Preliminary research shows that there is some information available on the allocation of a marketing budget in terms of awareness and lower-funnel tactics, but typically more for startups than new product launches. However, the same principle should apply since both new products and startups are trying to generate more awareness about themselves. Best practices for product launches are more readily available.
GENERAL TECH MARKETING BUDGET INFORMATION
- According to Matrix Marketing Group, tech software and biotech companies spend approximately 15% of their budget on marketing.
- For a B2C product, direct marketing and social media are the two expenses marketers believe should be included in a marketing budget. Budgeting for market research and marketing analytics is also recommended for B2C products.
- Companies looking to maintain their market position should spend between 7% and 10% of their overall revenue on marketing, but companies looking to grow should spend between 10% and 15% of their overall revenue on marketing.
MARKETING FUNNEL BUDGET ALLOCATION
- A startup company should spend 60% of its marketing budget on demand generation (awareness) strategies such as Facebook prospecting, YouTube, and the Google Display Network. This represents the top portion of a marketing funnel.
- The next budget priority is demand fostering, which should represent 20% of a startup's marketing budget.
- The lowest marketing funnel priorities for startups should be demand capture and re-acquisition, which should represent 10% each of a marketing budget.
- This varies from a mature company, which should have an ideal marketing allocation of 30% demand generation (awareness), 30% demand capture, 20% demand fostering, and 20% re-acquisition.
- Investing heavily in the top of the funnel (demand generation) ensures that new companies/products "reach new users via interest and demographic targeting on both Facebook, YouTube, and the Google Display Network."
- Tech companies are spending the majority of their marketing budgets on content development, SEO, and social media marketing, all of which "represent 'top of funnel' activities, mostly designed to generate leads, awareness, and thought leadership."
PRODUCT LAUNCH MARKETING BEST PRACTICES
- A well-designed website is the first step toward a successful product launch, as this is typically the first experience people have when being introduced to a new product.
- In addition, in the introductory phase, "media coverage is the best promotional tool because it gives your product third-party credibility."
- During both the introductory and growth phases, "reach and teach" tactics work well to educate the target market about the product.
- When products reach the maturity phase, "reach and remind" tactics are best used to keep "a product top-of-mind for consumers."