Our professional reputation at JDR is founded on the tangible results we’ve achieved for our customers over our 18 years in business, and we never make claims that we can’t back up with evidence from our own experience. All the strategies we recommend and deploy for our customers have previously been field tested on our own business, and only the most successful ones join our arsenal of marketing tools.
How You Can Benefit From Working With JDR
Here is an outline of what customers can expect by following our system for sales and marketing in the first 12 months – with results improving cumulatively and building momentum month-on-month after this initial period.
The figures below are based on an analysis of our first 18 customers, many of whom have stayed with JDR long-term. The customers are drawn from a cross-section of UK businesses, both B2B and B2C, and in size ranging from small SMEs and local start-ups to mid-large sized companies with a national reach.
The results are similar for businesses of all sizes and across all sectors. So, if we can achieve this for our existing customers, the same results are possible for your business too.
- 191% average increase in website traffic volume – that’s 2.91 visitors for every one visitor before working with us, and these visitors are more qualified and likely to convert due to the optimised keywords and targeted content we create for our customers.
- 654% average increase in lead generation/enquiries through website and social media – that’s 7.54 leads for every one lead previously.
- 159% average increase in lead to sale conversion rate from website leads – this equates to a conversion rate of 1.83%, a big improvement from the 0.71% average before working with us.
Can I Afford It? What To Budget For Marketing
Any business can achieve remarkable results by deploying a digital marketing strategy aligned to the needs of their customers and supported by a realistic and consistent budget. The two golden rules for success are, therefore:
- A marketing mix of appropriate inbound tactics (e.g., content marketing, PPC, LinkedIn marketing, email marketing, content marketing, SEO etc) used together as a strategy, with a monitoring and analysis system in place to track your results and improve where necessary.
- A reasonable budget assigned to marketing as a percentage of your gross turnover (see below – remember that this is a tax-deductible business investment) for at least 12 months, reviewed every year.
The SMEs that don’t succeed at marketing, or decide ‘it isn’t for them,’ usually haven’t followed these two golden rules by, for instance:
- Not assigning a dedicated marketing budget
- Setting their budget too low
- ‘Dipping into’ marketing activities without a consistent and unified approach
- Not tracking data or measuring results
So, What Should You Spend?
Marketing expenditure varies between sectors but, according to surveys from 2019 and 2020, UK averages are:
- 9.3% of annual revenue for established businesses
- 11.4% of annual revenue for growth-focused SMEs and start-ups
So, if you run an established business with a £2 million gross turnover, we recommend assigning an annual marketing budget of £186,000. If yours is a smaller or newer company with a £150,000 turnover, we recommend starting with a budget of £17,100. And so on.
Of course, UK-wide averages only say so much. If you operate a B2C e-commerce business, you may wish to spend more (20 to 25% average), whereas an engineering or manufacturing business might get away with spending less (5 to 10% average). We are happy to talk through your individual circumstances and help you define an affordable marketing budget that lets you achieve your growth plans and business goals.
How To Allocate Your Budget For The Best ROI
There are many ways to spend a marketing budget in terms of the activities you engage in, but the main decision to make is whether to spend it in-house or to outsource some or all of your marketing functions to a third-party agency, such as JDR.
If you are a large company with a large marketing budget, you may wish to explore the feasibility of establishing a marketing team and assets in-house, whereas for smaller businesses the money won’t stretch as far, so it’s essential you find ways to optimise your spend for the best ROI.
Working with an experienced agency that offers end-to-end business development, marketing, and coaching service, such as JDR, is the best way of making your money go further for smaller businesses because we take care of all your costs, assets, and knowledge/skills requirements for you.
Even for larger businesses, it is often a financially positive idea to work with an agency for some or all of your marketing activities, ensuring the best return on investment and freeing up resources to invest in other areas.
Working With JDR Gives You Access To A Fully Developed Digital Marketing Department, ‘Out Of The Box’:
- Strategic consultancy and planning support.
- 18+ years of marketing expertise, qualifications, and knowledge.
- Up-to-date training and accreditations, with industry-leading software certifications.
- The latest marketing automation software and digital assets – with the experience and training to use them properly for the best results.
- A full team of marketing experts delivering service for your company, from a content coordinator to experienced writers, search marketers, web developers, project managers, and social media marketing professionals.
- All employment costs covered – including recruitment, HR, holidays, sick pay, pensions etc.
- A dedicated campaign manager for full transparency and accountability, with monthly updates and reporting.
Find Out More
To find out more about how your business can benefit from our strategic approach to sales and marketing, please call one of our campaign specialists today on 01332 343281.
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