No matter how awesome your new product or service is, if people do not know where to get it or how to get in touch with you, it is just not going to sell. Business experts would always say that you have to spend money to make money. In addition, that could not be more true for marketing.
With the very competitive market these days, it is difficult to rely solely on traditional marketing techniques to reach a target audience. Although word of mouth, direct mail, print ads still work, they have to be complemented with modern methods and updated marketing strategies.
As a rule of thumb, 2 to 3% of projected gross earnings should go to the business’ marketing budget. But how do companies spend this portion of their budget? According to the United States Digital Marketing Spending Survey study by Gartner, companies nowadays are allocating and spending more of their budgets on digital marketing. To be specific, the survey found that companies tend to spend 2.5% of their entire marketing budget on digital marketing. Let us look at the top three things that companies spend their marketing budget on:
Television and Radio Ads
With almost every home equipped with a television, it is no secret that TV ads are still very important when it comes to marketing. This is especially true for products and services that are catered to everyday needs that appeal to individuals and families. Although some would argue that the radio is not as popular as it once was, it is still a great avenue for marketing, especially since radio shows are getting more visits from artists, the music countdowns keep coming, and fans keep tuning in. Radio and television ads that employ the basic visual and auditory cues still work like magic for recall purposes even up to this day.
Needless to say, as long as people watch TV and listen to music, advertising through these channels will always be alive.
Print Media
Ads in magazines, newspapers, big billboards, community posters, and flyers are still common up to this day. Perhaps it is just the format and styling that has changed a bit. These days, there is more emphasis on novelty, artistic sense and realism with ads, but the appeal of celebrities, gorgeous models and attractive products on glossies remain the same.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing has been around for years, yet it is still considered new compared to other more traditional forms of marketing. Digital marketing offers some advantages such as quicker response time, ability to study the target market with the ads, fast dissemination of information and less time for creation, to name a few. Some of the forms of digital marketing include social media marketing, affiliate marketing, SEO, and link building and bulk email services.
No matter how small or how large the marketing budget is, business owners should know that it is still wisest not to choose one sole marketing strategy over the other. Because the target markets vary in interest, generations, and spending power, the kind of marketing that appeals to them varies too. Deciding how to spend marketing budget should consider the audience, the business size, and the industry as well.
