How to Find Funding for Marketing
Businesses are regularly instructed to include all the logistic, tariff, tax, finance and insurance costs into the product (or service) price, but often the very important cost of the marketing activities that will drive sales outcomes can be either overlooked or only part-costed.
Without a realistic and detailed marketing plan the opportunity for business success in a new market may be severely hampered.
Costing a marketing plan
The marketing activities that should be included and how much will they cost will be first determined by the product or service itself, the entry strategy selected and the market growth that is planned.
Your marketing plan will also depend on whether the intended customers are retail clients, businesses or government buyers. Certainly the consumer market is the most scattered and the most bombarded by conflicting advertising messages, while business and government buyers tend to be more easily targeted. In new markets it may be about first establishing a brand identity.
With today’s technology there are also inexpensive options such as direct mail to a targeted market segment, focusing on specific activities such as trade fairs, attending large industry conferences or using social media and other on-line media to build your potential client list.
Once you have decided on the best market entry strategy, the marketing cost can be more readily estimated. Take trade shows as an example. As Gemma Hansen of Export Solutions says, “Trade shows are one of the most effective tools for marketing your products internationally, however, they can be costly. Taking account of booth hire, stand costs and travel to the show it could cost you in excess of $20,000 to exhibit. The Export Market Development Grant (EMDG) may assist with some of these costs, providing a rebate of up to 50 percent on your international marketing expenses.”
Many exporters use commercial agents in their target markets, who will charge an agreed commission on sales and may request a contribution towards marketing expenses to build product recognition. Again the costs can be calculated.
What other marketing costs may need to be considered?
- Perhaps you will require intellectual property protection in the target country. For example, registration of a brand name may be necessary.
- In some markets, such as the USA, you will require product liability insurance.
- Perhaps some tweaking of packaging, labelling, use- by dates, colours, designs and inclusion of local language instructions will be needed.
So, having established what needs to be done, and completed a cost estimate, the next step is finding a way to finance your marketing.
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