Momentum - Business to Business Online Magazine MOMENTUM February 2020 | Page 24

MARKETING
RACHAEL MORGEN
Online Marketing Manager
Empire Creative Marketing
www.empiread.com
THE IMPORTANCE OF A
MARKETING BUDGET
P
eople will work on corporate identity, but not
plan for the marketing budget to implement it.
While it’s essential to have an initial budget for
developing your logo, website, and marketing
materials, it’s also crucial that you have an
ongoing plan for how you are going to get the word out
and a budget for putting your marketing plan into action.
The best way to do this is to create a marketing strategy
and set a monthly or yearly marketing budget to make
sure it happens. A marketing budget is a guide that will
ensure you are staying on target with your estimated costs
vs. the actual costs.
We’ve all heard the phrase “You have to spend money
to make money.” However many companies tend to
underspend on marketing, thinking that by not spending
you’re saving. But by that logic, you’re missing out on an
enormous amount of business!
What does a marketing budget include?
Your marketing budget will include all of the prices that
you would expect to pay for services and advertising. This
would include graphic design, printed materials, website
development, and ongoing reputation management. It
would also include radio and commercials, trade shows,
advertisements in newspapers and other publications,
mailings, etc.
What should your marketing
budget be?
The amount of money a
company should budget for
marketing varies greatly by industry
and business size. The influential
business financial planning sites
FrogDog.com and Forbes.com
both agree that your marketing
budget should be between
5% - 8% of your total revenue,
depending on whether you want
to maintain your market position or
gain a greater market share.
Use these guidelines.
These guidelines should be
considered when setting your
marketing budget. 
• First, consider any development
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or refinement of your current branding. Is your image
up to par? Do you have a professional logo, website,
and marketing materials in place that represent you
as a credible company? Is there consistency in the
look and feel of your materials? If not, what needs to
be revamped? Consult with an agency if necessary
if you’re having trouble determining the current
effectiveness of your brand.
• Second, what are the ongoing expenses of advertising,
maintaining and promoting your brand to your target
audience? If you stop advertising, they will forget you.
If you don’t keep your website and materials up to
date, you will lose credibility and rankings with the
search engines. What is your plan for keeping your
company visible and what will it cost?
• You can visit the Small Business Administration (Sba.
gov) for more guidelines and information. They have
charts that compare revenue with ideal marketing
budget percentages. They also list variables that need
to be considered.
Marketing is a fundamental ingredient for business
growth and profitability. Many companies fail simply
because they do not allocate enough money for
marketing. When done properly, marketing brings back
sold returns.