How To Decide Which Marketing Budget To Increase
Picking one marketing budget to increase can be difficult if you do not have a process for deciding where to start. I am going to walk through the step-by-step process that we use at our agency.
First, look at your business and generate a list of all the marketing budgets that could possibly be cut or increased. This is the list that I use when trying to prioritize marketing budgets.
Product Marketing Budget - The budget that pays for product videos, webinars, demos, and all other types of marketing related to the product. This can include pre-sales support if it is in-house marketing.
Product Support / Post-Sales Technical Assistance - The budget that pays for technical assistance, training, consulting, and all other types of marketing related to the product. This can include public relations and social media if it is in-house marketing.
Marketing Automation - The budget that pays for marketing automation as a service. For example Hubspot or Marketo.
Marketing Software - The budget that pays for marketing software such as Adobe Creative Suite.
Telemarketing - The budget that pays for outbound telemarketing services.
Public Relations - The budget that pays for inbound and outbound public relations services.
Website Design and Development - The budget that pays for website design, development, and hosting services.
SEO Services - The budget that pays for search engine optimization services.
Advertising - This includes traditional and digital advertising such as Google Adwords, Bing Ads, Facebook Ads, and other traditional display ad networks.
Social Media Marketing - The budget that pays for social media services such as Facebook pages, groups, ads, etc.
Email Marketing - The budget that pays for email marketing services.
Event Marketing - The budget that pays for tradeshows, webinars, and other events.
Now that you have generated your list, it is time to prioritize it. There are a few different ways to do this:
1) Financial Impact
2) Strategic Impact
3) Manageable
4) Personal Impact
For each marketing budget, ask yourself which of the four categories it falls under. By doing this you can prioritize your list and decide which marketing budgets to increase or cut.
1) Financial Impact - For a lot of businesses, revenue is king and every dollar must be going towards increasing growth. This is why the financial impact is important when deciding which marketing budget to increase. Look at how each marketing budget impacts revenue and growth.
2) Strategic Impact - Not all marketing budgets have the same impact on revenue and growth. Some marketing budgets might be more important for strategic reasons even if they do not have a large impact on revenue.
3) Manageable - Some marketing budgets are more manageable than others. This means that they are easier to execute and have a higher chance of success.
4) Personal Impact - The last category is personal impact. This includes things such as job security, company culture, and other factors that are important to you but might not have a direct impact on revenue and growth.
After you have prioritized your list, it is time to make a decision. Look at the two or three marketing budgets that have the highest priority and decide which one to increase. If you are having a hard time deciding, then flip a coin. The important thing is that you make a decision and take action.
Further Reading:
- 5 Tips For Improving Marketing Budgets
- How To Calculate Your Marketing Budget
- When Should You Consider Increasing Marketing Budget














