Why Your Small Business Advertising Budget Is More Like Fuel for a Road Trip
If you plan a road trip from Halifax to Montréal and put twenty bucks in the tank, you’ll be very disappointed when you find yourself out of gas on the side of the road in Moncton. You didn’t fail because your car is bad; you failed because you didn’t give it enough fuel to get to the destination.
Advertising is exactly the same. If your small business advertising budget isn’t properly funded, your ads won’t be able to do the work you need them to do to drive results. Instead, you’ll just end up frustrated, out of gas, and blaming the platform or the strategy.
The road trip analogy is powerful because it forces us to ask the right question: how far do you actually want to go?
The Price of Gas Versus the Price of Advertising
When you’re mapping a real road trip, you think about distance, your vehicle’s fuel efficiency, and the fluctuating cost of gas. Advertising works the same way, but the “gas prices” are controlled by demand and competition. This is a critical point for any small business advertising budget:
- Supply and demand: Just like the price of gas, the price of advertising fluctuates. As we approach the holidays, more businesses start advertising, and ad costs will gradually go up and up and up. The more competition there is, the more expensive every click, view, or impression becomes.
- Your goals are your destination: How much fuel is enough depends entirely on where you are trying to go. Are you trying to be discovered by new customers? Are you trying to get people to seal the deal in an online order? Are you trying to capture an email address so you can stay in touch and nurture the lead?
Each destination requires a different budget and approach. The smartest approach usually mixes awareness, conversion, and retention because that’s the full trip, not just the first turn out of your driveway. For maximum impact, your small business advertising budget needs to:
- Fund Discovery: Reaching new customers takes a wide net and more budget.
- Fund Conversion: Getting people to hit “Buy Now” takes precision and smart retargeting.
- Fund Lead Capture: Building your email list or nurturing prospects takes consistency and a long-term view.
Detours, Dead Ends, and The “Shortcut Through the States”
I once took a group of friends to Montréal and, on the way back, we decided to “take the shortcut through the States.” If you’ve ever driven through New England as an alternative path, you already know it’s not a shortcut, it’s the proverbial scenic route with more gas stops, tighter winding roads, and much slower progress.
Marketing can feel the same. Finding the efficient way to meet your targets is sometimes going to involve fumbling, learning, and will always include adapting to changing platforms and technology.
There’s always a new platform, a trending “hack,” or a piece of software that promises a faster, cheaper route to success. But more often than not, it’s a distraction that burns your budget without moving you forward.
Now, if you want that $20 to go further would you choose a big ole gas guzzlin’ truck or a Prius? If you’re thinking only about getting there for less, you’d be a fool to choose the truck.
If you want to avoid wasting money to “learn” complex algorithms the hard way, hire an agency that already knows the road and has proven results in your space. Don’t cheap out, but pay attention to the results. A good agency doesn’t just make your ads run; it helps them perform. They’ll fine-tune your strategy, optimize your campaigns, and make sure every dollar takes you further.
Think of a company like Boom12 as your Prius. We turn that gas guzzlin’ truck into many extra kilometres on the road to Montréal.
Stop Donating to The Mark Zuckerberg Fund
Let’s be honest: small business advertising budgets that are too small to produce results aren’t “tests,” they’re donations. You’re not buying data, you’re not buying reach, and you certainly aren’t buying results. Every time someone says, “We tried ads once, they didn’t work,” it’s usually because they poured $20 into a big ole truck and expected to make it to Montréal.
If you want your ad dollars to work, stop hoping and start planning. Set a real goal, budget for the distance, and make sure you have the right map, a great co-pilot.
A great agency will turn your old gas guzzler into a hybrid that actually gets you there. And before you throw shade at that Prius, remember: this is about saving you money and getting you where you need to be—not overcompensating for something you can’t fix. 🍆