Marketing Budgets: Action vs. Planning

SAN DIEGO − Small business and start-up owners frequently ask the team at www.SaintSomewhereMarketing.com to develop their marketing plan. Developing a formal marketing plan for businesses is what is taught in business school, seminars, online...well, everywhere. Depending upon the budget and goals, the reality is that developing a formal marketing plan may not be the best option for each and every business.

Managing Partner Kim Beales explained, "More often than not, after we discuss the goals and the initial marketing budget with a business owner, we recommend that they hold off on investing in a formal marketing plan and, instead, we do it in a less formal way in order to stretch their marketing budget."

The process starts by having a conversation in which the target audience, past marketing initiatives (if any), short and long term goals, etc. are discussed. Then, the team at www.SaintSomewhereMarketing.com develops an action plan to test. Once the testing is complete, they are able to determine what is getting the client the best return on their investment (R.O.I.) and expand on those marketing initiatives.

Here's logic behind taking action to reach potential customers vs. developing a formal marketing plan when working with a limited budget:

If a small business has a budget of $2,500 for a marketing push and www.SaintSomewhereMarketing.com charges a minimum of $525 for a marketing plan, then 20 percent of their budget is spent before they even touch the first potential customer. If, instead, the marketing team spends an hour discussing and planning how to do the push (after two decades in the marketing field, they can usually create a $2,500 plan quickly), only $75 is used. Then, the other $450 can be used to actually reach their potential customers.

What can a small business and start-up get for $450? Well, for example: a press release written ($150); post that press release to their website or blog, Twitter, LinkedIn AND Facebook ($25); have an email written, designed and sent out to potential clients ($270); and still have $5 left over for a latté. Then, they have the other $2,000 to invest in social media, online advertising, PR, grassroots marketing, traditional marketing, direct mail, sales sheets, brochures, website development...whatever marketing that will help move their business forward.

"Sometimes, a less traditional approach can be a better approach for a small business or start-up," concluded Beales. "Each business is unique and their marketing approach should be tailored for them."

Learn more at www.SaintSomewhereMarketing.com.

About us: As full service marketing agency providing online marketing, traditional marketing, grassroots marketing and PR, the company has divisions that specialize in small-to-medium size businesses as well as government agencies (www.SaintSomewhereMarketing.com); authors and publishers (www.YourBookMarketers.com); and nonprofits and unions (www.NonprofitFundraisingPros.com). For a free 20 minute consultation, contact us at Marketing ( @ ) SaintSomewhereMarketing dot com.