While every business is different, one thing remains the same: marketing is a necessity. However, when it comes to marketing, it’s difficult to decide how much money to spend and where to spend it. By creating a detailed marketing budget, you can keep track of your expenses and be better prepared for future expenditures.
Get Your Finances in Order
Before you consider how you’re going to spend money on marketing, you need to decide which percentage of your revenue you can sustainably spend. The percentage will vary depending on your industry and your goals. If you’re new to marketing, it’s recommended that you allocate as much money as you comfortably can to your marketing budget so you can experiment and determine what works well.
Determine Who Your Audience Is
In order to understand where you should spend money on marketing, you must first define who your audience is. Creating buyer personas allows you to segment your audience and target your marketing efforts. Marketing methods have varying rates of success depending on the audience. For example, a younger audience is more likely to be engaged on Twitter than an older one. If your target audience consists of young people, dedicating a bit more money to Twitter advertising may be effective.
Align Your Marketing Budget with Your Goals
By its very definition, the inbound marketing process doesn’t aim to immediately convert every single person who hears about your company into a customer. There are a number of goals you can have in mind when organizing your marketing budget. Are you looking to tap into new markets to generate more leads? Are you marketing to existing customers, hoping to gain more business from them? Clearly outlining the goals of your marketing strategy will help you determine how much money to spend and where to spend it.
Figure Out Where to Spend
The average inbound marketing strategy consists of several different aspects. While you don’t have to include all of them in your budget, you should at least be aware of how they can help your business.
- Social media: With so many people using social media, it has become a marketing powerhouse that can drastically extend your company’s reach.
- Content marketing: Investing in relevant content that is meaningful to your audience will grow your brand’s authority.
- Email marketing: There are few better immediate response platforms than email.
- Advertising: Both online and print advertising are effective in creating a lasting impression upon your audience.
- Design: From your website to your logo, the visual appeal of your brand speaks volumes about your company.
Once you know the benefits of each inbound marketing method, you can determine which ones you want to invest in.
Don’t Forget to Analyze
Marketing analysis tools are worthwhile investments. While it doesn’t pay off immediately, effective analysis can help you see what’s working and what’s not. This way, you can stop spending money on unproductive marketing techniques and start spending it on procedures that pay off.
After you’ve laid out your budget, it’s time to put your marketing plan into action. While you’re spending money, make sure you’ve got an organized marketing budget template so you don’t overspend.
