Marketing is one of the best ways to bring money into your company. In fact, marketing is the only type of business expense that comes with an expected ROI (return on investment). So, put some of your businesses’ money into marketing! If spent wisely, you will see your money (and maybe more) come back to you. (It’s been well-documented that businesses investing in marketing tend to fare better than those that do not.)

How much should a business budget for marketing?  Well, the answer is the very unsatisfying “it depends.”  The percentage of revenue spent on marketing varies considerably.  I’ve seen companies invest less than one percent, and I’ve seen companies invest 30 percent of their annual revenue.  (I don’t recommend either, by the way.)  The biggest variables are location of the business, competition within the industry and the level of risk aversion in the owner of the company. Is your business in a big city?  Is your industry saturated?  Do you think sky-diving sounds like a good time?  Your business will probably the higher end when budgeting for marketing.  On the other hand, maybe your business is in a non-competitive industry and the thought of wasting a dollar for a soda makes you nauseous.  Your business will probably sit a little lower on the marketing budget scale.    

Once you decide how much to set aside for marketing, it’s time to figure out how to spend the money you’ve allotted.  This is where most business owners really run into problems.  Many business simply want to do what was done the year before.  This may be a good idea if the marketing projects were successful.  However, if they weren’t successful, or just ho-hum, it may be time to invest in a new marketing plan. 

When planning to use your marketing budget, take a good, hard look at the following.  It will begin to be very obvious how to spend your marketing budget and get the ROI that you’ve been wanting.

1. Goals for the business.  What are your goals for your business?  Are you looking to grow?  Any plans to expand into other cities, hire new employees, create a new product or offer new services?  If so, the sky is the limit with your marketing campaign.  this is the time to get aggressive!  Maybe you’re wanting to hold steady in 2010.  If so, keep your marketing budget where it was for last year (including a little extra for inflation, of course).  It could be possible that you’re looking to downsize a bit.  This does NOT mean that you should cut out marketing.  It simply means that you need to figure out the best way to spend your marketing dollars efficiently.  Sit down with a pen and paper (remember those?) in a quiet place and really concentrate on what you want for your business in 2010. 

2. Target demographic.  To whom are you trying to pitch your products/services?  Are you aiming for 30-somethings?  (Try Twitter.)  What about women over 55? (Facebook is the answer.)  How about teenagers? (I see a texting campaign in your future.)  Interested in selling to mothers with small children at home?  (Blog, baby, blog!)  Your demographic will help determine where the marketing budget should be allotted.

3. Current/previous marketing efforts.  What did you do last year?  How about the year before?  Were any of the campaigns successful?  Look back on the tracking that you did for the projects.  If they worked, great!  If not, it may be time to tweak them a bit.  Don’t be afraid to try new things, but it’s important to look at what has worked historically for your business, as well.

4. What is your level of expertise and how much time can you devote to marketing?  How much do you know about blogging and social media?  Do you have 2-3 hours per day to devote to marketing efforts? If you (or an employee) is a marketing whiz, and you’ve got time to spare, you’re in great shape.  However, what if you’ve never been on a blog and you’ve only heard about Twitter on a commercial?  Or, worse yet, you have absolutely NO time to work on any marketing projects.  Never fear!  There are professionals everywhere who are ready and willing to help your company a success.  However, those professionals cost money.  Be sure to figure the cost of either hiring an employee with marketing knowledge or bringing on a consultant to help with all things marketing.   

No matter how you decide to spend your marketing budget, be sure that you HAVE a marketing budget.  Need help?  Contact us!

On September 23 from 6-8 pm, Angie will be teaching Website 101 at PACE LA Business Development Center.   This class will cover the basics of websites for small businesses.  You’ll learn why you need a website, how to pick a domain, how to plan your site, creating the design of the site, managing the site and more.   

On September 30 from 6-8 pm, Angie will be teaching Website 102 at PACE.   If your business already has a website and you’re ready to move to the next level of Internet presence, this is the class for you.  In this class you’ll learn the basics of SEO, how to find key terms, how to implement some SEO strategies yourself, the importance of inbound links, landing page basics and tracking your marketing efforts.    

On October 14 from 6-8, Angie will teach the third class in the series, Website 103, at PACE.  This class will cover the basics of social media strategies, including deciding which social media sites are best for you, how to start a successful social media campaign, and knowing when to turn your campaign over to a professional. 

All classes will be held at 1055 Wilshire Blvd, Ste 900B, Los Angeles, CA 90017.  They will be held from 6-8 pm each night.  Please click on the links above to enroll.  Most importantly, the price is right — all classes are free!   We’d be so lucky to meet you.  Please, come join us!

• MarketingExperiments tested product conversion with and without product ratings by customers. Conversion nearly doubled, going from .44% to 1.04% after the same product displayed its five-star rating. 
• RSS study: Burpee measured a 43% higher click-through on RSS feedswith reviews than without. (Burpee, December 2007)
• Shoppers who browsed the site’s new “Top Rated Products” page, which features products rated most highly by customers, had a 59% higher conversion rate than the site average and spent 16% more per order than other browsers of products. (Bass Pro Shops, June 2008)
• Giving shoppers the ability to sort products within a category by customer rating led to a sales increase of 41% per unique visitor. (PETCO, June 2007) 

Unbelievable, right?  So you may be asking yourself how you can start getting some positive reviews on the Internet about your business.  The answer isn’t so simple.  We’re living in the time of user-generated content.  The users are in control.  The company no longer has complete control over the message.  You can, however, take some proactive steps to encourage reviews. 

1. Ask your best clients to write about their experiences with your company.  When someone loves the service/product you’ve provided, they’ll usually be happy to write a quick testimonial or review. 

2. Encourage folks to review.  If you sell products or services online, it’s OK to encourage the users to rate the product.  But don’t take my word for it, listen to iJustine (a YouTube “celebrity”).  At the end of her videos, she encourages the user to “give it five stars.” 

3. Get involved with social communities. Check out what people are saying about you on the Internet.  Take some time each day to review Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and any other social communities in which your customers participate.  Respond to people who are making comments.  If they say something wonderful, thank them.  If they say something horrible, listen to them and let them know that you care.  By paying attention to their praise, concerns and complaints some folks may be impressed enough to actively market for you.

4. Spread the word about your great reviews.  If you are lucky enough to get wonderful online reviews, it’s OK to brag just a little.  Make sure that your website has a testimonial page, and link from your site to the reviews online.  Reviews can be like yawns — when you see someone else do it, you want to do it, too!  The more reviews, the better!

If you have any questions about online reviews, don’t hesitate to contact us.  We’ll be happy to show you how to take your online reviews and turn them into profits!  (And, if you’re so inclined, leave a comment with a review  )