Your Advertising Budget. What Is Right For You?
Business → Marketing & Advertising
- Author Claude Whitacre
- Published May 19, 2010
- Word count 418
I just bought 4 more books from Amazon.com, All about Retail Store Marketing. One looked promising. It was written by someone who actually had a Retail Store. She sold gifts. She had useful information on inventory control, hiring, location and taxes. But what she said about advertising sent chills running down my spine.
She talked about an Advertising Budget. In other words, setting aside a specific amount per month just for advertising. Usually this is in the form of a percentage of gross sales. Eight percent is common. I’ve heard up to 15% of sales as your best budget. These figures are given by sincere, educated people as some kind of fact. NO, NO, NO!
This shows a complete misunderstanding of what advertising really is. Advertising is an investment made to generate new customer sales. These people are treating it like advertising is an expense. If you track ad performance, this difference in perspective will pay really big, really fast.
Let’s say you mail a flyer, or put an ad on TV or the Radio, and the ad (or series of ads) costs you $1000. Is $1000 your budget? It shouldn’t be. If the ads bring in only $500, what will you do next time? Hopefully not spend it again, even though it was your budget.
If you run an ad for $1000 and it generates $5000 in new business ($2500 in profit) do you stop just because you already reached your budget? No. If you can double your money in thirty days you do it as often as you can.
If you test new ads and track your response, you will quickly see that you just keep re-investing in proven ads and dump the losing ads. That’s how you grow.
Are you guessing about what works and not analyzing your losers? That’s guaranteed to keep you in the "Ad Budget" group. In other words, not knowing what works.
Ads either generate a profit or they don’t. If they do, keep doing the ads as long as they are generating a profit. When they eventually die, bury them. All ads eventually die. The only people that keep saying that you need to repeat an ad to make it pay are ad salespeople.
If your ads work, who cares what the budget is? Don’t stop! If your ads don’t work, who cares what the budget is? STOP!
This is the real advantage of tracking ad results: You’ll know which ads pull their own weight and adjust accordingly.
Claude Whitacre is author of the book The Unfair Advantage Small Business Advertising Manual. You can download a free copy at http://www.local-small-business-advertising-marketing-book.com or just buy a copy at http://www.claudewhitacre.com
Article source: https://articlebiz.comRate article
Article comments
There are no posted comments.
Related articles
- Atish Kumar Singh: A Rising Star in Fiji's Marketing and Business Management Scene
- Business Growth with Ready Mailing Team's Comprehensive Regional Vice President Email List
- Key factors why eBay sales could drop
- The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Digital Marketing
- Achieve Digital Success with BeKonstructive Marketing's SEO Consulting in Brisbane
- Introducing the HIIO Nax with 12000 Puffs: Spark the Extreme Flavor
- What Role Does Data Accuracy Play in Reaching Physicians Amid Shifting Market Trends?
- Pocket Option: Binary Candlestick Patterns
- Building a Strong Brand Fortress with SEO
- How Small Businesses Can Compete with Big Brands: A Guide to Thriving in the Digital Age
- The Impact of 3D Animation in Business: Enhancing Visual Communication and Marketing Strategies
- Steady Slope Marketing: Boost Your Business with Targeted Facebook Ads
- Steady Slope Marketing: Building Strong Brands for Lasting Success
- Steady Slope Marketing: Maximizing Growth with Google Ads
- Steady Slope Marketing: Building Custom Websites that Drive Growth
- Steady Slope Marketing: Unlocking Growth with Google Local Service Ads
- Steady Slope Marketing: Scaling Your Business for Long-Term Growth
- Steady Slope Marketing: Setting Up Small Businesses for Success in the Digital Age
- Steady Slope Marketing: Elevating Local Search Authority for Small Businesses
- How AI is Revolutionizing Marketing: A Game-Changer for Online Marketers
- Exploring the Impact of Marketing Strategies on Public Image: A Case Study of Epson and Prince Andrew's Challenges
- The Power of Persuasive Copy: Techniques To Boost Conversion Rates
- The Role of Content Marketing in Building Brand Awareness
- Are Gucci Bags Made of Animal Skin?
- What is the digital marketing strategy that tracks users across the web?
- How AI Can Elevate Your Sales Strategy
- Mastering Content for Content Marketing: Tips and Strategies for Online Marketers
- How Staff Augmentation Can Fuel Your IT Success
- Best AI Tools for E-commerce: Revolutionizing Online Sales with Smart Automation
- The Future of Marketing: Emerging Trends and Actionable Hacks for 2024