There is no exact answer to how much you should spend on advertising. What you spend will depend on your promotional objectives Sonny Milano Blue Jackets Jersey , your target customers, the characteristics of your product or service, and the type of business you are in.
Several methods for deciding on a budget are used successfully by small businesses. Here are some of those methods: The percentage of sales method is probably the most frequently used. A percentage of projected sales revenue to be devoted to advertising is predetermined. Suppose you learn from your trade association that firms similar to yours allocate five percent of revenue to advertising. You’d estimate the amount of your sales for your first year of operation to determine what your advertising expenditures should be. Let’s say your sales for card printing business are very low especially on business cards. Then you have to pay more attention to get more sales. You need to allocate a proper budget for advertising to generate more sales.
The fixed dollar per unit method uses an absolute dollar amount in the advertising budget for each unit of product sold or produced. You’d have to estimate how much it would take to sell each unit and then set your advertising budget for the year. A business card printing shop owner who plans to print 500 cards might estimate a cost of $1 to sell each card. The advertising budget would be $500.00. The fixed dollar per unit method like the percentage of sales method represents formula thinking. It ignores the goal that advertising must achieve- to bring in sales.
Matching competition can be viewed as a defensive way to develop your advertising budget. Spending as much as your competitors assumes that your advertising strategy should be similar to theirs. It also assumes that your competitors know the right amount to spend. And it’s pretty nearly impossible to find out how much your competition is actually spending in any case. This is not the method you must use.
The affordable method isn’t really a method at all. It simply answers the question: how much am I willing to spend on advertising? Business owners who use this procedure as a basis for deciding on an advertising budget don’t truly understand the function of advertising. Of course Riley Nash Blue Jackets Jersey , there are practical limits to how much you can afford. The Can I afford approach is the self-fulfilling prophesy.
Advertising leads to sales. The amount you spend on it should be keyed in some way to the amount of sales you want. Suppose an entrepreneur is willing to spend only a small amount on advertising during the first year of operation. At the end of the year, meager sales and disappointing profits- the results of the inadequate advertising program- might lead to even less money being budgeted during the second year. This method of developing an advertising budget could result in the ultimate failure of the business.
As a practical matter, the amount you decide to spend on advertising should be related to your planned sales targets and the objectives for your advertising program. This means you should carefully assess your firm’s need for advertising and set specific objectives before you make your budget. The advertising objectives must be based on your sound understanding of the target audience and identification of the outcomes the advertising must produce. At this point you can determine the costs of reaching your objectives. In this way Cam Atkinson Blue Jackets Jersey , the budget results from what you want to achieve rather than your achievement being limited by what the budget will permit.
Time Management - A Fresh View Self Help Articles | April 15, 2005
Last week I had the privilege of spending some quality time with a dear friend. Unfortunately we live on opposite sides of the world, so we do not spend a lot of time together Alexander Wennberg Blue Jackets Jersey , but when we do get together it is an uplifting experience.
Paul and his wife, Glenys have just finished moving into a beautiful new dream home that they have built. It was the first time that I had seen it, and after showing me through the house we went outside and looked out over their land. Paul pointed out where the large spa pool would be Zach Werenski Blue Jackets Jersey , and how there would be a lake over there, where the Monet bridge would be, and how the paths would be laid out.
I recalled how when we had last met Sergei Bobrovsky Blue Jackets Jersey , almost a year before, Paul told me that they had found a piece of land and bought it, and they were going to build their new dream home Artemi Panarin Blue Jackets Jersey , a Quaker barn on it. He had described to me how it would look, what it would be made of, and especially how his new workshop would be laid out Seth Jones Blue Jackets Jersey , and now he had just shown me through the actual completed building.
It reminded me of something I first heard from Jim Rohn, many years ago. Jim said something to the effect that humans were the only species that could start something after it was finished. What did he mean by that? He meant that we could completely build something in our mind before we started physically building it.