"How Kenyan Businesses Can Start Investing In Marketing"

How to Start Investing in Marketing

By now, you might be thinking: “Alright, I’m convinced. Marketing should be part of my product and business strategy. But where do I start, especially if I don’t have a huge budget or a marketing background?” Don’t worry – this section is all about practical steps to help you think of marketing as a core investment in your business, just like you invest in inventory, staff, or equipment. We’ll also demystify how much to budget and what you can do at different investment levels. Remember, the goal is to integrate marketing into your business operations in a sustainable way.

Change Your Mindset: Marketing as Essential, Not a Luxury

First, it starts with mindset. As an entrepreneur or manager, you have to see marketing as non-negotiable – a bit like paying rent or buying raw materials. It’s something you plan for from the beginning. If you believe in your product, you must market it like you do. Good marketing is not an extra or an afterthought; it’s part of delivering your product to those who need it. Think of it this way: if you had a life-changing medicine, would you hide it? No – you’d do everything to get it to the people who need it. View your product or service the same way. You created it to solve a problem or bring joy to someone; marketing is the act of making sure that someone finds out about this solution.

A helpful exercise is to include marketing in your business plan alongside operations, finances, etc. Ask yourself: what marketing activities will I do this week, this month, this quarter? Who is responsible (if it’s just you, allocate dedicated time)? What does success look like (is it number of inquiries, foot traffic, website visits, etc.)? By formalizing it, you’re already treating it as a core function.

Budgeting for Marketing: Ksh 20k, 50k, 100k – What Can They Do?

Budgets can be scary for small businesses, but let’s break it down into approachable chunks. You don’t need millions. Let’s consider three levels of monthly marketing budgets – roughly Ksh 20,000, Ksh 50,000, and Ksh 100,000 – and discuss how you might allocate them and what results you could expect:

• On Ksh 20,000 per month (Shoestring, but sufficient): With ~20k (around $150) you can still accomplish a lot, but you’ll need to be smart and probably DIY or use affordable help.

  • Allocate a portion to content creation: Maybe Ksh 5k-10k to create one really good piece of content each month. For example, hire a freelance photographer for a day (to take product photos or venue photos), or pay a graphic designer to make a nice brochure or infographic, or even a budding videographer to shoot a short video. You can also leverage your smartphone – with decent skills and maybe a $0 budget, you could create content yourself. The key is to ensure at least one fresh piece of content per month that you’re proud of.

  • Use a chunk for social media advertising: With Ksh 5k-10k in Kenya on Facebook/Instagram, you can reach tens of thousands of targeted people. Boost that piece of content you made. If it’s a video, aim it at the demographic most likely to engage. If it’s a blog post on your website, you could run a small Google Ad or LinkedIn post promotion if it’s more businessy.

  • Leverage free channels maximally: The rest of your effort (doesn’t necessarily need money) should go into posting on free channels – your social pages, WhatsApp status, LinkedIn profile, etc., and engaging with any audience you have. Also, consider reaching out personally to past customers to share your new content (“Hey, we just published a guide I think you’d find useful”). This personal touch costs only your time.

  • Expected outcome: With consistent effort, Ksh 20k/month might start building awareness slowly. Don’t expect 15x inquiries in one month like the case study, but over a few months you should see more inquiries or sales. The key at this level is consistency and making sure every shilling is spent on something that directly reaches customers (no vanity spends). Many small businesses actually start here – doing their own social media and spending a little on ads – and it’s a fine way to begin as long as you keep at it regularly.

    
    

• On Ksh 50,000 per month (Moderate, for steady growth): ~50k (around $350) allows for more firepower and perhaps some professional help.

  • Content: Now you could aim for maybe 2-3 pieces of good content a month. For instance, one short video (maybe a client testimonial or demonstration), a set of professional photos, and one written piece (blog or case study). You could spend ~20k on content creation – e.g. hire a videographer or content writer on contract. At 50k, you might even consider having a part-time marketer or content creator for a few hours a week to consistently generate content.

