marketing : your marketing budget

Summarize the amount you intend to invest in marketing as a percentage of your projected gross sales. You can break it down on a monthly, quarterly or annually. Theoretically, you have already determined the amount of your marketing budget by creating the various financial statements of your company. The number you choose will depend greatly on the type of business and your objectives. It can be between 5% and 50% or more. If you are a company that depends heavily on marketing - a company selling products by mail solicitations and direct mail, for example - you will likely allocate more than a company that will build its customer base through networking and marketing custom.

Here are some other issues to consider when creating your budget:

     * Putting a figure in writing, you agree to support your marketing program. You know how much you can afford to spend in various forms of advertising, public relations and other tactics.

     * Make sure you track the effectiveness of each marketing tactic. You must get the maximum return on your marketing investments.