Do you know how to set a marketing budget?

Marketing budgeting is hard!  How do you know what to spend?    Truthfully all budgeting and accounting are the bane of my existence!  Everybody excels in certain areas.  I do not excel in accounting.  I can do it – but I don’t like it!

Don’t get me wrong I love numbers and metrics.  But there is something about accounting that makes me crazy.   I need to know the numbers, but I want to focus on delivering the best results so that I never need to worry about money?  Does that make sense?  I know my coach would say I have money issues.  And I do, but my issue is that if the focus is only on the money then I am not being my best self.  The money is a sidebar, a result.  Not the focus.

I also know that because this is not my “zone of genius” I need someone else to focus on it for me.   I know that someone who loves accounting will get it done with more clarity and quicker than I could.  I know that having the right person there will enable me to focus on my zone of genius.  And I know that I am saving money, stress, and energy by focusing on what I am good at.

It is like anything in your business.  You have to know the skills you have, the interests you have, and the team members that can support you in your weak areas.

I do need to understand my accounting numbers as much as any other metric in my business.  But I do not have to be the one that is doing the number crunching.  Thankfully!!

But I get asked about marketing budgets a lot and the numbers are important – so here is an article about how to find the right numbers for your marketing budget. Some of the items include:

• Type of business and capacity for new clients. Spend appropriate to the growth level you need. If you can only serve 2-3 web design clients then don’t spend the money to attract 50.

• Total Budget and a minimum viable budget. The total budget is what you feel you can accomplish this year. Minimum viable budget is the absolute must have to keep the lights on. If you are just starting out work from the minimum budget. Then calculate how many products you have to sell to meet those minimum numbers. If you have been in business for a while you should be able to work from the total budget. This assumes you know how to calculate the variables for not meeting sales targets.

  
  
  

Check out the full article for a complete guide on how to set your marketing budget the easy way, and leave the accounting to the accountants!

FILED UNDER: BUSINESS & MARKETINGTAGGED WITH: MARKETING BUDGET

About Nancy Seeger

Nancy Seeger is a veteran of the software industry and specializes in CRM and membership management systems. As CEO of Seeger Consulting Inc., a Certified Online Business Manager, Infusionsoft implementation specialist, Nancy has been working with virtual businesses since 2007. Find her at Seeger Consulting Inc.