Page 286 - Duct Tape Marketing

Commit to Your Marketing with a Plan, Budget, and Calendar

very few of those leads turn into clients. Another promotion may not
generate very many leads, but they are the right leads, and they turn
into new customers.

For certain businesses, a call report might just be an overview of
what occurred during the lead conversion meeting. This may seem
like busywork, but it may also be very helpful in understanding how
to improve upon or duplicate a successful lead conversion system.

B-U-D-G-E-T

Wow! We’ve come this far, and I’m going to mention the big “B”
word for the first time. It’s not that I don’t think a marketing budget
is critical—it’s essential. It’s that I needed you to understand a great
deal about the Duct Tape Marketing system before a discussion on
marketing budgets would be appropriate.

Most small business owners I have worked with fall into two bud-
get camps: the “Budget? What budget?” camp, and the “percent of
sales” camp. Both of these camps are a deadly place to be, in my opin-
ion. With no budget designated for marketing, you will do one of two
things. Either you will not invest in marketing at all or you will waste
marketing dollars that are thrown at the idea of the week. The “percent
of sales” calculation may be a step in the right direction, but it misses
the point of marketing too.

Here’s the Duct Tape Marketing system philosophy of marketing
budgets: when it comes to a small business marketing budget, you
should spend as little as you possibly can in order to achieve your market-
ing goals. (See why those goals are so important?) I don’t think that’s
really even a very radical statement; it’s just that nobody told you to
think about a marketing budget this way. Now, here’s the rub. You
can’t take this approach unless you create a marketing plan, measure
your results, and follow through on your plan.

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