[Infographic] Small Business Marketing Budgets
Small business owners often struggle to take the time and energy to compose an effective, smart marketing budget for the year ahead. Many small business owners are shrewd and decisive with their money, but the marketing budget is not always laid out in the most intelligent way. A popular method is the simple dollar approach – in which the owner chooses a number they can afford, or whatever is left over, and allocates that as the yearly budget. In order for small businesses to grow and bring in new leads through marketing, they need to choose a smart marketing plan and budget that will be the most effective for converting prospects to new customers.
Small business owner know that they need to prioritize marketing. The number one choice for small businesses, when polled on the best use of an extra $5,000 of cash, was spending the money on marketing materials, with 27% of respondents choosing that option. Digging deeper, this hypothetical $5,000 coming in to the business would seriously help most businesses. 80% of the respondents said that an extra $5,000 would help with their business in some way while only 20% said it would have little or no impact. 47% of small businesses polled said that this money would significantly help or save the business. The recent recession is still weighing heavily on some – but not all – small businesses, and there is still some catching up to do.
With the majority of small businesses spending just over $2,000 on their yearly marketing budget, it’s clear that owners have to make every dollar count. In the infographic below we look at the current state of marketing budgets, and what methods business owners can use to make every dollar work harder. Beyond the simple dollar approach, there are a variety of budgeting methods that can do more. Plans such as the percent of sales approach, the match competitor method, and the marketing plan objective method. Each budgeting plan has its pros and cons with different levels of difficulty of implementing and effectiveness once implemented – it’s ultimately up to the small business owner to decide what’s best for him or her.
About the Author: This infographic is brought to you by Coastal Creative Reprographics.
