"What should I spend on marketing?" gets answered with percentages that sound authoritative and help no one. The better approach starts from what you're trying to achieve and what a client is worth to you.
TL;DR: Common guidance puts marketing somewhere in the single-digit-to-low-teens percentage of revenue, higher when you're actively growing, but the percentage is a starting sanity check, not the answer. The real budget is set by working backwards from your goal and what you can profitably pay to win a client. Spend where the return is provable; cut where it isn't.
Why the percentage rule is only a starting point
Benchmarks (Gartner’s 2026 CMO Spend Survey puts the average marketing budget at 7.8% of company revenue, a single-digit to low-teens percentage that runs higher in growth mode) are useful as a reality check: if you're spending nothing or half your revenue, something's off. But two businesses at the same percentage can get wildly different results, so the percentage alone can't tell you what to spend.
Work backwards from a client's value
A more reliable method: know what a client is worth to you over time, decide what you can profitably pay to acquire one, then fund the channels that hit that number. If a client is worth several thousand dollars and you can win one for a few hundred, you should be spending more, not agonising over a percentage.
Spend where return is provable
Put money behind what you can measure, and the cheapest "spend" is often fixing capture so you stop wasting the leads you already pay for. Our calculator helps you see what missed enquiries cost before you add a dollar of new spend.
Key takeaways
- Percentage benchmarks are a sanity check, not the answer
- Set the budget from a client's value and what you can profitably pay to win one
- Spend where return is provable; the cheapest gain is fixing capture
- Growth phases justify spending more, not less
Frequently asked questions
Is there a standard marketing budget percentage?
Figures in the single-digit to low-teens percent of revenue are commonly cited, higher for growth. But treat it as a guide, not a rule, and judge by return.
Should I spend more or less in a slow period?
It depends on cash and return, although cutting marketing that's profitably winning clients usually deepens a slow period rather than fixing it.
What's the highest-return place to start?
Usually capturing and converting the enquiries you already generate, it costs little and stops waste before you scale spend.
How do I know if I'm spending too much?
When you can't tie the spend to results. If you can't measure a channel's return, that's the spend to question first.
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Written by Katrina Curll, Founder of Linkai Digital. Twenty years in marketing, including seven as a Vice President at Forrester, helping Australian service businesses build systems that capture, convert and keep more clients.