the industry’s average spending on
marketing is a great way of establishing what your competitors are
allocating to marketing, BUT this average figure also takes into account the
big and major players in the industry that have big and major budgets.
Please note this method takes a bit of time!
Spend Nothing - Popular belief among many business owners is the: “I
will spend nothing on marketing and do it all myself.” This however
ultimately costs more in the end. Time is money and money is time. Do you,
as a business owner running your own business, have a spare 40 hours per
week? Also don’t forget, there is still the cost of purchasing your
marketing supplies like paper, ink, stamps and so on.
Do your research. There are marketing boutiques out there that offer
packages to small and medium businesses at very affordable rates. Handing
over control of your marketing to a consultant is wise plus they help you
with budget setting and keeping you on track.
Renee Clydesdale of Impressions By Renee |
