How Much Should You Invest in Marketing?

What’s marketing worth to your business? Chances are, it’s going to depend on what your needs and goals are.

Are you looking to maintain what you already have, or are you ready to grow?

Your goals will determine how much you should spend on your marketing and why. There are a few different ways to approach this, let’s begin.

Investing Based on Percentages

When looking to plot out your marketing budget, one of the best ways to plan is by percentages.

To put it simply, if you want to maintain your current business conversion and income, spend 5 - 10% of what you expect to make in the next year. If you want to grow, spend 10%+.

With these guidelines, however, comes the need for awareness when making decisions. Just because you may have a large marketing budget, doesn’t mean you should do every marketing tactic in the books. Find out what will work for you and your goals and utilize them.

Investing Based on Need

If you’re considering investing in your marketing based on need, make sure your marketer, whether in or out of house, fully understands how to point your business in the right direction.

You want someone who takes your goals and comes up with multiple ways to achieve those goals beyond expectations. You also want to make sure the route your business is going to take with it’s marketing is within the means of your budget. Keep in mind that your marketing budget will be more difficult to control with this option.

Understanding Your Investment

The investment you make into your marketing should be valued and understood just like any other investment you make, whether it’s in business or your personal life. It’s important to understand that your investment will need time and exposure to grow. As Meredith Munger said in this article, “Like any investment, it takes up-front money and discipline over time to see an incredible return.”

Measuring Your ROI

When you’re setting up your marketing budget, take the time to set up how you’ll calculate your ROI after a certain amount of time (good timeframes are quarterly, biannually, or annually). This process allows your business to:

• See what’s working
• See what’s not working
• Calculate earnings based on certain tactics
• Figure out which tactics should be readjusted
• Save time!

Your Next Steps

Now that you have this information, it’s time to take action. Take the guideline below as a starter to your best marketing investment approach:

1. Decide on your approach to your marketing budget
2. Nail down your business’s revenue projections
3. Decide whether you want to maintain or grow
4. Decide on your percentage for budget
5. Figure out how you’re going to implement your plan
6. Set up how you’ll measure ROI

Reach out to us to learn more about investing in your marketing. Our consultative 5 meeting approach finds the root of the issues your business is trying to solve for your clients and delivers solutions. Send us a message to learn more about our process.