There’s just not enough space here to list all the wrong ways to approach a marketing budget. And even well-intended clients have been known to give up in frustration and try to “play-it-by-ear,” or worse, they do little or no marketing because they have no budget. (As you can imagine, this self-fulfilling, no-budget-and-do-nothing approach would be getting it wrong.)

The correct approach to a sound marketing budget is to begin with the end in mind. Clearly define what you intend to achieve in specific and quantifiable numbers.

Start with the overall incremental growth objective even if your marketing plan has several segments. You may have to work through this exercise several times for adjustments and refinements. You’ll find a practical worksheet by way of the “Read More” links below.

Keep in mind that your goals and your budget are two parts of an equation that need to be aligned with each other. The purpose of your 12-month budget is to assign adequate resources to achieve realistic goals, and this goes hand-in-hand with tracking and calculating Return-on-Investment.