Have you ever wondered what your competitors are spending on marketing, or what’s standard in your industry? It’s a question we get nearly every day at Excite Media. A close second: “Things are tight. Should I cut my marketing?”
Both questions come back to the same thing: your goals. This guide covers how much to budget, and why that budget is worth protecting when money gets tight.
- Most businesses set aside 10–20% of their projected annual revenue for marketing.
- Around 9–10% maintains your market share, 12% funds moderate growth, and 15–20% drives aggressive growth.
- When budgets tighten, marketing is often the first thing cut. History shows that's usually a mistake.
- Tough times are when competitors pull back, which makes them the best time to get ahead.
- Marketing compounds. Pausing it doesn't just stop results; it can send them backwards.
What's a good marketing budget?
Most companies set aside around 10–20% of their forecasted annual sales for marketing. Every business and market is different, so treat this as a guide rather than a rulebook.
For example, a business with a $2M turnover would typically invest around 200K–300K a year, depending on its goals.
A 10% budget is a solid base for keeping a strong market presence across channels like social media and search rankings. If you want to shake things up or launch a rebrand, going above 10% helps you get there.
New to marketing investment? Don’t jump straight to 10% of revenue. Test the waters first. The days of relying on a Yellow Pages ad are long gone; modern marketing is about testing, tweaking and doubling down on what gets results.
The three tiers of marketing budgets
1. Maintaining market share: 9–10%
To keep your current clients happy and engaged, budgeting around 9% to 10% of your expected revenue for marketing is a smart move. ✅
And don’t forget, marketing isn’t just about bringing in new customers. This budget is essential for maintaining your slice of the pie and keeping up with others.
If you don’t allocate this budget, start-ups and hungrier competitors will take the space you had invested in – and your visibility can disappear altogether. In essence, a 9% marketing budget is a must to keep your brand ahead of the game. 🏃♂️
2. Moderate growth: 12%
Businesses are gearing up to invest in growth. In Forrester’s 2026 budget planning research, 83% of B2B marketing decision-makers expected their budgets to increase, with 40% expecting a rise of 5% or more. A separate survey of 400 senior marketers, 10Fold’s 2026 Marketing Budget Blueprint, found 69% planned to increase spend, with brand awareness their top priority.
A 12% budget maintains your position and frees up 3–5% for new areas, such as email marketing, social media, loyalty programs, or dedicated product and service pages that lift conversion rates. It also lets you watch competitors and respond. If they climb to the top of Google for a new product, you can challenge them.
2. Aggressive growth: 15–20%
Imagine if your three biggest competitors started spending $300K per year on advertising. How would that shake up your market share? 💥
Now picture them launching bold pay-per-click campaigns, taking over Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Your customers would see their products and services everywhere, making it all too tempting to give them a try. Not a good sign for your business, right?
But here’s the good news: you can use those same strategies they are using and assert your dominance in your industry. With a marketing budget of 15-20%, you can really make your mark. It all comes down to your goals. 🎯
Feeling the pinch? Your marketing budget should stay put
Let’s address the elephant in the room: of course a marketing agency will tell you to keep marketing. At the end of the day, you have to weigh your own priorities and financial situation.
But financial pressure ebbs and flows across the life of every business. Overheads grow, and there’s often a feeling that customers have stopped spending. That isn’t necessarily true. While some business owners worry about spending, others are seeing just how active the market still is.
Have you heard of the lipstick effect?
We’re not economists, but the theory goes like this. When people are strapped for cash, they spend more on small luxuries. They might not afford a European holiday or a new car, but they can afford a new lipstick.
People are tight for cash, but they’re still spending. When a business feels the pinch, marketing can start to look like that European holiday: a cost that doesn’t make sense right now. In reality, being strategic with your budget and investing in marketing can turn a tough period into a real opportunity. We saw countless businesses thrive through COVID-19 and take serious strides in their industries.
Tough times are when you beat your competitors
Marketing works like a snowball: each effort builds on the last. Every ad, social post and blog may seem small on its own, but together they make a big impact. We’ve written a whole case study on the snowball effect of SEO.
Pausing an SEO campaign doesn’t pause your results. It often sends them backwards and can undo the progress you’ve made.
For paid campaigns like Google Ads, Facebook Ads, LinkedIn or Instagram, there are good reasons to pause:
- A seasonal change
- A new promotion
- More leads than your team can handle
Pausing because you’re worried about budget isn’t one of them. Marketing isn’t a frivolous expense; it generates revenue. If your marketing delivers leads you can turn into sales, then financially speaking, it should stay.
Marketing compounds, so pausing costs more than you think
We’re not the first to face an economic slowdown. Australia alone went through recessions in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Those periods hold a wealth of lessons about business models and recovery strategies for owners looking to weather the storm. The common thread: in a rocky financial landscape, investing in marketing matters more than ever.
What marketing budget is right for you?
The right budget starts with knowing where you want to go, whether that’s keeping pace with the market or aiming for the moon. Then it’s about protecting that investment when times get tough, not cutting it first.
Marketing can feel like a puzzle, and plenty of businesses pour money into channels that don’t pay off. The fix is to set clear goals and build a strategy around them. Some of our clients generate 30–60 leads a day through their websites.
If you’re a current Excite Media client and your business is feeling the pinch, talk to your account manager. We can always pivot and adapt.
Need a hand working out the right budget for your business? We’d love to chat.
