Budgeting

Reverse-engineered budgets

We've discovered the best way create a marketing budget is to define the finish line and work backwards from there. The "finish line" is your top-level goal, usually your annual revenue target. Then work backwards and create smaller milestone goals, tied to specific KPIs (key performance indicators). Now that the finish line is well-defined, we can figure out what needs to be done, and how much it will cost.

• All budgets are referenced and compared to national benchmarks for everyone's sanity.
• Budgets can be stress-tested before a nickel is spent. Are the growth goals & budgets realistic?
• Is the budget tied to performance? It should be. Only then can you scale with confidence.

Numbers are beautiful

Who loves a well-organized spreadsheet? I know there's a few of us out there! We're big fans of getting way ahead in the area of financial planning. Three-year goals are important to discuss, but your 12-month budget is divided into precise allocations for chosen media channels and tied back to revenue goals for complete accountability.

• Revenue targets are held in focus. What is going to have the best impact on the bottom line? Does the advertising mix make sense?
• Every dollar is held accountable. A budget isn't "set it and forget it". The best budgets are agile and nimble, adapting to the current conditions. Our team tracks every dollar, then makes recommendations about what should be adjusted. Continuous improvement is our core mantra.
• We love data-driven decisions. If you've been operating blind up until know, we'll help you get clarity.

What to include in your budget?

• Long-term assets like: website, videos, photos, sales & marketing materials (Note: if you need a lot of assets created, you should anticipate a higher budget this year than other years. Assets are long-term investments and don't need to be done every year.)
• Digital advertising spend such as search engine optimization, search ads, content creation, social media, email marketing, PR, etc, account for a significant portion of modern marketing budgets.
• Traditional advertising spend like print ads, radio, TV, signage, out-of-home placements, direct mail makes up a smaller amount these days.
• Labour—both internal employees, contractors or a marketing agency like us. Did you know you can hire a whole team like us for the cost of 1 or 2 employees?
• Materials such as brand swag/clothing, corporate gifts, brochures, trade show materials.
• Entertainment-related costs like event sponsorships, new client lunches, event fees and travel.
• Technology costs like CRM software, automation tools, website hosting & maintenance, subscriptions, etc.
• Research & Reporting are vital. Knowing your customer, your competition, and your industry trends helps you stay competitive. And good reports give you the information needed to make timely business decisions.
• And, and... well, every company is different and so is their budget. Need help figuring it out? We've worked with 100s of companies in all kinds of industries. Budgeting is an important part of how we help companies grow. Ready to discuss?