It is important to remember, even though there are already many online reference sources that can help you in determining the amount of marketing budget but never heed to plan first.
Marketing budgets can change over the course of your business in a year, preferably when you design it needs to be adjusted to the business plan, how the target to be achieved in daily, weekly, or monthly.
Therefore, before you create a detailed marketing plan, there are at least five things you should think about, as quoted from this page:
1. Determine the target consumers
The question "who your target consumer" should be able to answer quickly. It's something to do when you're putting together a variety of marketing efforts, whether it's making a budget or a plan.
Take, for example, whether your product can be aimed at consumers of directors in companies that enter the Fortune 500 range in Fortune Magazine? Do your product target teens ages 12-17 and live in a country that uses English?
You need to note, that a marketing strategy that only consumers, in general, is a bad move. You need to create a niche of consumer segmentation so that marketing can be more targeted.
Perhaps many say it is important to build personal relationships with potential customers, to understand their characteristics and explore their potential sources. There is an online and free tool that can help you with this, Extension.
2. Create a final destination
After you have done the first point, the next step is to create a marketing goal for a certain period of time. For example, by positioning you as an industry expert to become a freelance writer for blogs providing tips and feedback for the industry. This step can be a strategy you can advertise for free.
Another goal, you want to hire new employees. To achieve this you need to approach the blog writer who once covered the office space that matches what you are looking for. Examples of these strategies, making your marketing goals more effective and easy to execute.
3. Determine the appropriate marketing channel
To discuss this point, try to take an example if you advertise, many readers of Fortune Magazine compared to AdAge or Adweek? Compare when you advertise in media like Mashable. If your target consumer is a 12-17-year-old teenager, is it appropriate to choose to advertise on Facebook or Snapchat?
We recommend that you need to understand the characteristics of consumers, which media is the most selected. In fact, often the right channel marketing, easier to find when you choose a niche media.
4. Team shape
When creating a marketing plan, let's you see the people around whether any of them can execute the whole plan? If not, do you have the budget to recruit marketing people?
Or, if you already have a team, is it necessary to recruit more people or ask for help from outsourced? Many people are pro and contra in terms of outsourced, but this all depends on the principle adopted by each founder. You can hire people with zero dedication or contract workers who can give you 120% of their commitment to the project.
5. Create a marketing budget
After the four points above you have completed, it means you can estimate how much marketing budget needed. The budget needs to be made consistent with the growth you want. If you decide on monthly marketing budgets regularly within a year, it will be difficult to gauge business growth.
Try to create a realistic budget, ranging from measuring the available talent and target marketing, as well as the long term. For example, content and SEO investments are long-term targets. But by recruiting public relation teams (PR) for a certain period, this target can be completed with a short time, about 3-4 months.
In cost, of course, this strategy will be more expensive. Not to mention if the realization of sales has not been in line with the plan. Therefore, all factors must be taken into account.
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