Funding and Running an Effective Small Business Marketing Campaign

A considerable number of small business in the United States are sole proprietorships or closely held enterprises, including family operations. Business finances are closely connected with the economic health and wellness of a sole proprietor or close group of owners. Consequently, decisions made pertaining to small business marketing has a direct impact of enterprise and individual finances. 

Finances and marketing intersect in a number of ways. First, business budget planning must take into account the very real need to have a suitable marketing effort on behalf of the brand, products, or services. Second, a properly crafted and funded marketing strategy results in a boost in business revenue and profits. 

With financial considerations borne in mind, there are some important tactics to bear in mind when it comes to small business marketing. These begin with the development of a suitable, comprehensive small business budget. 

Develop a Comprehensive Small Business Budget 

As a prelude to creating a small business marketing plan you need to make certain that you have a current, comprehensive business plan in place. A recurring mistake among small business owners is the failure to understand the vital interconnection between business and marketing plans. 

The most common negative consequence of this failure is the lack of financial planning associated with small business marketing. With alarming regularity, small businesses fail to properly allocate funding to execute a suitable marketing campaign. These enterprises relegate marketing to something of an afterthought when overall business and financial planning is not properly undertaken in advance of designing a marketing strategy. 

Proper Allocation of Funds to Marketing, Advertising, and Promotion 

As part of the small business budgeting process and an effort to craft a marketing plan, care must be taken regarding the financial investment that must be made in marketing, advertising, and promotion. There is no hard and fast set of rules that must be followed in regard to funding a marketing effort. Indeed, taking a cookie cutter approach to funding a small business marketing campaign is destined to lay a foundation for enterprise failure. 

The individual needs, goals, and objectives of a marketing effort must be closely considered in planning. Branding necessities as well as the type of product or service offered by an enterprise also have direct bearing on where and how much needs to be spent on marketing, advertising, and promotion. 

The stark reality is that attempting to really pin down what financially is needed to develop, launch, and execute an effective small business marketing effort can fairly be called a mysterious endeavor. More than a few small business owners understandably don't have the background and specific skill set to successfully walk through this process. In the end, a small business owner is best served by seeking professional assistance in laying the vital foundation of a marketing plan and campaign, including calculating a proper budget. 

The Importance of Market Research 

Another component of small business marketing, advertising, and promotion that surprisingly is overlooked is market research. This particularly became the case beginning at the time of the 2008 economic downturn. Small businesses that needed to economize made a serious mistake by cutting out market research. 

Time and again small businesses and their owners forgo any type of market research when they embark on developing a marketing effort. The make decisions without data and do so relying in instinct. Once in a while, these business owners hit the nail on the head. More often, they do not. The net effect in the absence of market research is the expenditure of more money than is necessary. 

Equally significant, because a marketing campaign developed without market research will be off the mark and negatively impacts a brand and associated products and services. A business' financial bottom line is negatively impacted as a consequence. 

As noted previously, there is a close financial connection between the fiscal wellbeing of a small business and the personal financial health of its owner or owners. As a result, due diligence must be fully exercised when it comes to developing, implementing and managing a marking campaign for a small business enterprise. The failure to pay heed to the recommendations made in this article can negatively impact a business and its owners to a significant degree.

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Jessica Kane is a writer for Every USB, where you can create your very own custom usb drive for your brand or company.