Not too many businesses can thrive without some form of marketing. The purpose is to educate your audience in an effort to persuade them as to why they should choose your company over competitors when making the decision to purchase a product or choose a service. With such an important stake in the success of a business, one can’t help but wonder what is the right amount to spend on marketing for a pest control business. Just like there is more than meets the eye when it comes to truly understanding what marketing is, knowing how much to spend on marketing should be a well-thought-out plan and not simply an afterthought.
Knowing your goal informs where you will focus your energy and your money. Are you looking to increase revenue? Acquire ongoing subscriptions? Attract new clients and contracts? All of these goals require a unique strategy, and as a result, an individualized budget based on the size of your company and growth goals.
In general, the companies Lobster Marketing works with spend roughly 8% of their revenue on their marketing budget. Some spend a little more, and others, a little less, but data indicates that companies who spend less than 5% on marketing do not grow. The amount of money spent has a direct correlation to the amount of growth that can be expected. And if you’re not seeing a positive relationship between money spent and increases in revenue, it may be a sign that it’s time to regroup and look into where money is being used ineffectively and where it’s paying off.
That’s where Lobster Marketing, and more specifically the Lobster CompassSM marketing portal come into play. The portal was created in part to help you keep track of how your money is being spent and what is working well and what strategies need revision.
Once you know how much to allocate, it is critical to know exactly what you’re going to be spending it on. Marketing is a multi-faceted concept built to aid you in reaching annual and long-term goals and likely consists of a combination of the following:
Website
Content
Local SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Pay-Per-Click
Sales Promotions
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Analytics
Use the strategies above to work toward specific, trackable goals that aid you in developing, growing, and evaluating your marketing efforts. Curious about where to begin? Check out our marketing calculator to get a recommendation from our experts based on your numbers and industry averages.
