A pool service in Fort Myers has been running for six years. Some months the owner boosts a Facebook post, some months a sales rep talks him into a magazine ad, and some months nothing goes out at all. When someone asks what he spends on marketing, the honest answer is "it depends on the month."
That's how most established small businesses do it, and it's why marketing feels like a gamble. Here's how to set a number on purpose, decide where it goes and keep it going long enough to know what works.
Why "whatever's left" doesn't work
When marketing gets the money left over at the end of the month, it disappears exactly when you need it. A slow month means less cash, so you spend less, so the next month is slower. A busy month means no time, so nothing goes out, and the slow month after it is worse. We wrote about that cycle in busy one month, slow the next.
Random spending has a second problem: you can't learn from it. If you try a mailer once, a boosted post twice and a directory listing for one month, none of them gets a fair test. You end up deciding that "marketing doesn't work" when you never really ran any of it.
A budget fixes both problems. It doesn't have to be big. It has to be planned and steady.
Three ways to set a number
Use all three, then pick a number that makes sense to you. If the three answers are far apart, that tells you something too.
1. A rough share of revenue
Many owners start with a percentage of revenue. You'll hear rules of thumb like a single-digit percentage for a steady business and a higher share for a business that wants to grow quickly. These are rough rules people use, not data, and the right share varies a lot by industry and stage. A salon that lives on repeat clients needs less than a new remodeling company that has to find every job.
Use it as a sanity check, not the answer.
2. Work backward from a customer goal
This is the most useful method for most service businesses. You need three numbers:
- How many new customers you want in a month or a season.
- What a customer is worth to you, including repeat work over a year or two.
- What a new customer costs you to win in each channel. Spend on the channel divided by new customers from it.
New customers you want × cost per customer = monthly budget.
Example (made-up numbers, use yours): a cleaning company in Naples wants 8 new recurring clients a month. From past months, a new client from Google ads costs about $150 to win, and a recurring client is worth several thousand dollars a year. That's roughly $1,200 a month, which looks very different next to what each client brings in.
If you don't know your cost per customer yet, that's the first thing to fix. Lead sites are a good place to start, since you already see the bill; our post on whether Angi and Thumbtack leads are worth it walks through that math.
3. The minimum to keep the basics running
Some costs keep the lights on no matter what: your website hosting and domain, the tools you use for follow-up, a little time each week to answer reviews and update your Google profile. Add those up. That's your floor. Never go below it, even in a bad month. If you're not sure what a website should cost to keep running, this breakdown of website costs covers the yearly pieces.
What to put the money into
Split your budget into three buckets, in this order.
Always-on basics (pay for these first). The things that work for you every day and make every other dollar go further:
- An accurate, active Google Business Profile
- A website that loads fast, works on a phone and tells people how to reach you
- A steady habit of asking for reviews
- Fast follow-up on every call, text and form
If a lead calls and nobody calls back, it doesn't matter how good the ad was.
Campaigns. Planned pushes with a clear goal and an end date: ads before season, a mailer to a new neighborhood, a fall offer to past customers. This is where most of the variable money goes.
Tests. A small slice, kept separate, to try one new thing at a time for long enough to judge it. One test at a time, with a clear question: "Did this bring in booked jobs?"
Fixed spend vs seasonal spend in Southwest Florida
Our market has a calendar you can plan around. Season runs roughly November through April, when snowbirds are back, HOAs schedule work and many businesses are full. Summer is slower for many trades, and hurricane season adds its own rhythm.
A simple way to handle it:
- Fixed all year: the always-on basics and a low, steady level of visibility.
- Increase before and during season: campaigns ramp up in early fall so you're visible before people start calling, then hold through the busy months.
- Lower in summer, but not zero: keep the basics running and use the slower months for things you never have time for in season, like reviews, past-customer offers and fixing your website.
The owners who cut everything in June often spend September and October rebuilding from nothing, while competitors who stayed visible are already booked.
Count your own time
Your hours are part of the budget. If you spend six hours a week writing posts, chasing lead-site messages and meeting with sales reps, that time has a price. Ask two questions:
- What would those hours be worth on a paying job?
- Is the task something you're good at and enjoy, or something you avoid?
Sometimes keeping it in-house is the right call. Sometimes it's cheaper to hand it off. Our honest comparison of hiring a marketing person or an agency can help you decide which fits your size.
Review it every month
Put 20 minutes on the calendar every month. Look at:
- What you spent, by channel
- How many new customers came from each one (ask every new customer how they found you)
- What each new customer cost
- What you'll keep, cut or test next month
Change the plan every quarter, not every week. Most channels need a few months before you can judge them fairly. One bad week is not a verdict.
What we'd do first
We'd start by writing down what you actually spent on marketing in the last three months, including your own hours, and how many new customers came from each place. That alone shows where money is leaking.
If you'd like a second set of eyes, our free Growth Check looks at where your customers come from today and where the next dollar should go. When you're ready for planned pushes before season, our campaigns and lead generation work is built around a goal and a budget you set. And if you'd rather have a team plan, run and review it with you every month, that's what our Growth Partner is for.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of revenue should a small business spend on marketing?
People often quote rough rules, like a single-digit percentage of revenue for established businesses and more for businesses trying to grow fast. Treat that as a starting point only. The right share varies a lot by industry, stage and how much work comes from repeat customers and referrals.
Should I stop marketing in the slow season?
Usually no. Cut back if you need to, but keep the basics running: your Google profile, reviews, follow-up and a small amount of steady visibility. Starting from zero every fall costs more time and money than keeping a low, steady level all year.
How do I know what a new customer costs me?
Add up what you spent on a channel in a month, then divide by the number of new customers it brought in that month. You need to ask every new customer how they found you, or the number is a guess.
Is my own time part of the marketing budget?
Yes. If you spend five hours a week posting, answering lead-site messages or meeting with vendors, those hours have a cost. Sometimes paying someone to do a task is cheaper than the jobs you can't do while you're doing it.
How often should I change my marketing budget?
Look at it every month, but change it every quarter unless something is clearly broken. Most channels need a few months of steady effort before you can judge them fairly.
