How much does marketing cost?
Many small business owners ignore marketing because they consider it to be too expensive or only for large companies. Marketing consists of a myriad of different elements, some with minimal or no costs and some with substantial costs. By using your resources and creativity, you can use a few key marketing activities, cut costs, and be very successful.
Below is a list of various marketing items and the range of costs associated with each. Below the table is more information on some key marketing elements that are REQUIRED for any business.
Marketing Activity – Cost Range
Newspaper Ads – $ 30 – $ 5,000
Magazine Ads – $ 200 – $ 10,000
Newsletter announcements: $ 10 – $ 2,500
Direct Mail – $ .05 – $ 5.00 (per piece)
Radio Ads – $ 10 – $ 3,000 (per ad)
TV commercials: $ 25 – $ 5,000
Sponsorships – $ 100 – $ 10,000
Seminars – $ 50 – $ 5,000
Conferences – $ 1,000 – $ 100,000
Trade shows – $ 100 – $ 50,000
Web Ads – $ .05 – $ 1,000
The list above is just a short list of some of the ways you can spend your marketing budget, and as a small business owner, I know that some of them seem too expensive and out of reach. In fact, I suggest that some of these small businesses never include them in their marketing mix, but all businesses should have the building blocks of marketing.
Every business should have a guarantee of identity, and these pieces should look professional, polished, and appropriate. The building blocks of small business marketing are the logo, business card, letterhead, brochure, and website.
There are many companies that use just these five elements to manage their marketing. They rely heavily on a sales force and these five elements are all they need. These five elements are also the things your customers will see every time they interact with you. When you meet a potential client, you give them a business card, which also has your logo on it. When you send an invoice, your logo is included. If you mail any type of sales letter, it will be on your letterhead. When a customer requests more information, you will hand them a brochure. Finally, 66% of consumers access the website before making any type of purchase, so you will have a website with your logo and information available for searches.
Almost all active companies have these things, but most do not have consistent professional pieces. Most of the time, small business owners create each of these building blocks themselves and only when they need them. Among the other daily tasks of the business, these owners lose sight of consistency with their marketing materials.
These five basic materials are part of your marketing costs, because they are affordable, sometimes free, to create. If professionally created, they establish and demonstrate your brand and image, and foster a better feeling in your customers towards your company. Although you can spend a considerable amount of money on various marketing activities, which are necessary for many small businesses, the logo, business card, letterhead, brochure, and website are required. Including these five elements in your business plan is not a difficult thing to do, it should be considered early in planning.