  • Advertising/Distribution: With ~20k for ads, you can run multiple campaigns: maybe one always-on campaign for brand awareness (like continuously showing a nice video ad to new audiences), and another for retargeting or specific promotions that month. You could also experiment with different platforms: for example, a bit on Facebook/Instagram, a bit on Google (if people search for your kind of product), or even local influencers (sometimes a micro-influencer might charge Ksh 5-10k for a post about your business – that could be part of distribution too).

  • Tools and analytics: Consider allocating a small portion (a few thousand) for tools that make marketing easier – maybe a social media scheduling tool (to plan your posts), or an email marketing service if you have customer emails, or even design tools like Canva Pro for better graphics. These save time and make your output look more professional.

  • Expected outcome: With 50k sustained over several months, you should start seeing a noticeable uptick in inquiries and sales if your strategy is sound. This level often allows you to test and learn – maybe one month you put extra into a back-to-school campaign (if you’re say, selling educational kits) and you see a sales jump; another month you try sponsoring a local event for Ksh 15k out of the budget and gain local press. You have some flexibility. Importantly, at this level you can maintain a constant presence – e.g., weekly good content, always some ad running – which is crucial for building brand recognition.

    
    

• On Ksh 100,000 per month (Aggressive growth mode): ~100k (around $700) per month is a significant investment for an SME, but it can really accelerate growth if used wisely.

  • Professional content and campaigns: You can likely afford a part-time marketing professional or agency support. For example, you might pay a content marketing agency or a freelancer Ksh 40k-50k to handle content and social media for you, producing say weekly videos or blogs and managing your pages. This ensures high-quality output.

  • Multi-channel advertising: With ~40k for ads, you can run a multi-channel campaign. For instance, target social media, Google search ads, possibly YouTube ads or even a bit of radio if your audience still listens, or SMS marketing – a mix. At 100k, you might also allocate some budget to experiential marketing if relevant (like hosting a small event, or doing an on-ground activation) because those can create great content and buzz to feed back into online. For example, a real estate firm could host an open-house event with free coffee and spend part of the budget on making that event nice; then film it and use that as content too.

  • Branding and design: You could also set aside funds to refine your branding – maybe get a better logo, or improve your website (a basic website redesign could be a one-time cost in the range of 50k-100k). A strong brand presence enhances all marketing. Under marketing investment, improving your website or signage is absolutely valid since those are often first touchpoints for customers.

  • Expected outcome: At this level, you’re essentially doing what larger companies do but in a focused way. Over a few months, you’re likely to see robust growth – not just inquiries, but potentially a growing social media following, better Google search rankings (from content and traffic), and overall becoming a known name in your niche. Your sales pipeline will thank you, and you’ll also have data to really understand what channels work best (since you can compare multiple efforts).

    
    

Of course, these figures are just guides. You can scale them up or down depending on your business size. The key takeaway is to allocate something to marketing consistently. Even a one-person business can say, “I’ll spend Ksh 5,000 on marketing this month and my own time” – that commitment itself is valuable.

Another rule of thumb often cited: allocate a percentage of your revenue to marketing. Many companies might allocate anywhere from 5% to 20% of revenue to marketing, depending on how aggressive they want to grow. If you’re an SME doing say Ksh 1,000,000 in sales a year (just an example), even 5% is 50k/year (~4k per month). 10% would be 100k/year (~8k per month). These aren’t hard rules but can guide you. If you’re launching something new or in a competitive market, lean towards a higher percentage.

A Simplified Marketing Plan Checklist

To avoid feeling overwhelmed, follow this simple checklist as you craft a marketing plan. This is a starting point for any small business to ensure you cover the bases:

1. Define Your Audience and USP: Clearly identify who you are targeting (your ideal customer) and your Unique Selling Proposition (what makes your product special). Write it down. E.g., “I target middle-class working moms in Nairobi who need affordable daycare. My USP: extended hours and an early childhood learning program that others don’t offer.”

2. Set Clear Goals: Decide what you want from marketing. Is it 10 inquiries a month? 5 new customers? A certain number of website visits? Goals help you measure success.

3. Choose Your Channels: Based on where your audience is, pick 2 or 3 channels to focus on first. Perhaps Facebook and WhatsApp, or Instagram and YouTube, or LinkedIn and email – whatever fits. Also, consider offline channels if relevant (community events, brochures at local stores, etc., can still be part of the mix).

