Synopsis >> Your Brand >> Past Article

How much to spend on
garden center marketing...

Get the most impact from your budget!

Most garden centers that have a well defined marketing budget follow the percent-of-sales approach, devoting some percentage of their revenue to the marketing function. The amount they spent ranged from 2% on the low end to 12% or more on the high end (new start-up companies sometimes invest 20%). How much do you, or should you spend? That depends on a few factors, like the size of your garden center business and what you are looking for in terms of financial return.

If your garden center business is doing great and you're looking to simply maintain your current sales level, you need to budget the minimum amount... to keep your name and brand in the community. This will help when times change (and they will - so be prepared) or when competition moves in. Already having a well established brand in place helps to fend off new competition and hard times.

For an example, let's say that you plan to achieve $750,000 in sales next year and you are looking for minimal sales growth. Your yearly budget should be approximately $15,000 to $30,000.
Let's take the same $750,000 projection and plan to grow the business and increase it's sales volume. Your yearly budget should now be between approximately $75,000 and $90,000 - the higher end representing 12% of your sales projection..

For those garden centers or nurseries that have never created a marketing budget, this can seem a little overwhelming. However, most companies know that branding and marketing is just part of doing business. One of the first questions start-up consulting firms and organizations ask their clients is how much they have planed towards marketing... it's that important.

Almost every garden center, nursery or landscaping business can benefit from branding and marketing. Even if your brand is a utilitarian, back-to-basics shopping experience, you still need to get that message out to your target audience. Having a strong brand does not mean that you need to have an expensive look. It means that your message is consistent and your sales experience matches this message. Marketing is about getting this message to your target audience.

Marketing budgets
An interesting article on developing your marketing budget

info@holbergdesign.com

GreenBranding >> 717.843.4048 >> IM: holdes@mac.com