When you make money it’s not an expense, you look at it as an investment. We need to have that similar mindset to marketing.
Stop treating marketing as an expense! If you want to grow as a company, you should learn that every dollar you invest on channels like Google Adwords can generate you a revenue of a solid 20% in return.
Don’t hamper your growth with “marketing budgets”. If you set a constrained marketing budget, you may have implied one of two things:
- Marketing have little to no effect on sales which makes it look like you are wasting your money
- Marketing is risky, because you have no idea how it works and how you measure results
If your marketing is just wasting your money, stop it. You should not accept marketing that does not work.
If on the other hand your marketing feels like it’s too risky then think of a way to avoid it, but try to become more smarter. Learn how to translate results of your marketing initiatives, and become detailed about data and accountability. Testing your ideas is the most effective way to use your marketing budget, and set some metrics to track results. This will allow you to know what works for your business. Good marketing is always an investment that pays dividends.
Marketing will require you to have patience and a lot of practice before you can convert marketing and make it an investment that delivers predictable returns. Here are two key behaviors that you need to change marketing from an expense to an investment:
- Become a Data Master. By mastering the measures that lead to results you can develop marketing programs that work
- Experiment is Key. There is no shortage of brilliant ideas to market your business. Adapt, test, and know what fits your business. Always find a marketing tactic that works and leverage on it and then make it an investment.
Remember that only the most dedicated companies turn their marketing dollars into predictable returns. Your business will grow in leaps and bounds when your marketing is treated like an investment versus an expense.