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Advertising is the most important and probably the toughest part of any business. How to decide the advertising budget, where to place the ads, what should be the frequency, which products should be highlighted, what medium should be used, what message to send and to whom? The questions are endless. It is important to make a proper advertising strategy in order to market your product well without putting extra stress on the budget.
The most important question that lingers in the mind of every businessman is “How much to spend on advertising?” The answer to this is basically “how much money do you have?” As per the rule of thumb, most businessmen spend 2-5% of their gross sales in the previous year in advertising. You can then break the amount into a daily, monthly, weekly or season wise expenditure depending upon your type of business. It is always better to rely on known factors rather than investing advertising money as per the future predictions.
After the budget is finalized, the next important step remains in specifying the goals of your advertising. Questions like whether you are looking for immediate increase in sales or planning to have a long-term benefit? What should your ad reflect – the brand image or the features of product, and many such questions need to be answered
In addition to specifying the advertising budget, it is also important to monitor the results of the ads. Create a “tracking sheet” and if you find something is not working, it is better to plan your advertising strategy again in a new, refreshing manner.
