What share of revenue should a B2B service firm spend on marketing?
Most small B2B service companies spend 3–8% of revenue on marketing. Firms in growth mode or entering a new market often go to 10–12% for a year, then fall back.
Service companies spend less than software companies because much of their growth comes from referrals and repeat clients. A 15-person agency with €1.2 million in revenue and a 5% budget has €60,000 a year, about €5,000 a month, for tools, content, events, ads and any outside help.
The percentage is a starting point, not a rule. A better test is cost per client: if one new client is worth €20,000 in the first year and costs €2,500 to win, the budget can grow as long as that ratio holds. A typical customer acquisition cost in B2B helps you judge your own figure.
Count people as part of marketing. The hours a founder spends on posts, calls and events are often the largest cost, even when no invoice shows it. At €80 an hour, eight hours a week adds about €2,770 a month.
How to split a 5% budget
- Channels that work (50%)Fund what brings clients today, such as partner events, referrals or a content series, before testing anything new.
- One new channel test (25%)Test one channel per quarter against a clear target such as cost per meeting. Matched introductions through Meetcatcher, where you pay only for calls that take place, are easy to measure this way.
- Tools and website (15%)CRM, website upkeep and analytics. Keep this part small, because tools do not bring clients on their own.
- A reserve (10%)Keep room for an event, a sponsorship or a partner campaign that appears in the middle of the year.
Small firms often get more from a lean mix than from a bigger budget. The minimal marketing mix for digital businesses shows how few channels you really need. If nobody owns the budget, a fractional CMO can set it and run the first tests.