Don't Waste Money on Marketing! Plan, plan, plan!

This why it saves you money to plan for the whole marketing cycle before you spend money on marketing.

A business owner who came to me recently spent money on marketing, yet he was unhappy with his results.

He had spent marketing money on a website, blog, article submissions, public relations, postcard deliveries and yet he was concerned that nothing was returning a positive return. Perhaps the expectations weren’t properly set.

So here is a free marketing tip on why setting out a complete marketing plan is necessary to guide business decisions and the money spent on marketing.


Idea of Product or Service or Existing Product or Service

You have an idea for a product or service. A few years ago, I spoke with a computer repair specialist who wanted to launch a company that would compete in his local area with Best Buy’s the Geek Squad. He felt he had a competitive advantage.

You can start spending money to market your business idea, or you can spend a little money to begin testing your idea.

Testing Your Idea, Product or Service

Stick to the basics. Who is your target customer or client? Make up a simple questionnaire that can be answered within a minute. Or paste pictures that represent your idea or product onto a small poster board.

Let’s say you have a product that increases gas mileage.

You, or someone wanting to make extra money, hangs out near gas stations, malls, etc.

You ask representative questions:

“Would you like to increase your gas mileage without changing your vehicle?” (everyone will answer yes so it frames the need but doesn’t give you an idea on the product or service)

“Would you be willing to pay between $ 5 - $ 7 if it saved you $ 30 a month on gas?” (pricing)

“Would you purchase such and such a product from friends or at a store?” (distribution)

“What information would you need to make a purchase?” (getting to trust and credibility)


You could continue to survey in many different ways or seek information.

Start up a no cost blog and hand out a postcard with the url. Watch the traffic. If no one visits then they may not feel strongly about the issue meaning you need to focus on consumer education.

Plan and Budget Developed

Coming up with basic information, will help you decide how much to spend on graphics, printing, search engine optimization, face to face networking, etc.

Also, how much money does one sale return? Is the sale one time or will it result in repeat business? You spend “x” dollars on marketing and how long before sales begin to pour in and exceed your marketing costs? This gauges your return on investment.

Develop the Marketing Message and Image

Armed with basic information will help develop the marketing message and image. This is necessary money spent on marketing. It helps with objective information.

Marketing Activities

Set out the marketing activities, then measure them monthly, quarterly and then evaluate which ones are working and which are not. Stick with those that work.

Repeat the cycle. If sales pick up momentum then you can back off your marketing costs.