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When I was hired for my first marketing role, I got really excited to pitch new, exciting ideas to my team.
And I thought — as long as I had data to support the potential success of a project — that my team would be thrilled to hear these ideas.
Which they were. But they were also cautious, and one of their biggest concerns was, “Okay, this sounds great … but how much is it going to cost?”
Ultimately, being a successful marketer isn’t just about thinking strategically. It’s also about adhering to a strict budget, and achieving new levels of growth while simultaneously choosing the most cost-effective option for your business.
Here, we’ll explore typical marketing budgets, as well as marketing budgets by industry, so you can determine how your budget matches up against competitors.
Plus, we’ll explore how much of your yearly revenue you should re-invest in marketing materials to see stronger long-term growth.

What’s a typical marketing budget percentage?
As of February 2021, Deloitte’s annual CMO Survey reports that marketing budgets are now roughly 11.7% of total company-wide budget — a slight decrease from the 12.6% marketers saw in June 2020, but still a record high that most marketers haven’t seen over the last four years.
(It’s important to note, we saw record-high marketing budgets over the course of the pandemic as companies relocated some budget towards digital marketing strategies, rather than more offline tactics.)
Gartner’s 2020 CMO survey confirms most marketing budgets rest around 11% of total company budget.
While your own marketing department’s budget depends on a variety of factors — including industry, company revenue performance, and business needs — this should help you ballpark a reasonable percentage of your total company-wide budget that you should allocate for your marketing teams.
Of course, what strategies/channels marketing teams choose to invest in varies depending on individual company goals. For instance, while 73% of companies invested in website optimization in 2020, only 20% invested in machine learning and automation.
Web optimization, digital media and search, and digital marketing were the top three priorities for companies when determining budget allocation in 2020 — with roughly 73%, 65%, and 57% of companies (respectively) investing in each.
These trends are predicted to continue into 2021 and beyond.
However, the data we’ve reported so far pertains to marketing budget percentage of overall company budget — but what about marketing budget as it pertains to overall company revenue? Let’s dive into that, next.
Marketing Budget Percentage of Revenue
The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends small businesses (businesses with revenue less than 5 million) allocate between 7% and 8% of total revenue to marketing — assuming your business has margins in the range of 10-12 percent.
The amount of revenue businesses allocate to marketing has increased steadily over the past 10 years, with average marketing percentage of revenue landing around 13% in 2021, compared to just 8% back in 2011.
B2B Product industries allocate, on average, roughly 10% of revenue to marketing, which is similar to B2C Services (10.1%). B2B Services and B2C Product allocate higher numbers of 15% and 18%, respectively, of total revenue.
Of course, decisions related to marketing budget allocation remain largely industry-specific. To determine more accurate, industry-specific insights, let’s explore marketing budgets by industry, next.
Marketing Budget Percentage by Industry [2021 Data]
Deloitte’s 2020 CMO Survey found B2B (product-focused) companies attribute roughly 9.4% of overall budget to marketing efforts, while B2B (services-focused) companies attribute 11.4%.
Alternatively, if you work for a B2C (product-focused) company, Deloitte reports 15.9% of overall budget is the average given to marketing teams — for B2C (service-focused) companies, this is closer to 12%.
Of course, the type of business you work at (B2B or B2C) is only one factor when determining marketing budget percentage. Industry is a major factor, as well.
For instance, marketing expenses are highest in the Education sector at 19.4% of total budget — and they’re lowest in the Energy industry, at roughly 4%.
If you work in the healthcare industry, you might expect to see a marketing budget around 7% of total budget.
Alternatively, consulting services typically attribute 13%. Lastly, technlogy/software platforms attribute 12% of total company budget to marketing.
If you’re unsure how to manage your marketing budget, you’re in luck. We’ve covered marketing budgets extensively in How to Manage Your Entire Marketing Budget [Free Budget Planner Templates]. Take a look at that post to create a marketing budget that works for you — and use templates and samples to get you started.

 

 

74% of CMOs believe data ethics will get even more important for their business in the next five years, while only 48% of advertisers admit having data ethics policy. With the advent of more and more data privacy regulations, various companies and organizations are under tremendous pressure to ensure that their customers are protected and that their data is stored responsibly.

 

Keep your data ethical while managing customer preferences

 

Today, groundbreaking technologies such as AI and machine learning are helping businesses by creating opportunities to deliver better services. However, to fully use these fantastic mar-tech tools, there is a high need for possessing a huge database of client information. In times of data misuse, companies really have to focus on an ethical collection of data.

 

This is the last chance to actually act by data security standards to build high-end consumer relationships based on trust and to create the best Customer Experience by using improved preference management. 

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Transparency becomes a new must-have for companies

 

74% of CMOs believe data ethics will get even more important for their business in the next five years. That means that companies and what’s more, marketers are becoming more and more aware of the way they use and collect the data.

 

In the modern business model, it is impossible to work without data collected directly from customers or other sources. Since information is at a premium in the industry today, data ethics is becoming an increasingly pressing issue. This trend is only going to increase, which is why companies need to focus on ethical data management at all levels, from acquisition to use. As consumers become more aware of the privacy of their data, putting an emphasis on transparency for companies, these companies must do everything they can to keep customers informed of actions taken with their information. 

