About
Dave Scott, Business Marketing Consultant
I help owner-led businesses through Business Marketing Modernization. You work directly with me, one on one. No junior account manager. No rotating agency team. SAMG Inc. is the operating company behind the work.
I started my career with CBS and Fox affiliate TV stations as a Nexstar ad account executive. During my first recession, I learned something that shaped everything I do. Nobody wanted to buy advertising, but they'd pay for a new customer if the price was right.
That lesson taught me how to work inside a business's budget, get better results at a lower cost, and deliver real accountability. It's the approach that carried me through a long run at Nexstar, not as a salesman pushing packages, but as someone who showed up to help owners solve problems.
In 2014, an automotive group told me I should start my own agency. So I did. For nearly a decade I worked primarily with auto dealers and repair shops. Over time, I scaled down on purpose. I became a hands-on consultant who works directly with business owners, one on one.
Today, as president of SAMG Inc., I help businesses find the bottlenecks holding them back, build marketing budgets they actually stick to, and put together real solutions that drive growth. Every day.
What I actually believe
Diagnosis before prescription. You can't fix what you haven't examined. Before I recommend anything, I dig into what's actually happening inside the business.
Nobody should pay for advertising. They should invest in acquiring customers. If the cost per customer makes sense for the business, the marketing pays for itself.
Technology should be used aggressively, but only when it serves a clear business goal. AI, automation, and emerging platforms are powerful tools. But they're useless without a strategy built around real business economics.
Marketing budgets should be built into the business model. Roughly 4% of gross sales to maintain market share, up to 10% for aggressive growth. Not treated as an expense you hope pays off. I help owners establish those budgets and hold them accountable.
