Marketing is Sport. Get Competitive!
You won’t enjoy a good swim by just dipping your toe in the water to see how it feels. Neither will you enjoy a profitable return on a cautious or halfhearted marketing investment. Common sense makes this obvious and pattern recognition gives validation of real success for the fully committed marketer.
Being an Eyewitness
Veteran marketers understand this simple concept and apply it with intention and purpose. They grow and reach goals. I’ve seen this happen repeatedly for over 30 years.
Unfortunately, a lot of small business owners struggle with the fear of overspending. Cautiously holding back in a competitive market only curbs your commitment and selling enthusiasm. Flat revenue or anemic growth becomes the norm for the company. This too I’ve seen repeatedly. As a marketing consulting firm, we’re avoiding these situations, not because of small budgets, but because of predictably disappointing results.
Watching from the Bench
We’ve been blessed with several long-term clients who focus on what it takes to succeed and gain market share. They advertise! Just imagine a small business that dedicates a measurable percentage of revenue to marketing and advertising and gets strong results! Who ever heard of such a thing?
Sarcasm aside, a disdain for significantly adequate marketing budgets prevails among many small business owners. Why? Because in the past, they have only dipped their toes in the marketing pond and never dove in, or they didn’t swim with the right school of fish.
Winning on the Field (or at the pool)
The right marketing budget will be based on your industry and market size, and one that your business can afford on an annual or monthly basis. This could range anywhere from 3% to 15% or more of total revenue. Do some research about your own industry and you’ll discover one of the major reasons that some companies are growing bigger and faster.