4. Plan Content Topics: Brainstorm at least 4-8 content topics or ideas (one for each week of the next two months). Tie them to your audience’s interests or pain points. If you’re the daycare in Nairobi from step 1, content topics could be “5 Fun at-home learning games for toddlers” or “How proper daycare can improve your child’s social skills.” You’re not selling daycare in those pieces, you’re sharing value – which in turn positions you as the expert and builds trust.

5. Create a Content Calendar: Mark on a calendar when you will create and post each piece of content. Also note any special days or seasons: e.g., if back-to-school season is coming, plan content around that. Scheduling prevents the last-minute scramble of “What do I post today?”

6. Allocate Budget to Boost Best Content: Identify which content pieces are crucial (maybe your intro video, or a client testimonial) and allocate your ad budget to boost them. Also set aside some budget in case something you post organically is doing really well – you can capitalize on that by putting money behind it to reach more people.

7. Engage With Your Audience: Don’t just post and ghost. Each day, spend a bit of time responding to comments, answering messages, and engaging on other relevant pages or groups (for instance, participating in a local Facebook group not to spam, but to be helpful and visible as an expert in your domain).

8. Use Free Marketing Tools: There are plenty of free or freemium tools that can help a lot. Google My Business (to list your business on Google Maps and search), Canva (for designing nice visuals), Mailchimp (for small-scale email newsletters), Hootsuite or Buffer (to schedule social media posts), and of course Ridgemont’s own free marketing strategy tool that was hinted at – a tool that can generate a mini marketing plan blueprint for you after you answer a few questions. Use these to amplify your efforts without extra cost.

9. Track and Tweak: Every month, take a look at your results versus your goals. How many inquiries or sales? Which posts got the most likes or comments? Did one channel perform better than another? Use simple analytics – even the built-in insights on Facebook/Instagram or Google Analytics on your website – to gauge what’s working. Then adjust: put more effort where you see traction, and consider changing tactics where you don’t.

10. Be Consistent and Patient: Consistency is probably the unsexiest tip but the most important. The above plan is not a one-time thing; it’s a continuous cycle. Marketing is planting seeds – you must water them regularly. You might not see huge results in week one or two, but give it a few cycles. The compound effect will kick in.

    
    

This checklist can serve as your basic marketing plan. It doesn’t need to be a 30-page document. Even a one-page plan that covers these points is enough to get moving and avoid aimless marketing.

Leverage Ridgemont’s Free Tool and Services (Soft Sell, Big Help)

As promised, here’s an organic nudge: Ridgemont Africa, the agency we discussed, offers a free marketing strategy generator tool on their website. It’s designed for businesses just like yours to quickly outline a marketing blueprint. You input key information about your business, your goals, and it spits out a draft plan with suggested channels and content ideas. This can be a great starting point if you feel lost. Consider giving it a try – it’s free, after all, and could spark some ideas you hadn’t thought of.

Additionally, Ridgemont (and agencies like them) have content development services. What does that mean? It means if you’re thinking, “All this content creation sounds great, but I don’t have the skill or time,” you can collaborate with professionals to do it for you. It doesn’t necessarily mean huge costs – some services are packaged affordably for SMEs. For example, you could get a professional 1-minute promo video done at a reasonable rate, or outsource your social media management for a few months to establish a baseline presence. The ROI, as we saw, can be excellent when done right. The goal is to invest smartly: sometimes spending a bit on expert help will save you money in the long run by avoiding trial and error and by driving results faster.

However, whether you use outside help or do it all internally, the most important thing is that you start treating marketing as a core business function. Make a budget, make a plan, and get started with outreach and content that connect with your customers. Even the best plan means nothing without execution. So, start small if you must, but start somewhere – and keep going.

To wrap up this section: marketing investment isn’t about throwing money into a black hole. It’s about funding the growth engine of your business.

When done thoughtfully, every shilling can return multiple shillings in revenue. It’s like fuel for your car – you need to put fuel for the car to run and take you places. Marketing is the fuel that will take your business to its next destination. In our final section, let’s revisit why all this is ultimately an act of belief in your product and service to serve the right customer.

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