By Joan Selby

Whether you are running a small business or a large corporation, you will have to make due with limited financial resources when it comes to marketing. On top of that, you have to generate a sufficient ROI in order to justify your marketing efforts. The problem is that, even if you do have enough money to invest in your marketing strategy, there are so many different aspects to it, so many different elements, that is really easy to lose control of the whole thing. You need to avoid the following 5 marketing budget mistakes if you want your campaign to be successful:

1. Relying on Bad Data

While marketing is not an exact science, because it requires you to take risks and run with gut feeling from time to time, it is still far more than a shot in the dark. This means you will be relying on analytics data just as much. But, simply having data doesn’t guarantee its quality, and bad data is the most common culprit when it comes to marketing loses. And it can also be down to the human factor. Your initial assumptions might be wrong, or the way in which you interpret the data, which inevitably leads to budget loses.

2. You Experiment Too Much

It is very unlikely that you will stumble upon the perfect marketing strategy the first time around. You will have to alter and tweak your strategy as you go along until you achieve the desired results. However, there is a limit when it comes to experimentation. You cannot simply try out a random approach and see if it sticks, because it won’t. According to Jason Hall, who is digital marketing strategist for writing service, there is no magic wand, and most of your efforts should be based on some sort of strategy or data-based approach.

3. Your Sales Funnel Is Broken

No matter how much time or money you put into your marketing strategy, it will amount to nothing if your sales funnel is broken. For instance, if your potential customer has signed for a special offer on your landing page, but hasn’t received one, or if they aren’t added to your mailing lists, you will most likely lose them as customer right there and then. It’s even worse if they encounter a broken link when they click on your call to action. That is why you should always test your sales funnel thoroughly.

4. You Don’t Evaluate Your Strategy

Or you do it very rarely, without investing enough time into it. This is a massive mistake, because there is no other way to tell if your marketing budget is being put to good use unless you evaluate your strategy every so often. Apart from analyzing your strategy, you should also evaluate your execution, and see if are using all the tools at your disposal effectively. Sure, it may take time and money, but it’s probably the best money you will ever spend.

5. Not Keeping Up with the Changes

All marketers make this mistake at some point, because it’s almost impossible to predict if new tools, technologies, and approaches are just a novelty, or perhaps an essential piece of the puzzle in the future. For example, emerging trends such as chatbots, or augmented and virtual reality might represent that change, which is why it would be a good idea to make use of them today.

Marketing is a field which is constantly changing and expanding, which requires you to learn all the time, and make the most out of your marketing dollars. These 5 tips should help you avoid the most common budgeting mistakes in marketing and find success. Good luck!

Joan Selby is a content marketer, former teacher and fancy shoelover. A writer by day and reader by night. Find her on Twitter and Facebook.