Stop Guessing: How Much You Should Spend on Marketing and Why It Matters More Than You Think
I can’t count how many conversations I’ve had with startup founders or scaling CEOs that start like this:
“We don’t really have a marketing budget yet.”
“We’ve got a few contractors doing bits and pieces.”
“We’re waiting to see what works before we commit.”
One founder even told me, “We just rotate contractors until something sticks.”
One thing is always true: without strategy, nothing sticks. They’re not against marketing. They just haven’t defined what they actually need from it or how it connects to growth.
If you don’t set a marketing budget, you’ve already made a decision. You’ve decided marketing isn’t a priority. That it’s something to fit in after everything else. That growth will come as a byproduct, not the result, of clear positioning, consistent messaging, and focused customer engagement.
And for many startups and stuck brands, that assumption becomes the biggest obstacle to traction.
As a fractional CMO, I’ve worked with companies on both ends of the spectrum. Some underfund and under-strategize. Others spend reactively across 10 tools and 5 tactics, with no unifying plan. In both cases, the outcome is the same: wasted time, wasted budget, and stalled momentum.
Let’s break down what smart, growth-focused marketing budgets actually look like and how to align yours with your goals.
Why Ignoring Your Marketing Budget Is Riskier Than You Think
Marketing isn’t just another expense. It’s how your business builds momentum, shapes perception, and earns trust at scale. And yet, too many companies treat marketing budgets as flexible, negotiable, or something they’ll “figure out later.”
The result?
Confusion. Inconsistency. Stalled growth.
A marketing budget isn’t just about money it’s a reflection of your priorities. It tells your team (and yourself):
This is where we’re going
These are the customers we’re trying to reach
And here’s how we plan to earn their attention, trust, and loyalty
Without a clear budget, marketing becomes:
A scramble of last-minute posts and reactive campaigns
Entirely dependent on internal bandwidth, not business strategy
Disconnected from growth, retention, or revenue outcomes
If you don’t give marketing the resources to succeed, don’t be surprised when it doesn’t. Marketing isn’t a line item to cut it’s the lever you pull when you want to grow. But it only works if you actually pull it, with purpose.
What to Prioritize If Your Budget Is Limited
Not every company can invest across all fronts right away. But limited budgets don’t have to mean limited growth, if you prioritize what matters most. Here’s where to focus your energy (and dollars) when resources are tight.
1. Strategy Before Spend Start with positioning, messaging, and customer insight. This is how you avoid wasting time on misaligned campaigns or low-conversion channels.
Tactic: Conduct 3–5 customer interviews to uncover language, needs, and decision triggers. Then clarify your one-liner, core messages, and brand voice.
2. Your Website Must Do Heavy Lifting If you’re only going to invest in one platform, make it your site. It should clearly explain what you do, who it’s for, and why it matters, with a clear next step.
Tactic: Build or update a simple homepage with clear positioning, 1–2 trust-building assets (like testimonials or a case study), and one strong CTA (e.g., “Schedule a Demo” or “Download the Guide”).
3. One Consistent Content Stream Pick a format and a channel where your audience already is, then show up consistently with insight, not fluff.
Tactic: Publish 1 thought leadership post per week on LinkedIn or email. Repurpose it into a blog or carousel. Focus on educating or storytelling, not selling.
4. A Simple, Trackable Funnel You don’t need 10 automations. You need one clear journey, from interest to action.
Tactic: Use a lead magnet or discovery call as your conversion point. Capture emails and nurture new leads with a 3–5 part welcome sequence that builds trust and addresses key questions.
5. Metrics That Actually Matter Focus on outcomes, not optics. Early on, these are your best signals of traction.
Tactic: Track qualified leads, conversion to meetings or signups, and engagement on your key content, not just likes or impressions.
Priorities Shift with Growth Stage, Here’s How to Focus
Pre-Launch or Seed Stage? Prioritize positioning, website clarity, and list-building.
Series A / Growth Mode? Scale your funnel, introduce automation, and test outbound or paid support.
Plateaued or Rebuilding? Focus on trust-building content, win-back campaigns, and CRM hygiene.
And if you're fundraising? A clear, aligned marketing strategy signals maturity to investors—and builds confidence in your go-to-market readiness.
THAVMA INSIGHT: Smart marketing isn’t about doing more. It’s about doing the right things—on purpose, with the resources you have. When every dollar counts, clarity becomes your greatest multiplier.
So… What Should You Spend on Marketing?
Let’s get tactical. Yes, every business is different. But if you're trying to grow, here's what experience (and the data) tells us.
These aren’t vanity numbers. They reflect the level of investment needed to match your momentum goals.
Early-stage companies need to invest more to gain visibility, trust, and traction.
Growth-stage brands need consistency and scale.
Mature businesses optimize and reinforce.
A good marketing budget isn’t just a percentage, it’s a reflection of your ambition.
Launching a new product → you need fuel for education, outreach, and positioning.
Entering a new market → budget for research, customer insight, and high-touch messaging.
Rebuilding trust → invest in storytelling, internal alignment, and reputation repair.
Your budget should reflect where you’re going, not just where you’ve been. And if your goals are bold? Your budget should be, too.
Feeling overwhelmed?
You might be thinking, “We can’t possibly spend that much on marketing right now.” And maybe you can’t, not all at once.
That’s not the point.
The point is to align your budget with your strategy and to make sure you’re resourcing the efforts that will actually move the needle. Maybe you can’t fund everything today. That’s okay. Prioritize. Build a list of high-impact, low-lift wins. Then grow from there.
As your business scales, your budget should scale with it. Marketing isn’t about doing everything. It’s about doing the right things, at the right time, with enough fuel to work.
What a Fractional CMO Looks for When Budgeting
Whether I’m working with a startup founder or a scaling leadership team, I ask three key questions:
What are your business goals in the next 6–12 months?
Where is your customer journey underperforming?
What will it take to build momentum with clarity and consistency?
From there, we map the budget across five core buckets:
Strategy
Content
Execution (ads, events, tools)
People (internal & external)
Measurement
No shiny objects. No guessing. Just clarity.
Don’t Spend More—Spend Smarter
The goal of a marketing budget isn’t to check a box. It’s to give your strategy room to work.
“Your marketing budget should reflect your ambition, but also your clarity.” If you don’t know how much to spend, you likely haven’t clarified what success looks like or how you’ll get there.
The Budget Is the Strategy—If You Build It Right
At the start of this newsletter, we asked a simple question:
How much should you really spend on marketing?
But here’s the real question—the one the most effective leaders are asking:
“What are we trying to build—and are we resourcing it accordingly?”
Because a marketing budget is never just about dollars.
It’s about discipline. Direction. Clarity. Momentum. It’s the clearest signal you can send to your team, your customers, and yourself, about what matters, what moves the business forward, and what you're committed to creating. The companies that grow aren’t spending the most. They’re spending on purpose, backed by strategy, not guesswork.
P.S.
I’ve helped funded startups, innovation-driven brands, and growth-stage companies turn scattered marketing into strategic traction. If you're ready to work smarter, not just harder. I’d love to help.
Ready to sharpen your strategy? Start here! Access our free strategy resources
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Let’s connect on LinkedIn: Fotine A Sotiropoulos | LinkedIn.
