Finding Marketing Dollars May Not Be Easy, But It Is Important
Not setting aside a marketing budget each year is a mistake that many small businesses make. Many business owners don’t believe they can spare the funds for marketing, or that when business picks up they will spend a little on advertising.
But that is a mistake for many reasons. First, advertising can and will drive business to your door. It is an effective way to tell customers about your products and services, sales, coupons, discounts, etc. Even the largest and most well-known companies (think McDonald’s, Apple and GM) advertise regularly – they know that keeping their brand fresh in peoples’ minds is key to profitability.
Guess What? You Will Probably Spend It Anyway
The bigger issue around not having a budget, though, is that you will probably end up spending money anyway. Whether it’s running an ad in the local paper to support the high school football section or buying a yearbook ad, you are likely to spend at least some dollars on ads. The problem with not having a budget is that it makes it more difficult to track those expenditures and to decide if they are helping you or not.
There is no flat rule about how much to spend on advertising, and it depends heavily on your business, your customers and your marketing strategy. You can start small, budgeting just 1% of annual revenues for example, and adjust as needed from there.
Your marketing strategy should be supported with the appropriate budget to help you achieve your business goals. Deppe Communications can help you with that plan – just give us a call or E-mail me.