Your Marketing Budget

“You have $10,000 to spend on marketing. How do you use it?”

This is the question posed to Inc’s 5000 honorees in the latest issue of the magazine. I found both the question and the answers fascinating. One owner recommended spending it all on social media; another said direct mail. Still another said she would spend it on a logo and branding.

My favorite answer was this one, “First, look at internal data about your customers. Using that, develop specific customer identities....Second, ask if you are communicating to your customers what you do in a non confusing way. Third, spend money on the basis of what you found out in the first two steps.” —Bettina Hein, Pixability

So often, I find business owners are pouring their marketing dollars into something that doesn’t speak to their audience. Making an informed decision gets lost in the fray of doing something.

Rather than relying on random or faddish marketing activities to grow business, we must discover why your business exists, who you really serve and why it matters to them. Only then can we begin to speak to our true audience in a way that’s meaningful to them. Clearly communicating the right message to the right audience should be your first priority.

If you, your employees, or your customers lack clarity on what your business objectives are, it’s time to reevaluate. It can help to work with a brand strategist to ensure you are clearly communicating—both verbally and visually—to your ideal audience.