Do you think of Marketing as a Cost or as an Investment?
If you’re a start up, a one man band or the owner of a small business, the chances are that you have to keep a very close eye on how much money is going out of the business, as well as how much is coming in.
It takes time to build up reserves, so every penny needs to be spent wisely.
Which is why marketing can be a bit of a bone of contention.
There’s a perception that marketing is expensive.
How Much?
The first question is always – how much will it cost?
You could be thinking about having a website, a brochure, a direct mail campaign, some adverts etc. And the cost of the item in question is probably what will determine whether it gets done or not.
Or maybe it just costs too much to get someone else to do it for you.
So you do it yourself.
After all, there’s so much free software out there now that we can all create our own graphics, build our own websites, run email campaigns etc for free. It doesn’t cost you anything. Go you!
Sound familiar?
Freebie Failure
Now there is nothing wrong doing marketing stuff that’s free. I encourage my clients to do lots of things that are free.
But you have to look at the bigger picture to be 100% sure that what you’re doing really isn’t costing you anything. And when I say “cost” in this context, I don’t just mean the amount of money you might pay for it.
If you build a website for yourself, that’s all very well and good. But are you a trained graphic designer? Or copywriter? Or developer? Or SEO expert? Etc etc.
So how good a website are you really building?
Because it’s one thing having a web presence, but if what you actually need is an effective web presence that’s actually bringing in leads, that might a different story altogether.
And this is why it’s important to understand why there’s an argument that marketing should be viewed as an investment, not a cost.
Be honest, do you know how to build a website and implement techniques that will generate leads for you?
How much are your decisions costing your business?
If a great website could get you 3 leads a month how much would that be worth to you?
How much is your free website actually costing you now?
So when you’re making decisions about marketing activity, make sure you sit down and work out how much something is really going to cost you. If you’re going to need to pay for something, but there’s a high chance that you’re going to get a decent return on the investment you put in, then it’s worth doing.
Conversely, if you’re not going to get any return by doing something for free, it’s costing you too much!
So, next time you’re weighing up whether or not to spend money on your business, look at what you’re going to get back. Will your choice turn into an investment IN your business or a cost TO your business.
If you want to talk to someone about your marketing challenges, don’t hesitate to book a call. We offer a free 20 minute Focus Call where we’ll happily talk you through potential next steps to help you move on from your challenges.
Book your Focus Call now: https://calendly.com/zhrmarketing