Guide 9 of 10 · about 20 minutes

Set your marketing budget

Use the calculator below for a sensible starting range, then work through the checklist to test it against what a customer is worth to you. A percentage is a sanity check, not a rule.

Start the checklist See my plan

How much should a small business spend on marketing?

Most small businesses spend somewhere between 5% and 12% of turnover on marketing, depending on the type of business and how fast they want to grow. Business-to-business firms tend to sit lower and online consumer brands higher, and new businesses often need a few points more to get known. Then check the figure against your own numbers.

Budget calculator

Your suggested marketing budget

Choose your industry, type of business and stage, then slide to your yearly turnover. The suggestion updates as you go, and you can drag your own percentage to see what it means in pounds.

Your industry

Type of business

Where you are

Yearly turnover£325,000

Suggested budget 5 to 8% of turnover

Your budget6.5%

£21,125 a year (about £1,760 a month)

Where to start

Suggested marketing budgets by type of business (percentage of turnover)
Type of business	Our suggested range for small businesses	CMO Survey 2025 average
B2C services (trades, salons, clinics, cafés, local services)	5 to 8%	6.0%
B2C products (shops and retail brands)	6 to 12%	15.5%
DtC (direct-to-consumer online brands and ecommerce)	10 to 20%	15.5%
B2B services (consultants, agencies, IT, professional services)	7 to 10%	9.0%
B2B products (manufacturers, wholesalers, suppliers)	4 to 7%	6.4%

Work out your number

Use the calculator above for a starting point.It suggests a percentage of turnover for your type of business, based on published benchmarks.
Work out the most you can afford per enquiry.Profit per customer × how many enquiries turn into customers. £2,000 × 20% = £400 per enquiry to break even.
Multiply by the enquiries you need.Aim well below break-even. If you can win enquiries at a quarter of that figure, you’re doing well.
Count your own time as part of the budget.Ten hours a month of your time has a real cost. Sometimes paying for help is cheaper.

Your budget and how you worked it out

The calculator fills in its suggestion here too, so you can adjust it.

Split it sensibly

Fund the basics first.Website, hosting, Google Business Profile, email platform and tracking.
Split the rest between building your name and chasing sales now.Most future customers aren’t ready today. Spend only on quick sales and you start from scratch every month.
Keep about 10% for testing something new each quarter.A new ad channel, a new offer, a sponsorship. Small tests stop you putting your best channels at risk.
Review spend every 90 days.Cost per enquiry and cost per customer for each channel. Move money to what works.

Next: Your 90-day action plan See my marketing plan

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