 

A survey of 147 marketing executives found that 82% of them would consider leaving their employer if they felt the data approach was not ethical. That’s exactly why data ethics is crucial to building a universal framework to guide what to do and what not to do with the data they collect. This will ensure that customers can trust the company they are giving their information to. 

 

Consumer concerns about data are rising rapidly, especially now, so it’s essential that those who share their data should have full, open and transparent insight into how it is used.

 

Importance of maintaining data ethics while ensuring Customer Experience

 

Preference management is a way of communicating with customers through their preferred channels and at their preferred times. In short, it is the recipient who decides what and when they receive from the company and not the other way around. Preference management seems to be a great improvement in communication, this way you can make sure that the information you send is always welcome if of course done in a legal way. Keep in mind that consumer preferences are changing, hence you must provide the update option. 

 

In the past years, we observed a huge conversion in the area of enterprise data cloud, and how it could simplify the management of data and AI. In 2020, we experienced COVID-19 outbreak, masses of data being used for the fight with the pandemic, personal cyber profiles that raise the discussion about privacy and the problem of data ownership in smart devices. We see a burning need to anonymize data for the benefit of society and to ensure strong data governance that monitors how it is used.

 

Benefits of data ethics

 

Only 48% of advertisers admit to having a data ethics policy, but do you know how it can affect your marketing? 

 

Given the fact that we have more and more privacy regulations like GDPR, CCPA and most recent one – CDPA, implementing ethical data management ensures yourself trust of your consumers which is crucial to maintaining long-term relationships. Moreover, it prevents any unintentional biases that can always happen and create a negative image of your brand, driven by poor business decisions.

 

The vicious cycle of data ethics and preferences

 

The Cisco Privacy Benchmark Study shows that concerns about data privacy have increased over the past year. 31% of respondents are concerned that their data will be used for non-corporate purposes, 25% believe that data will be shared with third parties, and 24% are afraid that data will not be deleted after COVID-19. 

 

Many consumers have taken action on their own and simply stopped sharing data with companies that don’t follow privacy policies. This unfortunately closely impacts preference management – without data, there are no preferences, but without content that customers prefer, there is no more data to exchange. So how do we impact this vicious cycle?

 

Ways of ethical data collection

 

With the holy trinity of Data Protection laws, withdrawal of third party cookies and Coronavirus, companies have to figure out a way of ethical data obtaining.

 

First, focus on giving your customers, unique or even exclusive content. They would feel obliged to give back and leave their information willingly. This way, at the same time, you will increase trust, and build a healthy database consisting of first-party data.  

 

Second, stop spamming ads – make your ad space useful, give customers the opportunity to gain or learn something from it. This will make them more willing to provide you with the data you need. 

 

Third, be honest with your customers – never ever, store or share customer data without their explicit permission. Remember that data always belongs to the user. 

 

Be prepared for the future

 

Maintaining data ethics is key today, and will be even more so in the future. The focus on owning ethical, actionable data across all channels, with clear and strong customer consent to its use, is proving to be a core issue in the coming years. 

 

Preference management focuses on allowing users to voluntarily provide information about their intentions, motivations, and interests, so you need to capture this data in the most legitimate way possible with the highest data ethics, so you don’t disappoint your customer. That’s why maintaining transparency about what a client’s data is actually used for will not only ensure a better reputation but also trust, retention and loyalty from both old and new customers.

marketing automation marketing automation

Choosing between GetResponse and Constant Contact for your email marketing needs? This detailed comparison of each tool’s features and pricing can help you decide.

At HubSpot, customer experience comes first. Always.
Whether our marketing team is selecting a time at which to send an email or our web team team is choosing the size and location of a button on our homepage, the question we always go back to is: “Will this be a good experience for our customers?”
As HubSpot’s Chief Product Officer, this customer-first principle is my guiding light when it comes to product development. And it’s the reason why we don’t buy technology when we want to deliver a new product to our customers. We build it.
This build-first approach is becoming increasingly rare in our industry. Traditional SaaS companies tend to acquire other companies when they want to significantly expand their product offerings or quickly increase their customer base. This can sometimes lead to a quick uptick in revenue — after all, when a company buys another, it acquires all of its customers — but it’s often a very negative experience for the customer.
When two completely different systems are cobbled together after an acquisition, the burden of making them work together is foisted onto the customer. Each company probably took a completely different approach to product development, resulting in different underlying technology, different processes, and different user interfaces.
Reconciling these differences without causing friction for customers is an almost impossible task. And when SaaS companies apply this approach over time, the friction accrues, technical debt goes through the roof, and the customer experience steadily degrades as a result.
This approach solves for the company implementing it, not the customers it’s supposed to serve. That’s why we do things differently at HubSpot. After all, it isn’t like us to follow the crowd.
When most companies were doubling down on the old outbound playbook, we championed inbound approaches instead. When most businesses were wondering whether remote work could ever work, we saw the percentage of HubSpotters working from home hit double digits long before 2020 forced everyone’s hand. And while our industry was still furiously focused on funnels, we embraced the flywheel.
We’re different. It’s in HubSpot’s DNA. It’s even reflected in our company mission: we help organizations grow better. Not grow according to the status quo. Not grow by adhering to age-old playbooks. Grow better.
Just as we believe there’s a better way to grow, we also believe there’s a better way to build. That’s where the Primary Colors come in.
Meet the Primary Colors
Our approach to product development is simple, and it allows us to create multiplicative benefits for customers that no other CRM platform offers. We focus on five foundational elements that span all of our products, and we work at improving each one of them, all of the time. Those elements are: Automation, Content, Data, Messaging, and Reporting. We call them “Primary Colors.”
Every one of our Hubs – CMS Hub, Marketing Hub, Sales Hub, and Service Hub – comprises a different blend of the five Primary Colors, meaning that every product on our platform is built on the same underlying foundation.
So when the product team shows up to work every day, the question we ask ourselves isn’t “Which Hub or feature will we work on today?” It’s: “Which Primary Color will we enhance?”

