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You are here: Home / Branding & Marketing / 5 Tips to Create a Successful 2012 Marketing Budget

5 Tips to Create a Successful 2012 Marketing Budget

December 6, 2011 By Melinda Emerson 1 Comment

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It isn’t 2012 just yet.  But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be planning for it.  For any business to be successful, it’s necessary to have a marketing budget.  And while next year seems like a far off notion today, there is no better time to start establishing how you’ll invest your marketing dollars.  Below are five tips to create an effective marketing budget (whether budgeting is your thing or not).

  1. Start planning now.  Waiting until the start of next year to do a 2012 marketing budget is a great way to have a disorganized budget that leads to mishaps.  You need time to walk away from your initial budgeting ideas so you can come back to them with a clear head.  And when the numbers don’t add up (and often they don’t) you need time to develop a solution.
  2. Assess this year’s budget.  One way to get started with next year’s budget is to have a grasp of what was hot and what was not during 2011.  Were there areas you went well over budget?  Were there categories in which you never spent a dime?  Although this year’s activity isn’t an exact prediction of next year’s results, looking at your current expenses let’s you know where to make adjustments.
  3. Include an income column.  Not all marketing is an expense.  When you host a webinar or luncheon and charge people to attend, you are not only marketing your business but also deriving income from that activity.  Knowing what efforts bring in money is a great way to assess their impact on your business.  It also shows what is worth continuing and what needs to be scrapped.  If none of your marketing activities include income, it’s time to strategize a few income-producing endeavors.
  4. Expect the unexpected.  Keep in mind your marketing budget has many of the same characteristics as your personal budget.  No matter how well you plan for every eventuality, something will come up without notice.  Leaving a little wiggle room in your marketing budget for unexpected expenses lets you make sound decisions.  Label a special column for emergencies so the wiggle money doesn’t get needlessly spent on something frivolous for the office.
  5. Know the difference between a sound marketing strategy and a fad.  You may have your heart set on a marketing tactic, but if it doesn’t support your overall business or the numbers just aren’t showing, it’s time to let go.  If it seems that this tactic is being used by everyone else, keep in mind your business is different.  What works for one business might not work so well for another.  Know what your business needs so you can develop a unique, hard-to-copy marketing approach.

Creating a marketing budget (or any kind of budget, for that matter) is often NOT at the top of someone’s “favorites” to-do list.  But with persistence and a willingness to get started early, the process can help you build a solid foundation for the upcoming year.

By day Morgan Leu Parkhurst helps individuals put the pieces of their marketing puzzles together.  By night she teaches marketing to entrepreneurs.  Morgan is also   producer of the Magnetic Biz-Building Online Summit.  Connect with her on LinkedIn.

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Filed Under: Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, Women in Business, Your Small Business Tagged With: 2012, assess this year's budget, income column, marketing budget, Marketing Plan, melinda emerson, Morgan Leu Parkhurst, Plan for 2012, strategy

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Melinda F. Emerson, “SmallBizLady” is America’s #1 Small Business Expert. She is an internationally renowned keynote speaker on small business development, social selling, and online marketing strategy. As CEO of Quintessence Group, her Philadelphia-based marketing consulting firm serves Fortune 500 brands that target the small business market. Clients include Amazon, Adobe, Verizon, VISA, Google, FedEx, Chase, American Express, The Hartford, and Pitney Bowes. She also has an online school, www.smallbizladyuniversity.com, that teaches people online marketing and how to start and grow a successful small business and publishes a blog SucceedAsYourOwnBoss.com. Her advice is widely read, reaching more than 3 million entrepreneurs each week online. She hosts The Smallbizchat Podcast and is the bestselling author of Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, Revised and Expanded, and Fix Your Business, a 90 Day Plan to Get Back Your Life and Reduce Chaos in Your Business.

Comments

  1. Kelsey says

    December 8, 2011 at 12:24 am

    Planning for hiccups is one of the cornerstones of a successful business.

    Reply

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