How to Build a Marketing Budget

It’s that time of year again...the gruesome marketing budget...

No need to worry, we are here to help!

Let's start off with some of the main things your budget should include:

Traditional Marketing: Radio, TV, Newspaper, Direct Mail

Digital Marketing: Social Media Management, online content marketing, automated or manual email marketing, online advertising with pay-per-click ads or social media ads (paid media), and search engine optimization.

Events: Conferences, trade shows, or in-store events

Promo: Hats, shirts, pens, business cards, etc. (P.S. - We offer the best promo items in Midland!!)

Freelancers and agencies: Content, design, PR, and SEO support

Tools: Software and infrastructure (e.g., your website)

MONEY, MONEY, MONEY

Everyone's main question is usually, "How much of our overall budget should go towards marketing?". The Report of Results by Firm and Industry Characteristics shares the following statistics.

• Marketing accounts for 53% of the total budget for companies with sales revenue of $25 million or less.

• Firms with fewer than 100 employees devote 46% of their marketing budget.

• Companies with 100 to 499 employees devote 33% of their budget to marketing.

• This percentage falls dramatically for businesses with 500 to 999 employees, which devote 12% of their budget to marketing.

Here are a few steps you should take when creating your marketing budget:

1. Identify your Target Audience

Your target audience is the ideal customer you want to attract to your product or service through your marketing efforts. You will need to be specific and ensure you include age, gender, interests, pain points, motivation, experience, industry, and expectations. Midland, TX is growing everyday so be sure you know your demographic!

2. Determine your goals and tactics

Marketing objectives should be linked to measurable success metrics. Your goals for each of these metrics should be realistic and attainable. You may need to prioritize your goals in order of importance; this will help you understand where you need to spend more money.

Example:

Goal #1: Build Brand Awareness

Tactic: Social Media Management, Website Traffic, Google Ads

Goal #2: Attain more customers

Tactic: Lead Generation, Targeted Ads

3. Brainstorm Potential Costs for Tactics

Once you have decided on the specific tactics you want to use to get to your goal, you will need to begin thinking about the potential cost of each tactic. Make sure you're spending money on marketing activities that your target audience responds to the most.

For example, if your target audience is Gen Z’ers it would not be best to use newspaper ads because they more than likely are not going to ever see that!

The best way to calculate potential costs for tactics is by referring to past costs or doing research on how much these usually costs. (OR just email Hancock Group to get a quote)!

4. Assemble Marketing Budget

When it comes to assembling a marketing budget we recommend that you use a template that is already outlined with all of the necessary information so nothing is left out. If you are interested in receiving a free template, click here!

Creating a marketing budget can help you to cut costs and boost ROI, which will empower you to grow your business one step at a time!

If creating a marketing budget is daunting for you, please feel free to reach out to us! We are here to help.

CONTACT INFO:

Email: savannah@hancockgroup.net

Phone: 432-694-2181