Marketing & Brand Growth
Most owners set a marketing budget by feel, then argue with themselves about whether it worked
Some spend too little to learn anything. Others spend until the cash gets uncomfortable and then stop abruptly. This session gives owners a calmer way to decide: what counts as marketing cost, a few honest ways to set an amount, a split between what works and what is being tried, and a monthly review.
Explore this page6 sections
A budget is a decision about risk, not a number to be copied from somebody else.
A rule of thumb from another business or another trade may be useless for yours. What a small business can responsibly spend depends on its margins, its cash position, how long customers take to decide and how much it already knows about what works.
The aim of this session is a budget the owner understands and can defend, with limits that protect the cash the business needs to operate.
What the session covers
37 topics across 7 areas. Seven decisions, in the order they are usually made.
What Counts as Marketing SpendMore than the invoices.6
- Advertising and boosted posts
- Tools, subscriptions and software
- Agency, freelancer and design costs
- Printing, signage, samples and events
- Discounts, offers and freebies given to win customers
- Staff time and the owner's own hours
Many owners find their real marketing cost is higher than they thought, mostly in discounts and time.
Ways to Set an AmountNo method is right on its own.5
Hypothetical example, with round made-up numbers: a shop with monthly sales of about ₹5 lakh might consider ₹25,000 (5 per cent), then ask whether it could afford to lose that amount in a bad month, and whether the target of ten new customers makes sense at that figure.
- A share of sales or expected sales
- What you can afford to lose if it does not work
- What it would cost to win a target number of customers
- What the next-best use of the same money would be
- Comparing the answers and understanding why they differ
Working Backwards From a GoalFrom customers to rupees.5
- How many new customers do you want?
- What share of enquiries become customers, based on your own sheet?
- So how many enquiries do you need?
- What might each enquiry cost to get, as a guess to be tested?
- What total follows, and does it fit your cash?
The answer is only as good as the guesses in it. Treat the first number as a hypothesis.
Splitting the BudgetProven, testing, building.5
- Money for what already brings customers
- A smaller share for new tests, with a cap
- Something for longer-term assets such as your listing, website or reputation
- Moving money towards what proves itself, and away from what does not
- Keeping a small reserve for an opportunity or a correction
Marketing and Cash FlowA budget that fits the bank balance.5
- Matching spend to the months when you can afford it
- Not paying for marketing from money needed for wages or rent
- Prepaid or auto-renewing commitments and their notice periods
- Seasonal peaks, and when to spend ahead of them
- A pause rule: if cash falls below a set level, spending is reviewed
Working With Agencies and FreelancersBe clear before you pay.6
- Writing what is included, in plain words
- Who owns the accounts, pages and content, and who holds the passwords
- How results will be reported, and what you will be shown
- Minimum periods, notice and what happens if you stop
- Paying in stages tied to delivered work where possible
- Asking for examples and speaking to past clients before signing
A good agency welcomes these questions. Be wary of anyone who guarantees results.
A Monthly Budget ReviewFifteen minutes, every month.5
- Planned against actual spend
- What was bought, and what came of it
- What to repeat, change or stop
- Whether the cap still fits your cash
- Writing one decision for next month
Exercises owners can do the same week
- List last quarter's marketing costs, including discounts and your own time
- Set a budget with two different methods and compare them
- Write the proven, testing and building split in rupees
- Set a spending cap and a pause level for cash
- Fill in the agency questions for any arrangement you have now
- Put a monthly review in the calendar
What this session is not
- Financial or tax advice
- A recommended percentage that suits every business
- A forecast of what any amount of spending will produce
- A review of any particular agency or tool
How the session runs
A workshop of about two hours. Participants bring rough figures for sales and recent marketing costs; approximate numbers are enough. The practitioner walks through the methods using hypothetical examples with round figures, then each owner applies them to their own numbers. Nobody is asked to share their figures with the group, and participants take their worksheet away with them.
What your students leave with
- A full list of what marketing actually costs their business, including owner time and discounts
- A budget set by at least two methods, compared
- A split between proven spend, tests and longer-term effort
- A spending cap and a pause rule they can apply without drama
- A checklist for working with agencies or freelancers
- A one-page monthly budget review
Scheduled sessions
Nothing scheduled yet
Sessions are arranged with a college once a date is agreed. Ask us and we will find the right person for it.
A student rather than a college? See what is coming up, or ask your placement team to host this.
Decide how much you can afford to learn, and cap it.
Tell us who your students are and what stage they are at. Sessions are free for participants.