Tips for Developing a Budget for Your Marketing Plan!

When developing your marketing plan, how do you determine how much budget to spend and in what area? Well, here I've listed some details to consider when developing your marketing plan and budget. Your main objective should be to either increase awareness, generate leads or build credibility.

Take into consideration if you are in a high, moderate or declining growth mode or type of business. Are you the market leader in your field or trying to make an impact? Are you in a new market or is your product or service mature and well known?
Do you sell directly to your clientele or through channels (or, perhaps both)?

If your primary objective is to build awareness, here’s a good rule of thumb:

Public relations and marketing (5% to 20% of your budget)
Trade shows and events (7% to 15% of your budget)
Advertising - if your type of business warrants this (10% to 20% of your budget)

If your primary objective is to generate leads, here’s a good rule of thumb:

Website or internet promotions (10% to 20% of your budget)
Direct marketing or telemarketing (7% to 15% of your budget)
Seminars and events (3% to 8% of your budget)
Trade shows (7% to 15% of your budget)

If your primary objective is to build credibility, here’s a good rule of thumb:

Public relations (10% to 20% of your budget)
Seminars and events (5% to 10% of your budget)
Website or internet promotions (10% to 20% of your budget)

Of course, what I've listed here is very generic, but each section will give you some items to think about as you build your plan. But, you should still take into consideration your type of business and what is the very best plan of action to take. As you develop each area of your business, test and test again to see what works best for you and what needs to be changed.