Posts Tagged ‘marketing budget’

I have a confession to make.  I have only an unofficial (meaning, not written down) marketing plan, and I do not have a marketing budget.  I have put them together before, but, well, just not for myself.  Like you, I am busy doing what it is I do.  Lately “it” has involved a lot of writing and editing website content, press releases, a book chapter, a couple of brochures, and these blog posts and project managing a direct mail campaign.  I am totally lame, so (stop me if this sounds familiar) one of these days I will put a real one together that consists of more than “meet as many people as possible while not spending more than $45/networking event.”  For me, word of mouth is the best way to grow my business.  Plus, I’m on a shoestring budget, so I squeeze what I can out of what I got.

This post is for all of you who are also operating on a shoestring budget.  Sit down for an hour and write up a basic marketing plan and budget, no matter how modest.  You need to know how you are going to reach your customers and how much time and money you are going to spend on each aspect of your marketing efforts.  Think of it this way: having a road map to follow will get you to your destination quicker than just thinking you know where you’re going while randomly turning left and right in the process.  Big old waste of time.

I am breaking this process down into two short, very basic step-by-step tutorials to get you going.  To give you examples, I will pretend you are starting a dog walking business and your goal is to reach as many potential new customers as possible. 

Part I: Marketing Plan

1. Who is your target market?  Be as specific as possible to make reaching those people easier.  If you are a dog walker, will you target urban professionals or over-scheduled suburbanites?   Will you specialize in larger breeds that are harder to handle?  Will you also offer to dog-sit while owners are away on business trips or vacation?
2. How will you reach your market?  Word of mouth, print ads in the local paper, flyers on bulletin boards in local coffee houses, cafes, and shops, newsworthy press releases sent to local publications, zip code and demographic specific direct mail, Yelp, a website that is has been worked over by an SEO specialist, a pet care and training column in a local paper, attending networking events, free dog training events at the local dog run or park?  You cannot do everything, so you will have to pick and choose among these ideas and identify which outreach tool will reach the most people and also generate sales.  Many times, it’s trial and error.
3. Can you partner with other businesses?  Dog groomers or locally owned pet shops or pet bakeries immediately spring to mind.

Part II: Marketing Budget

1. Trying to figure out how much to spend on marketing is tough when you are new.  Depending on the industry, it is somewhere between 2% and 5% of gross sales.  If you are projecting $30,000 in gross sales for the year, your budget will be $600 to $1500. 
2. Start with the free and low cost ways to advertise.  Email all of your friends and post news of your business to Facebook.  Create flyers yourself and tack them up on bulletin boards in the aforementioned local cafes and shops.  Write and distribute press releases.  Ask clients to post reviews to Yelp.  Call the local papers and offer to write a column. 
3. The rest of your small budget should be used very carefully, and I would recommend using it for a basic website.  You won’t get found online, however, without SEO.  Ask around for recommendations to an SEO/search marketing specialist.  Find one willing to train you on how to integrate SEO into your website.

 Even on a shoestring budget, there is quite a bit you can do!  So stop procrastinating and start writing.  If you will, I will too.