When you turn your face to the advertising world, you see thousands and thousands of potential marketing platforms that promise almost the same thing; popularity, increased number of clients and what not.

Amongst this plethora of choices, one tends to forget the real purpose for which they went to the advertisers in the first place and end up spending tons on a marketing plan that does not necessarily attract a favorable market. You tend to forget where to start. What you really need is a comprehensive guide that takes you through the fundamental steps to recognize your marketing needs; a gentle push to make you go through the pool.

Especially in challenging economic times such as the ones which are about to befall upon us in 2012 due to the high probability of Greece defaulting, the cloud of uncertainty regarding marketing and advertising thickens.

Therefore, to ensure that you allocate your resources most efficiently, we have put together for you a brief guide that equips you with the vital insight of marketing.

How much should you spend?
Although a completely relativistic notion, the amount of capital that you spend on marketing varies from one small business to another. It also depends on the extent to which your small business has spread, though this does not imply that some general conclusions cannot be drawn. For instance, emerging businesses need to spend at least ten percent of their profits annually in those first few initial years to put forward a blatant market statement. Once you begin to see your profits rising and feel that you have become very profitable, you may want to step down from that onslaught of marketing and concentrate on keeping everything together.
Those businesses that need marketing for making profits often opt for merchant companies for business cash advance or small business loans for sustaining and growing their small business.

Who to go to?
After you are done with collecting your annual amount, you have to tackle the prospect of marketing. Now, since there are so many channels you can invest in, it becomes very confusing for you to accurately decide which one would suit you the most. Regardless, it is best to know which platforms are easily accessible and inexpensive for marketing.
• Print
• Radio
• TV
• Yellow Pages
• Direct mail
• Billboards

Also, it would be imprudent of you to rule out the more cost effective platforms such as your social networking websites, Linked In and even your very own website. As highlighted earlier, the best solution to tackle the problem is to know exactly where you want to reach and then planning the proper course of action. Your nature of business would also cause changes in your marketing venture.

Remembering the real purpose you decided to market yourself would make things a lot less confusing for you. You may want to overstate your case without compromising too much on accuracy. You do not want to make small talk on twitter, do you? Think about it…