It’s often been said that there are two kinds of small business owners: those focused on accounting – the bean counters – and those focused on sales and marketing – the bean growers. (This probably applies to big businesses, too.) [level-members]
The bean counters focus on keeping their costs to a bare minimum. No waste, maximum efficiency, and a focus on keeping profit margins as high as possible.
The bean growers are willing to spend more, and overlook some inefficiencies, because their goal is growing revenue even if margins aren’t quite as high.
Neither of these approaches is right or wrong. You can succeed with either mindset, so don’t go against your nature. Do what’s comfortable and what you feel comfortable asking your employees to do. Keep in mind, though, that most businesses do best when one implies is balanced with the other. In other words, don’t be afraid to spend on marketing and don’t be afraid to control costs where you can. Just don’t compromise your customer’s experience in any way. That’s not efficiency; that’s a way to kill your business slowly.
As important as anything else is knowing whether what you’re doing is working. Track the results of the new marketing you’re doing. If the increase in revenue doesn’t outweigh the expense of the marketing, drop it. Put that money somewhere else, or put it toward your bottom line. [/level-members]