Marketing Mechanics. How to Reduce Your "Out of Control" Marketing Budget To Maximize Success.

As I stated in Marketing Mechanics tip #1, Once you have an idea on who you are marketing, you are now able to put a sensible Marketing Plan in place. Again, when it comes to your customers, please keep in mind the importance of a controlled target market. It is a no brainer that small business marketing and large business marketing are different. The majority of small business owners have little to no marketing budget. This doesn’t mean that you can’t niche market with the bigger companies; it just means you have to think a little more creatively. As a result of your niche market, you might gain by their huge marketing budget and zest to market all of their products.

To increase control of your marketing budget and maximize your business success, apply these two easy to implement concepts;

Where’s the Beef! Make a list of all your expenses and check out areas where you could cut down and save money without sacrificing performance. Don’t work harder, or spend more, work smarter. Combine expenses as your business data results recommend. This can be done on a simple, self created spreadsheet or purchase an inexpensive software program. This will help you keep track of your expenses and allocate funds to meet them. The most important piece of tracking expenses is not the present, but the past. What did you budget from day to day, week to week, month to month? Are you on budget? Are you making decisions based on your measurable data? If not, you are guessing. Use your data to drive your decisions!

Memo to Customers, You’re Fired! The reason this is important is that only a small fraction of the population is likely to purchase any of your products or services. As you track your expenses, examine all of your accounts. There might be clients who are high maintenance using up your time and resources with little or zero profit. Focus on your customers that appreciate your business and are profitable. By taking the time to pitch your sales and marketing efforts to the correct niche market you will be more productive and not waste your efforts, money or time.

Marketing a small business doesn't have to be financially devastating. A little creativity and analysis of data will go a long way toward maximizing and increasing your business success.