Are you launching a new business and need to allocate funds for marketing activities? Setting up a marketing budget can be overwhelming, but by following a few simple steps, you can easily determine where to spend your marketing dollars.

Start by looking at your business budget and see how much you’re willing to spend after deducting all necessary business expenses. You shouldn’t spend money you don’t have, especially when you’re not sure about the return on investment.

Wondering how to create a marketing budget for your small business? Keep reading below to find out.

Start with The Big Picture

Your marketing budget is a part of your entire business budget, no matter the size or stage of your business. However, marketing to an already existing audience and marketing to attract a new one requires two different marketing strategies and budgets.

By looking at the bigger picture, you should determine which activities are crucial for getting more leads, sales, or customers. Prioritizing, in the beginning, can save you a lot of time and money in the long run.

Assess Your Needs

Marketing budgets can change each month as you gain more customers and analyze the results from previous campaigns.

Before you set a budget, assess your realistic marketing needs: do you need several marketing channels or you can achieve results with just a few? Then, you can decide if you can cover all marketing expenses on your own or apply for small business funding.

Know Your Audience

Before you spend any money on marketing, know who you’re selling to. Many new business owners make the mistake of running endless social media ads without even knowing their target market.

Before you sell something to people, you need to know their lifestyle, shopping habits, and true needs. The best way to attract new customers is to build trusting relationships with them and paid ads are rarely the way to do this.

Set KPIs

Setting KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) in marketing means setting goals related to your marketing activities. These can include conversion rates, click-through rates, email subscriptions, sales, social media engagement rates, and more general goals.

Knowing what you want to achieve can help you do a detailed marketing budget breakdown. This way, you’ll know exactly how much money you’ll need for each marketing activity.

Determine Your Distribution Channels

The final step in creating a marketing budget is deciding on your distribution channels. Some marketing channels can be costly to operate, while others are free to use.

For example, if social media networks are one of your main distribution channels, using them for posting content is free, but running ads is not. Also, your website is a distribution channel that might require some funds to operate.

Create a Marketing Budget for Your Business

Now that you have a better understanding of what is needed to create a marketing budget, it’s time to get the word out there and market your business to make sales. Whether you’re a new business owner or want to up your marketing game, setting a budget can help you make better financial decisions.