Executive Summary | Current Situation | Competitor and Issue Analysis | Marketing Objectives | Strategizing with "The 4 Ps" | Action Programs | Marketing Budget

Your Marketing Budget

Estimate the cost of the marketing activities you've described in the marketing plan so you'll have a budget to keep everyone on track over the course of the year. Typical marketing expense categories are marketing communications, market research, promotions, advertising, events and public relations.

Because marketing needs and costs vary widely, there are no simple rules for determining what you marketing budget should be. A popular method with small business owners is to allocate a small percentage of gross sales for the most recent year. This usually amounts to about two percent for an existing business. However, if you are planning on launching a new product or business, you may want to increase your marketing budget figure, to as much as 10 percent of your expected gross sales. Another method used by small business owners is to analyze and estimate the competition's budget and either match or exceed it.

Executive Summary | Current Situation | Competitor and Issue Analysis | Marketing Objectives | Strategizing with "The 4 Ps" | Action Programs | Marketing Budget