Setting the right marketing budget is one of the toughest challenges for B2B leaders. Spend too little, and growth stalls because campaigns can’t reach enough of the market. Spend too much, and marketing becomes inefficient while leadership questions the return.
The problem is that most companies set budgets in isolation, without comparing to industry benchmarks or aligning spend with revenue goals. This disconnect is exactly why most B2B marketing plans fail before they deliver results.
Here’s what B2B companies actually spend on marketing, broken down by revenue size, and how to use these benchmarks without letting them replace good planning.
Why Benchmarks Actually Matter
Benchmarks aren’t meant to dictate your budget, but they help validate whether your spend is realistic. If your company is investing far less than peers, marketing will struggle to hit growth goals. If you’re investing far more, you should see above-market performance or need to revisit your assumptions.
Benchmarks also reveal how budgets shift as companies grow. Smaller organizations often need to spend a higher percentage of revenue on marketing to build awareness. Larger organizations can spend a smaller percentage while still investing significant absolute dollars.
The Big Picture: Marketing Spend by Industry
Across aggregated research from Gartner, Deloitte, Hinge, IDC, and OpenView, most B2B companies allocate between 7 and 12 percent of revenue to marketing. But the range is broad because different industries and business models require different levels of investment.
Professional services firms often spend 5 to 8 percent of revenue, relying heavily on relationships and referrals in addition to marketing.
SaaS companies frequently spend 10 to 15 percent of revenue, since growth depends on scaling quickly and capturing market share.
Manufacturing companies usually fall between 3 and 6 percent, but budgets are trending upward as digital transformation expands marketing’s role.
While these broad ranges are helpful, breaking spend down by revenue size creates more practical insight.
What Companies Actually Spend by Revenue Size
Companies Under $10 Million
Smaller companies typically need to spend more aggressively on marketing as a percentage of revenue because brand awareness is limited and growth goals are steep.
Typical spend: 10 to 15 percent of revenue
Focus: Building awareness, entering markets, and establishing brand presence
Key investments: Website development, digital campaigns, and outsourced marketing support
At this stage, the absolute budget may be smaller, but the percentage is higher. A $5 million company spending 12 percent is allocating $600,000 to marketing.
Companies Between $10 Million and $50 Million
As companies grow into the mid-market, marketing spend begins to stabilize. Companies at this size have more brand recognition, but they also face more competition.
Typical spend: 7 to 12 percent of revenue
Focus: Generating pipeline predictably, refining brand positioning, and supporting sales enablement
Key investments: Paid media at scale, account-based marketing programs, marketing automation tools, and dedicated internal resources
Budgets often expand to cover both demand generation and more targeted strategies. A $25 million company spending 10 percent has $2.5 million to work with.
Companies Between $50 Million and $250 Million
Companies at this stage often operate in multiple regions and markets. Marketing becomes more complex and requires both scale and depth.
Typical spend: 6 to 10 percent of revenue
Focus: Supporting multiple business units, sustaining brand visibility, and enabling large sales teams
Key investments: Integrated campaigns across channels, events, martech stacks, and specialized internal teams or agencies
While the percentage decreases slightly, the absolute budget grows significantly. A $100 million company investing 7 percent is still allocating $7 million annually.
Companies Over $250 Million
Larger organizations spend a smaller percentage of revenue on marketing, but the absolute dollars are substantial.
Typical spend: 3 to 6 percent of revenue
Focus: Sustaining brand leadership, enabling global sales forces, and innovating across multiple markets
Key investments: Brand campaigns, sophisticated ABM, sponsorships, global media buys, and large-scale martech ecosystems
At this level, marketing is often measured less by immediate lead generation and more by long-term brand impact, pipeline contribution, and influence on revenue across divisions.
Why Absolute Dollars Matter as Much as Percentages
Looking only at percentages can be misleading. A $10 million company investing 12 percent of revenue is spending $1.2 million. A $250 million company investing 5 percent is spending $12.5 million. Both are within benchmark ranges, but the impact of those budgets is very different.
Absolute dollars determine how much reach you can buy, how much content you can produce, and how much technology and talent you can support. That’s why it’s important to consider both the percentage of revenue and the absolute budget required to reach your goals.
How Smart Companies Allocate Their Marketing Budgets
Benchmarks also show how companies split budgets across major categories:
Media spend: Paid search, paid social, display, and ABM campaigns (typically 50-60% of total budget)
Martech: CRM, automation, analytics, and data enrichment tools (typically 15-20% of budget)
People and agencies: Internal team salaries or agency partnerships (typically 20-30% of budget)
Events and sponsorships: Especially relevant for industries where face-to-face contact drives pipeline (typically 5-15% of budget)
The exact split depends on your business model, but these ranges give you a starting point for allocation.
How to Use Benchmarks Without Getting Trapped by Them
Benchmarks are helpful, but they shouldn’t replace planning based on your company’s specific funnel math. Here’s how to use them correctly:
If your budget is far below benchmarks, question whether your goals are realistic. You might be underfunding marketing relative to what growth actually requires.
If your budget is far above benchmarks, expect to outperform peers or revisit where dollars are allocated. Higher spend should deliver higher results.
Always cross-check against revenue targets, conversion rates, and sales cycle length. Your specific business model matters more than industry averages.
Use benchmarks to validate assumptions, but don’t let them replace actual budget planning based on your funnel math.
The Reality About Budget Benchmarks
Here’s what most benchmark studies won’t tell you: averages include a lot of companies that aren’t growing consistently. Some are overspending on ineffective tactics. Others are underspending and wondering why growth is slow.
The companies that consistently hit their growth targets don’t just match industry benchmarks. They invest strategically based on what actually drives revenue for their specific business model.
Benchmarks are a starting point, not a destination.
Stop Guessing, Start Planning
What B2B companies spend on marketing varies by industry and revenue size, but the pattern is clear: smaller companies need to spend a higher percentage to grow, while larger companies can spend less as a percentage but far more in absolute dollars.
The key isn’t to match benchmarks exactly, but to use them as a reference point to ensure your budget is aligned with both growth goals and market realities. A budget that falls far outside these ranges should be carefully examined to confirm it will deliver the outcomes leadership expects. For a complete framework on building marketing strategies that actually work, see our revenue-driven marketing guide.
Remember: benchmarks tell you what others are spending, not what you should spend. Your budget should be based on your growth goals, funnel performance, and market opportunity.
Not sure if your marketing budget aligns with your growth goals? Our B2B Growth Audit reviews your current spend allocation and compares it against both industry benchmarks and your specific revenue targets. Get your audit HERE.
