How Much Should Your Marketing Investment be for Your Deck Building Business?

Marketing investment in your deck building business can be challenging to determine, especially for small business owners who are just starting out. Allocating a significant portion of your budget to marketing efforts, particularly in the early stages, is essential to establish a strong foundation and generate leads.

Key Takeaways

• Invest more in marketing at the beginning to set a strong foundation.
• Work with seasoned professionals to avoid costly trial-and-error mistakes.
• According to the SBA, allocate 7-8% of your revenue to marketing.
• Your marketing budget should grow as your business grows.
• Consistency in marketing efforts is crucial for long-term success.
• Delegate marketing tasks to professionals to focus on your business strengths.

Initial Marketing Investment: Laying the Groundwork

When you first start your deck building business, it’s crucial to allocate a larger portion of your budget to marketing. This includes setting up your website, creating branding materials like business cards, truck wraps, T-shirts, and hats, and investing in professional photography to showcase your work. Working with a seasoned marketing professional can accelerate your progress and save you from costly trial-and-error.

Many small business owners are apprehensive about investing heavily in marketing due to fear and distrust. It’s natural to be cautious, but it’s essential to look at case studies and actual results from agencies or potential partners before making a decision.

Helpful Tip: Start with a Strong Foundation Invest more at the beginning to set up your website, branding, and initial advertising. This solid foundation will ensure that your business looks professional and can attract the right customers from the start.

Marketing Budget Recommendations

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), small businesses with revenues less than $5 million should allocate 7-8% of their revenues to marketing, provided their net profit margin is in the range of 10-12% after expenses. For local businesses like deck builders, which offer high-value services, this percentage can vary depending on specific goals and market conditions.

Why it Matters
Allocating a proper budget ensures that you can consistently reach your target audience and generate leads. Under-investing can result in missed opportunities and slower growth.

Foundational Branding Elements

Effective marketing for deck builders involves a mix of online and offline strategies. Invest in a professional website optimized for search engines (SEO). Utilize paid lead sources such as Google Local Service Ads and Angie. Create visually appealing business cards, truck wraps, T-shirts, hats, and other promotional items.

Using door hangers, mailers, flyers, and yard signs to reach local customers can also be very effective. Attend local events, network with community members, and engage in word-of-mouth marketing.

Helpful Tip: Be Consistent Marketing takes time and consistent effort. Don’t give up if you don’t see immediate results. Regular and ongoing marketing activities help keep your business top-of-mind for potential customers and build long-term brand recognition.

Increasing Investment for Growth

As your business grows and you aim to be more aggressive with your marketing efforts, your investment should increase accordingly. Marketing should yield a solid return on investment (ROI). If your marketing efforts aren’t bringing in more revenue than you’re spending, it’s time to reassess and possibly reallocate your budget.

Why it Matters

Increasing your marketing investment as your business grows allows you to capture more market share, attract more customers, and ultimately drive higher revenues.

Avoiding Common Pitfalls

A common mistake many business owners make is giving up on marketing too soon. It’s important to understand that marketing requires consistent effort and time to see significant results. If you try marketing once and don’t see immediate success, don’t abandon the strategy. Analyze what didn’t work and adjust your approach.

Helpful Tip: Analyze and Adjust Continuously assess your marketing efforts and adjust strategies based on performance. This ensures you’re not wasting resources on ineffective tactics and can improve your marketing results over time.

The Value of Professional Help

While some business owners may be tempted to handle marketing themselves, it’s often more efficient to delegate this task to seasoned professionals. Marketing experts bring the value, quality, and expertise needed to drive results, allowing you to focus on the core aspects of your business that you enjoy and excel at.

Tailoring Marketing Budgets as You Grow

As your business evolves, so should your marketing budget. When aiming for higher sales goals, you need to dominate the market and ensure omnipresence both online and offline. This requires a substantial budget and strategic guidance. A marketing professional can act as an investment consultant, helping you decide when to pull back or add more to your marketing efforts.

Helpful Tip: Scale Your Budget As your business grows, increase your marketing budget to match your growth and sales goals. A larger budget allows for more comprehensive marketing strategies, helping you to dominate your market.

FAQs

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Need help allocating a budget for your business?

That’s exactly what we do in our free strategy sessions. We map out where you are now, where you want to be, and come up with a budget, cost per lead, and cost per project that will help you reach your revenue goal. Maybe you don’t have a revenue goal and just want to save more time on the projects you choose. We talk about all of these things during that call.

Ready to take your marketing to the next level? Schedule a strategy session with us today to discuss how we can help you grow your business and achieve your goals.

For more detailed advice on marketing your deck building business on a budget, check out our helpful article on marketing strategies.