# how much to spend on advertising?



## mastermind24 (Aug 14, 2008)

what percent should be reinvested in advertising, please be sure to say wether you feel it should be a percentage of the gross or the net.

thanks for the help


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## OLD CHIPMONK (Aug 17, 2008)

Way too much , but at least our name is out there !


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## mastermind24 (Aug 18, 2008)

haha very true. i was trying to figure out what percent to reinvest in advertising?


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## rfwoodvt (Aug 28, 2008)

Seems like most of the research I have done show that 15% to 20% gross is what your advertising budget should be.

With the economy tightening up a bit I'd say go higher like 25%

If you are only budgeting 2% right now, don't kill yourself by jumping to the 20% level. Work your way up to the higher level.

We were at 3% not too long ago and the following year we doubled the ad budget. We've been doing that for several years and are running about 11% right now.

Our plans are to be at 15% next year, more if we can swing it.

Remember, when money is tight, loosen up the advertising budget!


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## southsoundtree (Sep 21, 2008)

Figure out how much more business you want and can handle. You don't want the phone to be ringing off the hook, if you can only handle 10-20% more business. 

Try to figure out if you are getting all the free advertising that you can get. I post signs on the neighborhood market for free. I don't get a ton of work from them, but each job that I get is close to home, and their neighbors are close to my home as well. Its free and effective. 

Craigslist is free too. Some people will be looking for a CL deal, so make sure to market yourself as a professional, not the discount driveby-treeguy. I get a lot of work from CL, and their neighbors, and their friends, etc. 

Some people use the yellow pages exclusively. Some areas have more than one directory. Figure out which is the most used.

Professional lettering on your truck will cost as much as a small yellow pages and will last for years. Mobile advertising. If you are doing high quality work and looking professional, people will see it, and your truck advertising with phone number.

A blog can be easy and free. An opportunity to show pictures and have homeowner letters of reference. It will have your company name in the address, which can go on your business cards. I haven't started using mine yet, but its www.southsoundtree.blogspot.com pretty easy for people to remember, easier than a phone number for those times that you may be in casual conversation with people, but don't have a business card on you.


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