- July 23, 2026
Most small-business owners who I know are shortsighted when it comes to marketing. I can relate — I'm the same way with my own business!
We all ask things like this: Will this marketing give me a return on my investment in the next four weeks?
The problem is, ROI is often impossible to measure accurately in the short term. For example, a coupon might not pay off immediately for a variety of reasons (wrong offer, wrong time of year, wrong design, wrong size), but what about the work that coupon is doing in growing brand recognition in the long term?
We are tempted to plant our marketing seeds, water them a couple of times, and then as soon as there is any sign of green, we yank the shoots out of the soil to check the progress of the roots.
In reality, the goal is to grow a brand, to build an orchard of strength and prosperity. The goal is that everyone in the area that the business serves will eventually know the brand — what value it provides, why it’s a worthy choice.
A 2025 study by NP Digital asked 502 companies of different ages to run surveys to test how recognizable their brand was. The results showed that even mature businesses of 10 years only had a brand recognition of 18.2%.
My guess is that many businesses believe their brand recognition is higher than it is.
Here are the full results:
Age of business — Brand awareness
1 year — 0.6%
3 years — 3.1%
5 years — 7.2%
10 years — 18.6%
Unfortunately, it takes an investment to build brand recognition. And it takes time.
How much should a business spend on marketing? Studies cited by the Small Business Administration show businesses usually set aside 1% to 10% of annual revenue, and reinvest it into the business, through marketing.
The more aggressive the budget, the more likely the business can shave years off the schedule. How much would it cost to get to 18.6% recognizability in five years instead of 10?
If you want to talk strategy, email me at [email protected].