As a result, when we add value to one area of HubSpot, value is automatically added across the entire CRM platform. And that allows us to deliver a steady stream of delight to all of our customers on an ongoing basis.
Here are three ways in which this approach allows us to offer unique value to our customers in the crowded CRM market:

1. Continuous improvement across the platform.

“HubSpot is the perfect, always-improving marketing software” – review on G2
The same five Primary Colors go into building each HubSpot product, so when we improve one Primary Color, we improve every Hub. And every customer of every HubSpot product sees an immediate benefit, whatever part of the platform they use.
For instance, when we invest in making Reporting in Sales Hub more robust, this robustness ripples out to every Reporting tool across the HubSpot CRM platform. So Marketing Hub customers who use our Reporting tools benefit, Service Hub customers who use our Reporting tools benefit, as do CMS Hub customers — all because we invested in improving just one Primary Color.

2. Easy adoption of new products.

“We quickly adopted the Sales Hub Pro and Marketing Enterprise for our growing needs. It has been one of the best decisions we have made” – review on G2
Since all of our Hubs are built on the same Primary Color foundation, our customers can expect a familiar, fast, and friendly user experience every time they add a new feature or product to their tech stack. This means customers can enjoy the benefits of each new addition right away, with no time lost to training, integration, or new-system frustration.

As HubSpot’s co-founder, Dharmesh Shah, puts it: “Our customers’ time-to-joy is reduced.”

Once a customer learns how to use Automation in, say, Marketing Hub, they instantly know how Automation works in all of HubSpot’s products across the CRM platform. So as their company scales and adds new products, features, and integrations to their tech stack, they can expect consistency, not complexity.
They don’t have to relearn how Messaging works or how Data is stored every time they add a new Hub — something they would likely have to do if they were working with a system that had been cobbled together through acquisitions or if they use different tools for different customer-facing teams.

3. The ability to run an entire business on a single platform.

“I can manage the website, CRM, email marketing and all other efforts in one single place. This allows me to have a single location for all my data Reporting and have a single source of truth” – review on G2
With HubSpot, fast-growing companies can run their whole business on a single system, because HubSpot offers the same insights and power to marketers, salespeople, and service professionals alike.
And when all teams at a company are working out of the same familiar system, silos crumble, data is centralized, and information flows freely. The whole team has access to the same valuable insights, allowing them to understand their customers better and deliver a seamless experience across every touchpoint.
For example, when a company’s marketing team uses Marketing Hub and its sales team uses Sales Hub, both teams gain access to the same customer data in a centralized CRM. And because both Hubs offer identical functionality for recording and storing Data, it becomes equally easy for each team to access not only the data they generate, but also Data the other team generates.
This gives marketers and salespeople a holistic view of the customer, enabling each of them to tailor their tactics and personalize their outreach. If a prospect is showing particular interest in marketing content about a certain feature, the sales team can see this information in the shared CRM and will know to focus on that feature on their next call with the prospect.
They don’t need to wait on a marketing report or rely on an impersonal script – they can personalize their outreach and hone in on a prospect’s specific areas of interest, all as a result of both Hubs being built on the same foundation.
Building Differently, Growing Better
The challenges that companies face in 2021 are new, so our approach to building our products needs to be new as well. With the rise of the hybrid workplace, we’re all finding our work lives intersecting our home and family lives, too. That raises the bar on what we expect from business software.

People use HubSpot to power their businesses, to provide for their families, to help their communities thrive, and in many cases, to make the world a better place.

It’s now more important than ever that our CRM platform experience feels like something you’d use on the weekends, not just Monday morning.
That’s why we’re fiercely committed to building software that has enterprise-grade power combined with consumer-grade intuitiveness and an experience as delightful as that offered by the apps we all use in our personal lives.
At HubSpot, our bar is set by what our customers need, not what our competitors have done in past decades. With the five Primary Colors powering our platform and our unwavering commitment to never compromise on customer experience, we are excited to continue to help our customers grow better in 2021 and beyond.