Show Me the Money! Putting the Advertising Budget Together
Budgeting information can be very specific – right down to the cost per lead. What factors do you consider when putting a specific and realistic advertising budget together?
I consider a number of factors when putting together a marketing budget, including:
- Historical data regarding leads and conversion ratios
- Historical spending data and an analysis of which advertising methods worked and which ones did not
- Goals: how many students we need to start and how often
These are a few of the key factors I use for the marketing budget.
Some factors to consider when putting an advertising budget together is your target audience. What source would be the best fit to capture them? (Radio, Internet, print or TV). I would also narrow down the communication source used by programs.
There's a new factor in all of this that cannot be ignored. Namely: shifting viewing/reading habits by consumers. For instance, social media like Facebook and Twitter are actually sucking eyeballs away from television and magazines. These trends cannot be measured in any meaningful fashion yet without at least some anecdotal evidence being added to the mix. Figuing out how best to maximize social media must be a part of the plan. While it won't cause any additional spending in many instances on buying, it will most certainly result in more work for someone either within the school or at the agency.
Definitely demographic statistics such as earning potential, location, race and gender collected from previous campaign results. These elements help me determine where to advertise and who to address in my copy. This is the foundation of each budgeted campaign. As I do most creative in-house, I do not factor in outsourced graphic material. Conversion rates are not fantastic as of now, either. So knowing only 3% of 100 leads are converting (I don't know the actual figures), I know that my campaigns need to be a little on the cheaper side until that number can bump back up.
I include many historical factors including lead volumes, staffing concerns, seasonal trends. Admission's team conversion rates for lead to enroll and show rates, are key. As well as a break down of the percentages of media we enroll and start from.
There are many factors to take in to consideration when developing realistic budgeting plans.
-Historical trends
...keeping in mind to compare apples to apples. Do not compare starts in like months if they are not true comparisons. For instance, if you offer midterm starts...if February 2011 was a midterm start, the needs would be different than if February 2012 falls as a main start term.
-Current social media trends
-Seasonal trends...for instance with this year being an election year, many consumers wait out the decision before choosing a school. Therefore, I would have marketing uptick early next year...rather than a big hit in NOvember of this year
-Cost per lead and overal cost allocated
-Job market needs/changes. As a career school...paying attention to market trends will lead where marketing dollars need to be allocated.
When putting together an advertising budget, I considers factors such as start goals, start dates, historical lead volume, and historial start spread.
There are a number of factors I think are important to consider. Among many factors, are historical data, trend analysis, vendor performances, Lead to Enrollment, Lead to Costs ratios, Owner input, and lead buffer. Additionally, seasonal flow by vendor sources can add to my thinking.
I am not the person responsible for this so can't really answer.
We have started putting videos in a DMV location. We'll see how effective that is.
I agree. We have quite a few students who found the school via social media or a current student on social media. For us, this information would be more valuable than the old school advertising formulas.
