How to Choose Marketing Activities: Part 6—Budget
A smart marketing budget isn’t about spending more. It’s about spending wisely.
We’ve now reached the final factor in this series on choosing marketing activities that fit your firm: Client Journey Stage, Operational Efficiency, Time Frame, Quality vs. Quantity, Marketing Preferences, and Budget. Each one acts as a filter to help you narrow your choices and build a marketing plan that is realistic, effective, and sustainable.
This week, we’re focusing on the sixth factor: Budget.
Every marketing activity has a cost, either in time or money, and often you’re trading one for the other. Your firm only has so much capacity in both areas, and those resources need to be invested wisely.
It’s not just about how much money you have to spend. It’s also about how you allocate that budget and whether the investment is enough to make the activity successful. Here are a few important considerations:
Trading Time for Money
If you’re not paying in dollars, you’re paying in hours.
When advisors spend time creating content, posting on social media, or managing marketing in-house, the cost may feel low. But once you factor in their hourly rate, those “free” activities can become some of the most expensive on your list. Sometimes paying for a solution is actually the cheaper route.
High-Leverage Investments
Some expenses offer outsized returns because they take very little time, and just one new client can offset the entire cost for the year.
Paid advisor directories, search ads, or niche listings are good examples. They require money upfront but almost no effort once set up, and they continue working for you in the background.
Are You Spending Enough to See Results?
This is where many firms unintentionally waste money.
A marketing tactic can be effective, but only if the budget is sufficient to compete.
Spending $300 a month on Google search ads in San Francisco is unlikely to work when national firms are outbidding you in that same market.
Allocating $2,000 to a public workshop might not drive enough leads through ads or mailers to fill a room.
If you’re going to spend money, make sure it’s enough to give the tactic a real chance of succeeding.
The takeaway: A smart marketing budget isn’t about spending more; it’s about spending wisely. Invest your time and money where they have the highest impact and give every tactic enough support to actually work.
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