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MARKETING BUDGET EXAMPLE
Name	Sarah H.
Location	Colorado
Type of Business	Accountant
Years in Business	6
Staff	Sole Owner/Operator, plus one virtual assistant
Approximate Number of Clients	28
Main Clients	Ski lodges, bed and breakfasts, home-based businesses in a range of industries
Gross Sales in 2005	$132,000
Percent of Gross Sales Allocated to   Marketing	3 percent ($3,960)

YEARLY MARKETING BREAKDOWN
MEMBERSHIPS
Chamber of Commerce	$275
Women's Business Group	125
State CPA	550
Membership Subtotal		$950
ADVERTISEMENTS
Yellow Pages ($25/month)	$300
Web Site and maintenance ($32/month)	384
Newspaper (special sections)	280
Colorado state magazine, 6x/year	275
Trade show booths, 4x/year	795
Advertisements Subtotal		$2,034
LITERATURE
Business cards	$100
Stationery	125
Newsletter - mailed version	130
Newsletter - electronic version	99
Postcards, 4x/year	52
Literature Subtotal		$506
ADDITIONAL
Greeting Cards	50
End-of-year gifts	380
Additional Subtotal		$430
TOTAL MARKETING BUDGET		$3,920

It is very important to have a clear understanding of how much you spend on marketing and how the dollars are used. Because Sarah has analyzed her marketing costs on paper, she has a visual blueprint of where most the spending occurs so that she can track results.

 

For example, Sarah spends most of her dollars on advertising to increase her client list. She notes, through her database program, most of her clients use Email, but Sarah knows that the printed newsletter helps with word-of-mouth advertising, so the online and offline versions are wise investments.

Sarah constantly looks for sales on literature and gifts, ordering at different times of the year when pricing sales her several hundred dollars. The money she saves is spent on other ways to generate sales, which includes taking clients to breakfast or lunch or arranging a round of golf between herself and other clients who will benefit from this important, leisurely interaction.

This type of marketing plan is simple to create. Look at your own costs, and plug in the numbers to see where your marketing stands. A marketing plan provides you with an overview on where your dollars are being spent and how you can trim expenses while adding new ways to attract sales.

Here are some questions to ask yourself as you evaluate the results.

• What percentage of gross sales is allocated to marketing? Is it higher or lower than the $5,000 per year average?

• Where are the most amount of dollars spent? Is there a less-costly alternative to stay connected with prospects and customers?

• What changes can you make without difficulty that won't disrupt customer communication?

• What methods do competitors use? What are the pros and cons of implementation?

• Should parts of the plan be viewed as a short-term fix, or is everything part of the long-term strategy?

Using the example plan as a template is an excellent way to ensure that your dollars are wisely each year.

July and August are months that big businesses choose to plan their marketing strategy for the next year. It's also a good time for you to reflect, plan, and organize.

Once the marketing plan is in place, you can begin focusing on better ways to run your business.

You might consider something as small as not renewing a membership because the members don't match your buyer's profile to something as large as attending additional conferences where prospects gather in droves.

Most of all, you will finally have control over your marketing strategy and the various methods used to build your business.