How to allocate your marketing budget: A 6 step guide

But how do you prioritise?

So you’re at a stage where you’ve worked out what you want to say, who you want to say it to, and how you’re gonna get the message out there.

But you could have thousands of ideas. How do you decide where to allocate the budget and which to prioritise?

Time and money are limited resources. Energy and opportunity are just as precious. So we need to choose our path wisely.

Prioritise based on budget

Budget allocations vary extremely from industry to industry and business to business.

But as a very broad representation, it’s not unusual for a business to allocate the following percentages to their plan:

• 50% Digital Marketing (Social, Content, SEO, Ads, Email, Affiliates, Influencer Marketing)
• 20% Traditional Print & Display Marketing 
• 20% Networking, Shows, Events, Promotions, Giveaways, Sponsorships
• 10% Experimental Marketing

It’s a good idea to always allocate something for trying new ideas. Plus it’s exciting.

But so as not to get too carried away, a sizeable chunk of your investment should be allocated to the activity you believe is tried and tested.

That leads us to our next point…

Prioritise based on best chance of success

Clearly, it makes sense to prioritise activity that you believe will work well.

Perhaps because it’s worked well for you in the past.

If you don’t have previous, then perhaps the confidence can stem from a blatant connection.

For example, when the link between your product, the target market, and the placement opportunity is evident.

A hot-dog franchise taking a stand at a food franchise expo. An ice cream van at the beach.

These aren’t innovative. They’re obvious.

A pickle stand at a cheese rolling contest? Could work. Less obvious.

So it definitely doesn’t mean you shouldn’t also make time to try some things that might work.

Just again that it makes sense to start with more surefire things to get some momentum.

Prioritise based on time

Some marketing tactics take longer than others to see a return.

Things like Content marketing, SEO, and brand awareness campaigns can take time to deliver.

Networking can take time to build trust and rapport. Events are typically only as successful as the follow-up.

Even PR, print advertising, and direct mail can take weeks.

Although, if you are launching or working in a particular area, then performance can be boosted by the timing and relevance or a door-drop campaign.

That said, selling to existing customers has been proven time and time again to be easier than attracting new ones.

And depending what you do, it can take as many as 12 touch-points before you land that first sale.

You might need quick results. If so, Ads on search and social platforms are often the fastest way to gain momentum.

And even email marketing can offer quick wins… Again, so long as you’ve already worked on building an audience, of course.

Mix well and serve

It should come as no surprise to you that often the best approach is a mix of all the above.

Each consideration is like a different ingredient, with varying measures playing an important part in your recipe.

Your individual marketing cocktail is unlikely to taste exactly like another.