Marketing, can you afford not to?

19th January 2011

So what is your marketing budget for the coming year? As we all know the temptation in tough times is to pull in your horns, and save money whenever possible. As a result the marketing spend is very often one of the first, and seemingly easiest ways of reducing costs, but does it really make sense to do that?

Let’s assume money and cash flow are both tight, and therefore you may well have legitimate worries as to how you are going to keep the business afloat. The old adage that unless a business is growing, it is dying, is still certainly applicable, but in times like these, just keeping things on an even keel is hard enough. However, whether growing or at least keeping at a similar level to last year, right now you need to be noticed, so you must continue to let people know you are around.

So have you set targets for the year? Again whether setting increases on last year’s sales, or keeping them the same, you should be planning your marketing strategy to achieve this. All businesses will lose some customers from time to time, so just to maintain similar sales to last year, you will need to bring in new business. If that is your decision, you can keep marketing spend relatively low, but you will need to be very clear who you are targeting, and therefore how you will promote your business in each niche that you have. If, however, you have grander targets, and wish to expand, then you will need to set your marketing budget accordingly.

Remember marketing doesn’t necessarily mean spending huge sums of money. Be smart, and creative, and you may well be surprised how much you can achieve on a relatively low budget.

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3 responses to “Marketing, can you afford not to?”

1. Emma says:

   January 20, 2011 at 2:24 am

   I spent 20 minutes writing a comment and when I finally finished Firefox crashed and my comment was not published. So now I will keep it very short and straight to the point. I find something interesting to read on your blog every time I visit it. Respect!

2. Michael says:

   January 26, 2011 at 7:11 am

   The heart of blogging is linking… linking and commenting. Connecting and communicating – the purpose of the Internet.

3. Werner Mantini says:

   February 14, 2011 at 6:59 am

   I’d have to give blessing with you on this. Which is not something I typically do! I love reading a post that will make people think. Also, thanks for allowing me to comment!