Business Growth Blog

A zillion dollars! Just kidding.

The answer is that it depends.

If you’re like most companies, the goal of doing inbound marketing is to increase brand awareness and get more leads. You want interested prospects to come knocking at your door (which, by the way, shortens the sales cycle significantly). For prospects to know who you are and feel confident that you can help them, you need to put your name out there - somehow.

You want to grow your business. You know you need to do more marketing to expand your reach and attract more customers. You also know that good marketing isn't cheap. It's scary because you're thinking of increasing expenses, but you don't have a clear vision of what you'll get in return.

Inbound marketing can get costly. So how can you afford it, especially if you’re a small business? Here are 2 ways to reduce your inbound marketing costs:

Marketing and sales are becoming increasingly complex.

In the early stages of business growth, most companies have a limited number of employees, and the owner is driving the majority of sales and marketing. When a company is ready to take off, it needs to expand its reach significantly. That requires a stronger investment in sales and marketing strategies.

Many decisions need to be made about the most effective way to get new business: use traditional approaches like cold calling, direct mail, T.V., and billboards, or more digital-type approaches like website development, blogging, email marketing, and social media?

The owner, who is fulfilling many of the key functions of the business, usually needs expert help to develop and execute the right strategy. The next decision is whether to hire internally or outsource to a marketing company.

I’m going to lay it to you straight: good marketing ain’t cheap, and cheap marketing ain’t good.

No matter how you slice it or dice it, you need one person to drive the marketing strategy and direct the campaigns.

That person, whether it’s an internal hire or someone at a marketing agency, is going to have to work with others to do an effective job. They’ll need graphic design, programming, social media, email marketing, and writing skills just to name a few.

Get Ready, Here it Comes...

I’m going to throw some numbers out there to help you start understanding the level of investment you need to make in order to get results.

If you've never done inbound marketing before, or have only dabbled, you're probably foggy about how much this all costs. What does an inbound marketing program look like?

Every company is different, so in order to get a true picture for your business you should talk to an inbound marketing consultant to help you create a plan that is reasonable for you. The examples I give below are very general just to give you a snap shot of what a plan might look like.