How Much Should You Spend On Marketing?
Word of mouth got you here. Here is a simple way to find your budget for the next level, what it should be doing, and how to make sure it works.
Word Of Mouth Gets You Started. It Does Not Get You Scaled.
Most good local businesses grow on referrals. Happy customers tell their friends, and the phone rings. Then, one year, the numbers stop climbing. Nothing is broken. You have simply reached everyone your network can reach.
That is the point where owners start guessing: change the prices, add a service, try a boost on Facebook. The answer is usually simpler. You need a steady way to reach people who have never heard of you, and that takes a marketing budget.
Referrals Have A Ceiling
They only reach people who already know someone who knows you.
Guessing Costs More
Random boosts and one-off tries burn money without teaching you anything.
The Gap Is Reach
Customers searching Google, scrolling Facebook, or asking an AI assistant cannot find you yet.
Your Marketing Budget
These figures follow standard business budgeting guidelines. They are not a Digital Edge IQ recommendation or what will be quoted on.Answer three quick questions and see a starting budget and what it should be working on. Nothing is saved or sent.
Businesses with thin profit margins should start at the low end of the range. Larger businesses often spend a smaller share, so talk to us and we will work out the right number together.
A Good Starting Split
- Foundation: website, Google, reviews$1,625
- Tracked ads: Google and Meta$2,700
- Follow-up: email, text, content$1,075
What This Should Be Doing
A starting point from common business guidelines (often quoted at 7 to 8 percent of revenue for an established business, more when launching or growing). It is an estimate, not a promise of results.
The Order We Do Things In
Money spent in the wrong order is the most common way marketing gets wasted.
Get The Foundation Right
A website that turns visitors into calls and bookings, a complete Google Business Profile, and a steady flow of reviews. Ads sent to a weak site just waste money.
Get Found
Local search work and correct listings, so people looking for what you do find you, whether they ask Google or an AI assistant.
Add Tracked Ads
Google and Meta ads aimed at the customers you want more of, with every call and request tracked back to the ad that brought it.
Follow Up And Keep Them
Email and text follow-up, so a lead does not go cold and a past customer hears from you again.
How We Do It Right
If you have been burned before, this is what we do differently.
Your Accounts Stay Yours
Your ad accounts and payment method stay in your name. We work through partner access that you can remove any time, so you are never locked in.
Flat Fees, Never A Cut
We charge a flat fee to manage ads, not a percentage of what you spend, so we never gain by pushing your spend higher.
Tracked To The Source
We follow calls, form requests, and bookings back to the ad, search, or post that brought them, so you can see what each dollar did.
Plain-English Reporting
A regular update that says what we did, what it brought in, and what we will change next. No walls of impressions and clicks.
No Promises We Cannot Keep
Nobody can honestly guarantee a number one ranking or a set number of leads. We show you what changed and why.
A Real Team You Can Reach
A small Little Rock team that explains what it is doing in plain English and picks up when you call.
Warning Signs From Past Marketers
What We Do Instead
They guaranteed first place on Google or a set number of leads.
We promise honest work and clear reporting, and we show you the results as they come in.
You could not tell what the money was doing.
Every call and request is tracked to its source, and we explain it in plain English.
They kept control of your ad account or your website.
Your accounts stay in your name. We work with partner access you can end any time.
Their fee grew every time your ad spend grew.
A flat fee for managing ads. Your budget goes to ads, not to a bigger bill.
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