When it comes to growing your business, you can’t afford not to spend money on marketing. But how much should your marketing really cost? How do you make sure it’s really worth the investment and how much is too much?

In this article, we will discuss the various ways to market your business, what to look out for and how much it costs to implement a marketing strategy that actually works.

The Cost of Marketing

There really is no ceiling to how much you can spend on marketing. If you have an unlimited budget and want to go crazy, the world is your oyster! Unfortunately, most businesses don’t have an unlimited budget and need to be careful how much they allocate to marketing activities, or any other area in their business.

So, how much should marketing cost?

The reality is, you can spend anything from $50 to $5.000.000 per month on marketing. A better question to ask might be: What’s the minimum you need to spend to actually see results?

And that brings us to the next question, what results are you actually looking for?

What Results Can You Expect From Investing in Professional Marketing?

When it comes to marketing strategy, many people expect a “quick fix”. They want to see results instantly! But while a marketing plan may have the potential to bring in big returns, it’s important to remember that success takes time.

Before you go spend money on the first marketing idea you’re presented with, it’s always wise to get clear on some specific outcomes that you would like to achieve.

For example:

• Number of new customers per month
• Overall sales targets
• Quantity of sales of a specific product or service
• Number of registrations or sign-ups

Once we have a clear objective, we can start exploring different marketing strategies to help us get there.

Choosing a Marketing Strategy That Actually Delivers Results

With so many tools and platforms available today, finding the right marketing strategy can feel like a daunting task. However, keeping your objective in mind makes it easier to filter through the noise and explore your options more strategically.

If you offer a service that customers need a quote for before purchasing, investing in simplifying your quoting process may be a good idea. Is it easy enough for your customers to request a quote online? Or is all you offer on your website a phone number or generic contact form?

For a retail business, it may be a good idea to offer a discount voucher that customers can claim and use in-store. Offering something for free online in return for your customers’ contact details will allow you to establish and grow your customer list.

Each example will require a different set of tools to deliver results. That’s why it’s so important to start with the end in mind and work backwards to reverse-engineer a strategy that will work for your particular business.

The trap many business owners fall into is thinking that there is a magic bullet to marketing success. A single tactic that will solve all their marketing challenges.

There isn’t. But when we start looking at marketing holistically, we can really amplify the results of each tactic we choose to deploy.

Exploring The Holistic Digital Marketing Ecosystem

Ideally, you want your marketing strategy to be made up of a variety of platforms, tools and channels. These may include:

• a professional website
• social media platforms
• communication channels (i.e. email, SMS, calls, direct mail)
• customer relationship management
• advertising (online and offline)

Diversifying your marketing means you can cast a wider net and reach more potential customers. You also want to make use of search engine optimisation (SEO), so people can easily find your business online.

Usually, most marketing experts or agencies will specialise in just one of the above. That means, a web designer will try to convince you to invest in your website. A social media manager will say that your budget is better spent on social media marketing. And an advertising agency will make you believe that the fastest way to grow your business is using paid ads.

Who is right and who will you listen to?

Well, the answer is: They are all right, but… only to a certain extent.

Each of these elements represents just one piece of the marketing puzzle. And without the others, your strategy is incomplete and likely to fail.

A holistic approach will take into account all available marketing channels and ensure that your marketing strategy doesn’t just stand on one leg, but is built on a solid foundation.

So, we are yet to answer the question of how to best spend your marketing budget.

What Is The Best Way To Spend Your Marketing Budget Online?

As previously touched on, at Done Digital, we believe that a holistic marketing strategy is the best way to grow your business sustainably. But what does that look like in practice?

Generally, there are 4 ways to implement holistic marketing in your business:

1. Implement everything yourself
2. Hire someone to help with the implementation internally
3. Outsource your marketing to a digital agency
4. Make use of automation tools and put your marketing on autopilot

While each of these can get the job done, the cost can vary significantly. Let’s explore each option a little further.

Doing it all yourself might seem like the cheapest way, however, that’s only if you don’t take into account your personal time. Moreover, if you are not an expert in digital marketing already, it could take you years to figure it all out on your own, which also means years of lost opportunities.

Hiring someone internally, even if just part-time, could cost you upwards of $30k annually plus super and other benefits. There is also the risk of that person resigning along the way, which could leave your business in a vulnerable position.

Of course, there is always the option of engaging a digital agency to assist with your marketing, but as previously mentioned, many agencies specialise in just one area of marketing, and finding one that does it all can quickly get expensive. Furthermore, most agencies will charge an ongoing retainer of $2K-$5K per month to do your marketing for you. And while they might get you the desired results, paying an agency ongoing can really eat into your profits. Another challenge with digital agencies is that, as soon as you stop working with them, your marketing usually stops too.

But there is a better way: Using the power of automation to build a marketing system that delivers sustainable long-term growth.

A Better Way To Grow Your Business

The implementation of a fully automated marketing strategy will cost considerably less and can be achieved with a comparably low budget of around $15K to $25K.

The benefit?  An automated marketing system will continue to work for you for many years, saving you thousands in the long-term.

At Done Digital, we build marketing ecosystems for smart business owners looking for sustainable business growth, without depending on expensive staff or agencies.

If you would like to have a chat to explore the idea of a fully automated marketing system in your business, book a free strategy call today.

Conclusion

While marketing can seem like an expensive investment, the truth is, not investing in marketing can turn out to be far more expensive when you consider lost opportunities.

While all options described in this article have the potential to work well, a fully automated marketing system that only needs to be implemented once is certainly the most economical option.

When deciding on a strategy, make sure you look at your marketing holistically and consider various parts of the marketing puzzle to maximise results and position your business for sustainable long-term growth.