“I can’t afford marketing right now.”
I hear this from business owners all the time. And I get it — it feels like a catch-22. You don’t have enough customers to grow revenue enough to afford the marketing that would bring in more customers.
But here’s what most owners miss: the money you need for great marketing is already in your business. You’re just leaving it on the table.
The Hidden Leak
Every business has inefficiencies bleeding money. Missed sales opportunities. Inconsistent processes. Staff standing around waiting for direction. Customers who should have bought more but didn’t because nobody asked.
These aren’t small numbers. We’ve seen businesses discover they’re leaving $50,000, $100,000, or more per year on the table — money that’s already theirs, just slipping through the cracks.
When you find that money and plug those leaks, suddenly marketing isn’t an expense you can’t afford. It’s an investment you’d be foolish not to make.
Where the Money Hides
In your sales process. If your team isn’t consistently presenting options and asking for the business, you’re losing revenue on every transaction.
In your operations. If staff are waiting on approvals, unclear on priorities, or duplicating effort, you’re paying for time that doesn’t produce results.
In your customer base. If you’re attracting bargain hunters instead of loyal customers who value quality, you’re working twice as hard for half the profit.
In your pricing. If your margins haven’t kept pace with rising costs, you’re slowly going backward — even when revenue looks good.
The Real Question
The question isn’t whether you can afford marketing. The question is whether you can afford to keep leaving money on the table while your competition invests in attracting the customers you should be getting.
The businesses that thrive — especially during tough economic times — are the ones that plug their internal leaks first, then invest those recovered dollars into marketing that attracts loyal, high-value customers.
Which kind of business do you want to be?
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Ready to find the marketing budget hiding in your business? Contact AMG — we help businesses identify where they’re leaving money on the table and build marketing that actually pays for itself.
