Don’t Waste Your Marketing Budget

You’re running a small business and you don’t have a lot of time or money to spend on marketing. Don’t waste either! To get the maximum return on your investment of time and money, you must make sure you’re not wasting any of your marketing budget. Here are some areas where small business owners often end up wasting money due to lack of experience.

Don’t have a Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is a strategic roadmap of where you are now and what you plan to do in the future. It helps you define your business’ niche, product offerings and target markets. Many small businesses waste money by ditching their plan and randomly working on a new marketing idea. If it’s not in the plan, then revisit the plan and see where, if at all, this new idea will fit. Should you implement it now or wait until next quarter?

Choose the wrong advertising medium

Not every business’ offering are made to be advertised on television. Your niche market may not even be reached through the TV advertising medium. Take a look at your goals to find the right marketing approach for your business.

 Target the wrong customers

Spend some time defining your target audience. Look at your product offerings and create a list of demographics that fit your customers. Once you’ve defined the right customer, you can craft a message that speaks directly to them and their specific needs. Spending money on messages to the wrong customers wastes your marketing budget.

 It all comes back to your marketing plan. Having a strong marketing plan in place will help you bring in new customers, keep your current customers and increase revenue.