How to Determine a Brand Awareness Budget

There are a number of cheap and free marketing and branding tools that you will find online, but you aren't going to succeed by using only those items. Not only that, but what does "cheap" even mean to you? If you're creating your brand awareness strategy, you have to include a budget. That way, you'll know exactly what you have to spend, how many different campaigns and tools you can employ, and what the entire process will entail.

Brand awareness is a must for any company that is building an online reputation. It's critical that you take the time to explore all of the different avenues for reaching your audience and building your customer base. That will allow you to see where your efforts will be most appreciated and then lead to a proper budget for building your brand. You have to think about:

• Your industry
• How fast you want to grow
• How much growth you want
• Branding tools and methods

Generally, companies keep a marketing and branding budget between 2 and 10 percent of their sales. If that's not an effective yardstick for your company, you decide what to use. Of course, working with professionals is always going to be a good opportunity to learn more about branding and how to develop an effective budget. Marketing professionals will be able to explain the world of branding and online business, give you an idea of what to expect, and help you get everything that you deserve from your marketing this year.

The Budget Factors that Matter

Brand awareness is a must. That's a fact. You can't choose to "not" market your company or build your brand. That just isn't going to work. Now that you've settled that, you have to figure out which elements are going to help you strategically and financially to set a plan into motion. Here are some important factors to consider:

• What type of brand awareness campaigns do you have in mind? Some tools and methods cost more than others. If you are more focused on getting results than spending money, this is a consideration.
• Hiring professionals? When you work with professional marketing companies, you can count on getting much better results. These services do cost more initially, so that will need to be factored in. However, the ROI (return on investment) will make it worth every penny. 
• What can you do yourself? If you can set up social networking profiles, help build your campaigns, and offer support in other areas, then you won't have to pay people to do the work. Don't compromise your plan by cutting corners, but realistically consider what you can and can't do on your own. 

When it comes to building your brand, the last thing that you want is to focus too much on the cost of the marketing strategy. That's only going to end up with your business in a lot of cheap, corner-cutting marketing campaigns and it'll cost you a lot in terms of customers and sales. Think about how you can create an effective brand awareness strategy without spending a lot, instead. That's going to be your key to success. 

Other posts by Chris Peer on brand awareness:
The Importance of Online Brand Strategy
Online Brand Strategy & Awareness: Creating Consistency, Strength, and Trust

 Image courtesy of Stuart Miles via FreeDigitalPhotos.net