It’s an unfortunate reality for start-ups that there’s often a gap between the marketing you’d like to do and what you can afford. But exactly how do you determine how much of your cash you should allocate to marketing? “It’s a tricky question,” concedes marketing consultant Laura Lake. An important strategy for start-ups, she says, is testing marketing vehicles to see which performs best and provides the highest return on investment. “Mature companies or businesses that have been in business for a considerable amount of time know which vehicles work for them; if they don’t they are in trouble,” she notes. Lake says she typically recommends that companies invest 20% of their resources in marketing, meaning both “20% of your budget as well as your time,” she advises. “You [should] continually reinvest 20% into marketing on an ongoing basis. As time goes on you may be able to decrease your time spent in marketing, but in return monetary resources may need to increase.” The key, she says, is to find the vehicles that work best for your target market, then review and adjust your marketing mix as indicated by results. “There’s no such thing as one specific activity, but rather a cross-section of marketing strategies will bring the success you need,” she says. “Determine what marketing works by asking your customers; disregard any marketing vehicles that are not working and reinvest in those that do.” Go to: About Marketing

Posted October 21st, 2008 under Intellectual Property Marketing

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