Marketing and Business 101

Marketing Budget

Now is the time to start thinking about how you are going to be spending your marketing budget next year.

There are three things to consider:

· How much money to spend on marketing

· What to spend it on.

· Which months to spend it in

How Much to Spend

Most small businesses need to be spending at least 10% of revenue on marketing.

The unfortunate problem for most small businesses is that they often can't afford to spend 10% or more on marketing, but that should be the minimal goal.  (I'll do a separate piece on Guerrilla Marketing later.)

Plan on spending your marketing budget on basics, such as Yellow Page advertising, trade shows, networking, and your existing customers.

What to Buy

Yellow Pages— In the United States the Yellow Pages have practically disappeared; however, if they are still strong in your area use them  You need to be seen, so if all your competitors are running 1/4 page ads, you need to do the same.

Trade Shows—This is the national shows as well as local Chamber events, local industry events, and community events.

Trade shows can be expensive. You've got the cost of basic booth space, plus the display, promotional literature, and imprinted items to give away.

If the show is out of town you also have transportation, hotel, and meal costs to consider.

What with the current Covid-19 situation trade shows have become virtual at best, many are now non-existent.  When they return I'll address them in much more detail.

Networking—This marketing activity isn't expensive as compared to other marketing projects.

Many networking groups have an annual membership fee, and of course there may be the cost of food at these meetings.

Customers—It is very prudent to let your customers know you value and appreciate their business.

I have long been a fan of sending customers a card on the anniversary of their first doing business with you. It really shows your appreciation.

I've known businesses that would have periodic socials for customers at a local establishment, (usually a pizza place or a Dairy Queen).

Even having an open house with refreshments can be effective. Call it a Birthday party for the business to celebrate your growth and thank the customers for their support.

When to Market

To a certain extent this is controlled by others outside your business. Trade show schedules for example, are set by the promoter, so you will need to try and find out when the various shows are so you can plan on attending.

Yellow Page advertising, and your networking expenses are basically the same every month, so that is easy to plug in.

Customer appreciation activities can be planned around your schedule. Allowing you to postpone activities to months that are more convenient, (time or money wise), for you.

The balance of your budget will probably be spent on radio, television, and print advertising.

If you do not have a "Peak" season when most of your business occurs, then you should balance your remaining advertising out over the twelve months fairly equally.

However, if you do have a "Peak" season, then it is a very different situation.

Consider the surfer who sees a big wave coming towards him. He begins paddling towards shore before the wave reaches him so that he can obtain maximum benefit to "catch" the wave.

If you know that your peak selling season is December, then you need to start advertising before December arrives, such as in October and November.

This way you have begun to build up demand in the prospects mind as he is approaching the buying season.

Then, when the peak season arrives, they are already thinking of you and your product/service.

Notice that retailers start their Christmas advertising in October. This is not to get the early shoppers, but to put their store and products into the consumers mind early.

Start advertising well before any peak periods in your sales cycle. Get yourself implanted in the prospects mind before it is time to purchase, so that when they do need your service you will be who they think of.

Some Final Thoughts

· Advertising should be a coordinated effort of all your media.

· Use different types of media so you reinforce your message.

· Be consistent in your message. All of your marketing materials should have a unified "look" or "theme", and not a hodgepodge of different looks.

· Repetition is a fundamental principle of marketing. First, you want to constantly drum your name or message into the minds of the prospect. Second, the first few times they hear or see your message they may not be ready to buy so you must advertise repeatedly in order to catch them when they are ready to buy.

· Don't try to put everything into a single ad; focus on one element at a time.

- If you sell products, then you should definitely have an on-line store.  While I hate to purchase on-line, I do a lot of comparison shopping on the internet; when I find something I like and want, I will go to the store and buy it.  This assumes of course that they have a local store.  If it's a Mom-and-Pop store, that's even better - I'm helping the local economy.