What’s your marketing budget? And what do you spend those dollars on?

Uhhh…

If you’re thinking, “I really have no idea. How do I really have no idea?!”, you’re not alone. And you’re in the right place. The reality is that most home industry businesses (not to single them out – but that’s why we’re here!) don’t know just how much money they’re putting into their marketing initiatives… or where, exactly, it’s going. Good marketing is creative, innovative, and inspiring, sure, but it’s also consistent, methodical, and measurable.

So, what’s your marketing budget? Determining that is a solid first step to creating an effective marketing strategy.

Determining Your Marketing Budget

Your marketing budget encompasses not only what you spend but where you spend it. Are you pushing it towards digital media? Print media? Or, ideally, a mix of both that enables you to reach your target audience where, when, and how they will respond best? You must then look into the costs for each in order to get the most bang for your buck, so to speak, and achieve your business-building goals.

The first step is to crunch some numbers. What is your company’s gross revenue? This, of course, refers to what you take in before deductions and expenditures like rent, lease, cost of goods, taxes, insurance, and so on.

Got gross? Ok. Now, generally, a sound strategy is to allocate 2-3% of your gross revenue (if under $5 million) to marketing. If your gross is over $5 million, then it’ll decrease to 1-2%. New businesses typically need to spend more as they raise awareness and establish their place in the market.

Let’s look at some examples to see how this would look in action. Say the gross revenue for your interior design firm of $2 million, your marketing budget would be from $40,000 – $60,000.

Seem like a lot? Ask yourself, what’s the cost of not prioritizing marketing?

The short answer is, if people don’t know who you are, what you do, why they need you, and how to contact you, they won’t.

Using the Haven Marketing Budget Calculator

You don’t even have to do the math… We’ll do it for you. Enter a few figures into our handy Marketing Budget Calculator and you’ll be able to figure out how much you should be spending on marketing, as well as the potential ROI.

Haven exists to help businesses in the home industry tell their story of expertise – without the hassle, stress, confusion, and frustration that so often accompanies marketing! Connect with our team to learn more.