How would you budget for marketing expenses if you had hired sales representatives

Question 1 What do you think about giving away a product? Does it build sales, or does it suggest desperation?

      I can personally attest to doing giveaways. My wife and I do giveaways all the time for our customers. The customers love it, and they will usually come back and purchase more. Lots of times customers view the giveaway for the retail price while we view the giveaway as a cost item. I have not found it to be a mark of desperation. More than anything it drives brand awareness and helps grow the culture.

Question 2 How would you budget for marketing expenses if you had hired sales representatives to give products away?

      After a couple test runs or sampling operations, I would want to determine how much I want to spend on brand awareness and marketing. In the beginning or at the initial startup, this budget is going to be quite large. As the brand grows though, this budget will decrease. Hopefully by this time, the company is able to get shelf space in stores.

Question 3 What are some of the ways you might compensate your “brand ambassadors”? Which method do you think would work best and why?

      You can compensate your ambassadors with nonfinancial compensation and with financial compensation. Generally, it is good to see what your amabassadors will do for nonfinancial compensation. If it’s extra jerky for them while they give some away, this would be helpful. Financial compensation might come in the form of hiring a sports star and using advertising to spread brand awareness. This will be most expensive but will reach a wider and specific audience. Internal analysis would have to be done to determine the best way.