How Much Should You Spend on Marketing?

"How much should I spend on marketing?" is one of the questions we are asked most often. There is no single correct figure, but there is a sensible way to work it out, and it starts with your own numbers rather than someone else's average.

This guide covers the benchmarks worth knowing, three practical ways to set a budget, a worked example you can copy, and what different budgets can realistically buy.

The most quoted benchmark is Gartner's annual CMO Spend Survey. In its 2026 survey, marketing budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue, up slightly from 7.7% in 2025.

That is a useful reference, but read it carefully. Gartner surveyed around 400 marketing leaders in North America, the UK and Europe, and the vast majority worked for companies with annual revenue over $1 billion. A small or medium-sized business has very different economics: less brand recognition to lean on, smaller teams and often a greater need to generate demand from scratch.

As a starting point, we suggest most established SMEs consider somewhere between 5% and 10% of turnover, and more if you are launching, entering a new market or trying to grow quickly. Treat that as a rule of thumb to test against the methods below, not a target.

Pick a percentage of current or forecast turnover. It is simple and keeps spending in line with what the business can afford. The weakness is that it ties marketing to past performance, so a business that wants to grow can end up underinvesting exactly when it needs to spend.

Start with the result you want, then work out what it will take. This is the approach we prefer, because it links every pound to an outcome you can measure. You need four numbers:

• How many new customers you want each month.
• Your conversion rate from enquiry to customer.
• A realistic cost per lead for your channels.
• What each customer is worth to you.

Look at what competitors appear to be doing: who is running ads for your key searches, who ranks well, how active they are on social media. You cannot see their budgets, but you can judge the level of activity you need to match or outdo. Use this as a sense check alongside the other two methods.

Here is how the objective and task method might look for a service business. The figures are illustrative, so swap in your own.

• Goal: 8 new clients a month.
• Close rate: 1 in 4 enquiries becomes a client, so you need 32 enquiries.
• Cost per lead: if paid search delivers leads at around £45 each, 32 leads costs roughly £1,440 a month in ad spend.
• Management and support: add agency or staff time, tracking and landing page improvements.
• Check the maths: if each client is worth £1,500 in gross profit over their first year, 8 clients bring in £12,000, which comfortably covers the spend.

The last step matters most. If the numbers do not add up, you either need a better conversion rate, a cheaper channel, a higher-value offer or a different goal. Improving your website's conversion rate is often the cheapest of these, which is why we look at why website visitors aren't converting before recommending a bigger ad budget.

Before setting a new budget, add up what marketing really cost you over the last 12 months. Businesses often underestimate this because costs sit in different places. Include:

• Staff time spent on marketing, internal and external.
• Agency and freelancer fees.
• Advertising spend on Google, Meta, LinkedIn and other platforms.
• Software and subscriptions such as your CRM, email platform, SEO tools and scheduling apps.
• Website hosting, maintenance and development.
• Printed materials, events and sponsorship.

Then put it next to the results: enquiries, sales and customers won, ideally by channel. If you do not know which channels produced which results, fixing your tracking is the first job for next year's budget.

In a crowded market, you either need to outspend competitors or out-think them with a sharper offer, better targeting or stronger content. Competitive industries usually mean higher costs per click and longer SEO timelines.

If you grew 15% last year on a given budget and want 25% this year, the same budget is unlikely to get you there. Be realistic about the link between investment and growth.

If a typical customer takes six months to decide, the leads you generate now will turn into revenue next year. Budget for that lag, and do not judge long-cycle channels on the first month's results.

Marketing is not only about new customers. Email, remarketing and good after-sales communication help existing customers buy again, and that is revenue from people you have already paid to acquire.

To give you real figures to plan with, here is what our own services cost at the time of writing (October 2026). Each links to the full details.

• Google Ads management: from £285 a month plus 9.5% of ad spend, for ad budgets under £2,500 a month. See how much PPC management costs.
• Local SEO: packages from £179 a month on a 24-month term (£189 on 12 months, £199 on 6 months). See our SEO packages.
• Social media management: from £275 a month, plus £250 one-off onboarding and setup, invoiced with your first month. See how much social media management costs.
• Website design: bespoke CMS websites from £1,495 as a one-off cost. See our website design packages.

A small business might combine a local SEO package with modest Google Ads spend and well-maintained social profiles. A business chasing faster growth might add more ad spend, content and conversion work. The right mix depends on where your customers look for you.

If your budget is tight, spend it in this order:

1. Tracking: make sure you can see where enquiries and sales come from. Without it, every other decision is a guess.
2. Your website: a clear, fast site with obvious calls to action makes every other channel work harder.
3. Demand capture: be visible when people are already searching for what you sell, through local SEO and paid search.
4. Demand creation: social media, content and email build awareness and trust for the future.

• Total up last year's marketing costs, including people and software.
• Match spend to results by channel, and fix tracking where you cannot.
• Set a goal in customers or revenue, not just traffic.
• Work back to a budget using your close rate and cost per lead.
• Compare the result with 5% to 10% of turnover as a sense check.
• Allow for your sales cycle before judging results.
• Review quarterly and move money towards what works.

Benchmarks such as Gartner's 7.8% are a helpful reference, but the best marketing budget is one built from your own goals, margins and sales cycle. Start with what you spent and what it achieved, work back from the growth you want and review regularly.

If you would like a second opinion, we can look at your current marketing, your numbers and your goals, then suggest a budget and channel mix that fits. A marketing audit is a good place to start if you are not sure what is working now.

Book a free marketing consultation