How to Avoid Mismanaging Marketing Money

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- Small businesses suffered in the recession, but, according to a recent FedEx(FDX) poll, their owners remain optimistic.

In fact, 72% of the small-business owners polled in the shipping company's Signs of the Times survey said they will be the driving force behind the U.S. economic recovery this year. In addition, 42% of those polled said they were planning on spending more money on marketing and sales initiatives this year.

They should be cautious, though. Here are the common ways in which small businesses mismanage their marketing money.

Spending the Entire Marketing Budget on Week One: More often than not, small businesses will pour tons of startup capital into their marketing campaigns at launch. While there's logic to this (how will you attract customers if no one knows you're out there?), business owners who spend their entire marketing budget on a launch set themselves up to fail in the long run. Why? Because marketing is a never-ending process. You can't stop advertising once the money runs it. Well, you can, but that would be a waste of the capital you spent.

"People see and receive so much advertising that the one-time marketing tactic is no longer effective," says Peter Geisheker, chief executive of The Geisheker Group Marketing firm. "A prospective customer may need to see your advertisement seven to 12 times or more over a period of several months or even a year before they will buy from you."

In addition, once you get them in the door, you'll have to work to keep them there. Take large companies, like Wal-Mart(WMT) or McDonald's(MCD), which have already established brand loyalty, but haven't ceased all ad campaigns. They know that marketing is not a one-off; out of sight means out of mind. Of course, small businesses don't generate the cash flow that giant corporations do. However, small establishments can afford protracted advertising. They just need to identify their target audience.

"Instead of trying to market to the world, select a niche market and market to the same group of prospective customers every month," Geisheker says. "It is marketing repetition that builds trust and brand loyalty so only market to a group of people or businesses that you can afford."