So you're not sure how to spend your marketing dollars? Whether you're just starting a digital marketing strategy or you're looking to get more return on your investment, our data-driven calculator pulls average spend by businesses based on industry, revenue, and aggressiveness in spend.
You're in luck. It's really easy and we'll walk you through step by step. Also, did we mention it's completely free and ungated (doesn't initially require an email or anything from you). You're just not going to find tools like this out there.
Step 1. Identify your industry. There are a lot of ways to think about this. Obviously, we're not talking about whether you're in home repair, dentistry, or accounting. The data in this calculator is based on companies with similar audience groups. So ask yourself the question, where is my audience primarily? Across the nation, local, or possibly you're only selling products online. Feel free to hover over the icons below for additional insight.
Step 2. Revenue. How much did your business earn last year? This data is not collected. Meaning you can feel comfortable with honest input. Heck, you can try a couple different options to get an idea. Just stick a number in there that you're comfortable with knowing that it will indicate based on other companies with similar revenue numbers.
Step 3. Third and final step. How aggressive do you want to be? Try out a couple variations to see what others are doing. Where are you currently? Above the most aggressive, below the least?
See, it's easy. But the truth is, there is a lot going into the calculation to give you honest, valuable, and data driven results to ensure you've got the information necessary to make educated decisions moving forward!
Tool Is Most Accurate With Revenue Above $100,000.
Less Aggressive - You're looking to get started. Your funds are tight.
Average - Grow consistently & on average with businesses in similar revenue group.
More Aggresssive - Looking to outperform competition.
We're confident that the data is reflective of actual businesses that are spending money on marketing today. We work with hundreds of clients every day who all started out with similar questions on how to move forward and where to spend money. We know that these recommendations reflect positive ROI and we know we can get you the results too! But you don't know that yet, so we've provided some FAQs that will help you get additional information that we often see small and large businesses ask.
The truth is, there's really not a one size fits all. Which is why we built the calculator. That being said, you asked the easy question we're going to try and give an easy answer. We see many companies spend 50 cents to a dollar per hundred dollars of earned revenue. Meaning anywhere between .5% and 1%. Obviously, we're not comfortable with the simplicity of this answer as it genuinely doesn't reflect all the components to consider. There are certainly companies that spend more and less. Your industry, yearly revenue, and how aggressive you want to be really are great indicators to how that percentage slides.
A budget, or marketing budget, is a plan how much one is willing or able to spend in certain areas. While this question may seem novice to some, it can be a crippling non-starter for others. Ultimately, a marketing budget sets rules so that a business can measure spent dollars against dollars earned from those very initiatives. Without a plan we see businesses over and underspend, we see them lose their way feeling unsure or uncomfortable with their efforts. Without a budget, businesses have nothing to measure against. They have a hard time feeling confident in any efforts internally or externally, and ultimately it leads to failure on many fronts.
Your marketing costs ought to align with your earnings as well as your desire to grow and your industry. If our calculator didn't already satisfy that question, seek additional data to help. Talk to a member of the SEO Werkz team or other business mentors you may have. The bottom line is, you need a benchmark (hopefully data-driven) that will indicate a solid place for you to start from and iterate on. The key though, is to start. Don't find yourself in analysis paralysis. Start somewhere, then test ROI, test different channels and take control of your business growth!
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Whatever your consulting or analysis needs are, SEO Werkz will exceed your expectations. We’ll deliver expert analyses, reports & consulting that are of the highest quality in the industry and that are communicated to you in a clear, straightforward manner.
