From my experience a marketing budget is often an after thought.  The last thing entrepreneurs think about or plan for.  While it’s fine to make compromises,(all early growth stage companies usually have to) it’s where you decide to make those compromises that can affect your revenue growth.  Too often I am asked for marketing help and then reminded that there is only a shoe string budget. While there are of course always marketing tactics that cost little money they aren’t necessarily the ones that will help you grow your business the fastest.

Just when you thought you were done, you realize that the campaign measurements aren’t necessarily conclusive.  Or you’re left with a lingering doubt as to whether the response was an aberration perhaps affected by a one time event. Smart marketers always retest results even positive ones to ensure before the budget is spent on a costly roll-out that they are fairly secure in a predictable outcome.

BtoB the magazine for marketing strategists just posted their recent survey on 2010 marketing budget expectations on their web site. The news is positive but more interestingly are the quotes mid-article:

“As marketers learned from marketing in a recession, nothing beats understanding the customer and marketing to prospects with a laser focus.”

“It is all about understanding the audience and understanding how they want to receive their information, then developing marketing programs that are targeted exclusively to their needs,” said Bob Meldrum, VP-marketing at TW Telecom.