ASA Central Network

Good Afternoon,

Our marketing department is relatively new and we are trying to put together a marketing budget for the first time. If anyone would be willing to share how much of your budget you put towards marketing or what you include in your budget, I would appreciate it! I am also open to having phone conversations if that is easier.

Thank you!

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Ashleigh Anderson
Digital Marketing Specialist
Graham Personnel Services
Greensboro NC
(336) 288-9330
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Hi Ashleigh. It's probably easier to discuss by phone, since there are a number of variables to consider, such as the size and structure of your marketing department, what marketing efforts are currently deployed, the expectations on results/return of the effort and how that is measured and the alignment between marketing and sales. My basic rule of thumb for budgeting purposes , however, is somewhere around .2 to .4% of revenue (including marketing salaries). I'm happy to discuss further at your convenience.

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Jay Mattern
CEO
Villing + Company
South Bend IN
(574) 277-0215
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-09-2020 13:58
From: Ashleigh Anderson
Subject: Marketing Budget

Good Afternoon,

Our marketing department is relatively new and we are trying to put together a marketing budget for the first time. If anyone would be willing to share how much of your budget you put towards marketing or what you include in your budget, I would appreciate it! I am also open to having phone conversations if that is easier.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Ashleigh Anderson
Digital Marketing Specialist
Graham Personnel Services
Greensboro NC
(336) 288-9330
------------------------------

Hi Ashleigh,

As Jay noted, the industry averages, based on research by SIA, have historically hovered between 0.25% and 0.4% of sales. Some companies spend as much as 1.4% of sales on marketing. This amount includes salaries of marketing professionals and all the implementation costs associated with marketing campaigns. It does not include job advertising or other other recruitment marketing (sorry I don't have a percent of sales figure to offer for that part of the budget).

Personally, I am not a fan of setting a marketing budget based on a percent of sales. This can result in a budget that is too large or too small depending on company size, the segment of the industry you serve, and your growth objectives. For example, a start-up will need to invest considerably more in marketing (as a percent of sales) than an established regional staffing company. And a company budgeting for industry leading growth will most likely spend more (again, as a percent of sales) than a company aiming for average growth.

I am a fan of determining the marketing strategies to achieve your goals, adding up all the expected costs, then setting an ROI multiple on that amount. For example, if your desired marketing strategies will cost $100K, and you want to get a 300% ROI (in gross margin dollars not sales dollars), then you need a marketing strategy that yields $300K in GM dollars (or about 4 to 5 times that amount in sales dollars, depending on your GM percentage).

I hope you find this helpful. Here are a couple of related resources:
Article: 2020 Staffing Industry Outlook Survey, Part 4: Changes in Marketing & Recruiting Budgets
eBook: What is the Best Marketing for a Staffing Agency

If you have more questions, please feel free to reach out.

David




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David Searns
CEO
Haley Marketing | 888.696.2900
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-09-2020 13:58
From: Ashleigh Anderson
Subject: Marketing Budget

Good Afternoon,

Our marketing department is relatively new and we are trying to put together a marketing budget for the first time. If anyone would be willing to share how much of your budget you put towards marketing or what you include in your budget, I would appreciate it! I am also open to having phone conversations if that is easier.

Thank you!

------------------------------
Ashleigh Anderson
Digital Marketing Specialist
Graham Personnel Services
Greensboro NC
(336) 288-9330
------------------------------