Welcome to SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales, the most strategically biased B2B Marketing Agency, telemarketing services, telemarketing companies (sales agency) and digital marketing companies, serving Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, Sacramento and the Pacific Northwest (Bend, Portland, Seattle). We gladly serve California and all 50 United States!
“The cost of being wrong is less than the cost of doing nothing.” – Seth Godin
While they do go hand in hand, marketing is not sales, and sales is not marketing. For your business to be successful at making sales, marketing is crucial.
Too often, small businesses focus on the sales aspect of their business but spend inadequate focus and resources on their marketing. They may consider marketing to be an expendable entity, or an afterthought when revenue seems good. With such anemic marketing efforts, businesses that don’t take their marketing seriously can hardly expect to reap many rewards.
Marketing isn’t just key to your business success–it’s a responsibility. It’s a vital vehicle for developing and maintaining long-lasting relationships with your customers. During your busiest times, during your most uncertain times, schedule and keep a regular chunk of time set aside exclusively for studying your audience, discovering opportunities, and future market planning.
What should go into your marketing budget?
Here are some of the most common marketing expenses (depending on your industry) that you’ll need to include in your business’ marketing budget:
- Website (design, security, hosting, and maintenance)
- Newsletters
- Email marketing services (Aweber, MailChimp, ActiveCampaign, ConstantContact, etc.)
- Social media management services (i.e., companies that manage your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram accounts, etc.)
- Online advertising (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media ads, Google Adwords, LinkedIn ads, geotargeting, Yelp ads, etc.)
- Online directories that you pay for (depending on your industry)
- Network referral memberships, public relations
- Referral and Affiliate programs (perks or pay offered to customers or affiliates who refer your business)
- Business cards (including design)
- Birthday and holiday cards
- Promotional materials on the business premises (posters, sales signs, educational material, sound system announcements, pamphlets, etc.)
- Direct mail (postcards, letters, etc. – including design, printing, and postage)
- Traditional Advertising (including phone books, TV, radio, billboards, etc.)
- Appointment reminder services
- Booths at local events, (home shows, open house, art fairs, city events, etc.)
- Sponsorships
- Welcome bags or “goodie bags”
- Branded promotional “swag” (t-shirts, pens, hats, mugs, etc. with your logo or other marketing on it)
- Raffles, prizes, or giveaways
How much should a small business budget for marketing?
It’s a mistake to base your marketing budget on just whatever is left over once all other business expenses are covered. Instead, the investment should be a percentage of your company’s gross income set aside every month. What the percentage should be can vary depending on the industry.
Both the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and Entrepreneur.com agree that companies that have been in business for five years or less need to invest more funds into their marketing budget than established companies that have been in business longer. 10 to 20 percent of your gross (or projected) revenue if you are ramping up a new business and 6 to 12 percent for more established companies. For slim operations, no less than 3 percent is recommended.1
A healthy marketing budget is one that balances short-term and long-term needs. Focus on creating a calculated, focused marketing strategy for your brand that invests your money wisely.
1 U.S. Small Business Administration, 2013. (https://www.sba.gov/taxonomy/term/15051?page=37)
Entrepreneur.com, 2015 (https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/243790)
Call SalesFish today and our high-touch, dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals, and the marketing and sales tactics best suited to your specific needs. And, yes, we will also advise you on the best A.I. tools that actually work and complement the real people in your business!
Stay tuned for more relevant content on creating world-class digital marketing strategies and B2B telemarketing sales strategies. We at SalesFish Brand Marketing & Sales thank you for joining us in our commitment to unwavering strategic planning, B2B brand marketing and B2B sales execution.
Call today and our “high-touch” dedicated team will assist you in assessing your strategic sales goals to tailor our marketing and sales tactics to your specific needs.
SalesFish Net of Sales Services:
- B2B Direct Sales, Channel Sales and Marketing Strategies
- On-Site B2B Presentation, Negotiation and Sales
- B2B Telemarketing and B2B Telesales Services
- Cold Calls and Appointment Setting
- Online Presentations and Webinars
- Product Awareness and Announcement Calls
- Primary Research: Quantitative and Qualitative Surveys
- Experiential Event Marketing
- Pre and Post-Event Calls
- Audience Acquisition, Exhibit Sales and Sponsorship Sales