How much should a small business spend on marketing?
We hear this question all the time, how much should I spend on my marketing? Most businesses on average spend 10-12% of their budget on their marketing/advertising efforts. Up to 45% of their marketing budget is exclusively reserved for digital, and that is expected to double by 2021. The trend toward digital is increasing and growing all the time, more and more people are turning away from traditional advertising methods (phone books, billboards, radio and TV ads). Digital advertising and marketing is measurable, faster to adjust and has a broader reach.
If you’re a new business, you may be wondering what does 10-12% of my budget mean to me? The simplest way to solve this, is to ask yourself “how much do I want to make this year?” and figure a minimum of 11% of that number should be spent on your marketing efforts. Newer businesses typically spend 2x to 3x what an established spends on marketing to reach customers, create brand awareness and get exposure.
Marketing is equal parts art and science, there is no magic number to solve everything. The best thing you can do is continue trying new things, see what works and what doesn’t. Keep investing in your own business with both and time and money. The more you work on your business instead of in your business the more you’ll succeed.