8. Formulate a Budget

Your budget will depend on several factors. The tactics outlined in your marketing plan should already have costs associated, so that’s the start of your budget. 

Headcount is likely to be your biggest cost, so you’ll need to account for the current team plus any additional hires you wish to make. Remember to account for outsourced agencies, designers, and freelancers. 

Don’t forget your suite of subscriptions to various SaaS marketing tools and analytics providers. Here’s a handy resource from Entrepreneur magazine with further advice on building a marketing budget.

As a rule of thumb, it’s probably a good idea to start small and build as your marketing plan starts to produce great results. With the proliferation of new marketing technology, it’s a common practice to focus a certain percentage of your budget on a test and learn component.

Whilst 90% of your budget might be on tried and tested media tactics, you may set aside 5-10% to try new, riskier or innovative things. These are the interesting initiatives that might not work, but that could just as easily teach you many things about your audience or creative messaging and formats.

Perhaps investigate that Snapchat itch you’ve been wanting to scratch? Or set up a company blog and start trying to publish a regular thought piece on your industry.

You may just land on a hidden gem of an idea that you would have never known about had you not been willing to take those minor risks.