When immersed in the day-to-day of keeping your small business afloat, marketing can easily find itself at the bottom of the priority pool. From fulfilling client needs to taking care of employees, there’s no shortage of to dos in need of attention.

Publishing a post on Facebook? Nobody has time for that.

Before restricting yourself to that “too busy” mindset, consider how important a well-developed marketing budget and plan for the year truly is for building awareness, your customer base, and ultimately, revenue. Even if you feel comfortable with business growth in the present, establishing avenues for reaching new clientele now will come in handy should things plateau.

As you begin to form a cohesive plan for your small business marketing in 2019, consider these areas of focus worth allocating budget to.

Channels Relevant to Your Sales Funnel

It may go without saying that focusing in on the channels most relevant to your small business’ sales funnel should be of top priority. But it’s easy to get caught up in the trends and every flashy new network that appears on the scene sometimes.

Rather than dedicating any significant budget to marketing methods popularized by others around you, focus the bulk of your spend on what already works. You can then create a segment for “Experimentation,” pulling money from the pot whenever promising opportunities to try something new present themselves in the year ahead.

Fully Embrace Digital

While there’s certainly nothing wrong with sticking to tried-and-true methods of print advertising, one of the last things you want is a lackluster online presence in 2019. If you’ve been dragging your feet on updating your website, SEO, or starting an AdWords account, the time is now to bring your small business into the present.

It may require more work and money upfront, but the results of a well-functioning, lead-building digital machine for your small business will surely deliver on the return and then some.

Word-of-Mouth Referrals

As a small business owner, you know the importance of relationship-building. Who you know and trust established makes all the difference in not just securing new clients and customers, but also maintaining them.

For this reason, it might be worth dedicating a portion of your small business marketing budget to fostering your current customer base with a referral program. These are the people that have already seen the value in what your business has to offer. Make sure you’re encouraging them to keep that top of mind, shouting your praises from the rooftop whenever it makes sense.

Building Your Small Business Marketing Budget in 2019

Marketing isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s an investment. Keep the above areas in mind when determining where to focus your small business’ marketing budget in 2019, and your long term revenue goals will thank you.