The question "what percentage of revenue should be allocated for marketing" is almost always answered with a single, definitive figure. In reality, that figure comes from a survey with a specific sample, and it may not be suitable for your business. Here are some benchmarks you can refer to, along with their limits.
Survey Benchmark: around 7 to 8 percent
Gartner surveyed 401 CMOs and marketing leaders in North America, the UK, and Europe from January to March 2026. The result showed that the average marketing budget is 7.8% of company revenue, a slight increase from 7.7% in the 2025 survey. Gartner itself describes the budget as "effectively flat." In the same survey, 56% of respondents stated that their budget is insufficient to execute their 2026 strategy.
The CMO Survey (September 2024, 260 respondents) provided a similar figure of 7.7% of revenue. This figure was as high as 10.1% in the Spring 2024 edition, indicating that a single point in time is not enough to serve as a benchmark.
The average hides differences across business types
The CMO Survey also breaks down the figures by sector:
| Sector | Percentage of company budget | Percentage of revenue |
|---|---|---|
| B2B products | 8.7% | 6.1% |
| B2B services | 10.0% | 6.2% |
| B2C products | 12.2% | 10.2% |
| B2C services | 9.6% | 10.4% |
The pattern observed is that businesses selling to end consumers (B2C) spend about 10% of their revenue, while B2B spends around 6%. This means that the type of customers you have helps determine whether a percentage is reasonable or not.
Why this figure should not be used blindly
The Gartner sample is dominated by companies with annual revenues exceeding $1 billion. Small and medium enterprises in Indonesia have a different cost structure: they are smaller in scale and often rely on one or two channels. Therefore, the figure of 7.8% is a starting point for discussion, not a target.
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) also advises caution. In its article on marketing budgets, the SBA states that there is no standard answer for the size of a marketing budget, and it only cites benchmarks from other sources.
How to use it: calculate from last year, then test
A common pattern in companies is to set a percentage based on last year's revenue. Here’s an example calculation, using hypothetical numbers:
- Last year's revenue was Rp12 billion, marketing budget 8%: Rp960 million.
- This year's target has increased to Rp15 billion. If the percentage remains at 8%, the budget becomes Rp1.2 billion, an increase of Rp240 million.
This method is straightforward, but it has a drawback: the budget follows past revenue, not the goals you want to achieve. Therefore, the percentage figure should be tested with three questions:
- What target are you pursuing this year (new customers, repeat sales, or new markets)?
- What activities are needed to achieve it, and what are the costs for each?
- Is the total cost still reasonable compared to the benchmark percentage?
If the result is far above the benchmark, reconsider the target or choose cheaper channels. If it is far below, check if there are important activities that have not been accounted for.
If you prefer to see the explanation directly, there is a clip available at taalenta.id/video/mks-berapa-budget-marketing-yang-ideal-untuk-bisnis.
Sources
- Gartner, "2026 CMO Spend Survey Finds CMOs Allocate 15.3% of Marketing Budgets to AI but Only 30% Are Ready to Scale AI Capabilities" (May 11, 2026): https://gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2026-05-11-gartner-2026-cmo-spend-survey-finds-cmos-allocate-15-point-3-percent-of-marketing-budgets-to-ai-but-only-30-percent-are-ready-to-scale-ai-capabilities
- Gartner, "2025 CMO Spend Survey Reveals Marketing Budgets Have Flatlined at 7.7% of Overall Company Revenue" (May 12, 2025): https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2025-05-12-gartner-2025-cmo-spend-survey-reveals-marketing-budgets-have-flatlined-at-seven-percent-of-overall-company-revenue.
- The CMO Survey, Highlights and Insights Report, Fall 2024: https://cmosurvey.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/The_CMO_Survey-Highlights_and_Insights_Report-Fall_2024.pdf
- U.S. Small Business Administration, "How to Get the Most From Your Marketing Budget" (July 9, 2019): https://www.sba.gov/blog/how-get-most-your-marketing-budget