How much should you spend on marketing? By vertical, by revenue.
Free calculator. Pick your vertical, drag your revenue, choose posture — see recommended monthly budget + channel split. Based on CallRail / HubSpot / IAB benchmarks plus our own operator data across 15+ active SMB engagements.
Marketing as % of revenue: 9%
Recommended monthly budget
$15,000
$180,000 / year · 9% of revenue
Channel mix
- Google LSA + Search38%$5,700
- Yelp Ads18%$2,700
- Nextdoor Ads14%$2,100
- Meta retargeting10%$1,500
- SEO + content12%$1,800
- Reviews + GBP ops8%$1,200
Directional only. Source: TNova operator data + CallRail / HubSpot benchmarks. For a precise plan tied to your actual channels and historical CAC, request a free Lead-Leak Audit.
How we calculate the numbers.
Marketing as % of revenue
Range comes from CMO Survey (Deloitte/Duke), HubSpot State of Marketing 2024–2025, and IAB Industry Benchmarks. We take the median + interquartile range and tighten where our own operator data conflicts. Conservative = 25th percentile, Balanced = median, Aggressive = 75th percentile.
Channel mix
What we'd actually run on day 1 of a new engagement in that vertical. Reflects what TNova has shipped across 15+ live SMB accounts. After the first 90 days, channel mix shifts based on which audience-creative-channel triples are closing — usually 2–3 channels absorb 70% + of budget once data clarifies.
Six questions about the math.
How accurate is this calculator?
Directional. The marketing-as-percent-of-revenue ranges come from CallRail, HubSpot, and TNova operator data — they're correct to within ±2 percentage points for most SMBs in each vertical. The channel mix is what we'd run on day 1 of a new engagement. Your real plan should be tied to historical CAC, payback period, and ad-platform learning capacity.
Why does e-commerce DTC show 12-25% of revenue while home services shows 6-12%?
Channel CPM. DTC e-commerce relies on cold paid social where CPMs are high and the LTV: CAC ratio justifies heavier spend. Home services has access to high-intent channels (Google LSA, Yelp, GBP) where CAC is structurally lower as a % of ticket size.
Conservative vs Balanced vs Aggressive — what's the difference?
Conservative = bottom of the recommended range, focused on already-validated channels. Balanced = our default for most SMBs after first 90 days. Aggressive = top of the range, used when you're scaling proven unit economics into adjacent channels (e.g. adding YouTube to a working Google + Meta stack).
Why isn't [my vertical] in the list?
We focus on six verticals where we have first-hand operator data: home services, personal injury law, family/immigration law, med-spa (brand-side), DTC e-commerce, and real estate. For others (restaurants, fitness, education, auto-service) request a free audit and we'll give you a custom range.
Where does the marketing-% range come from?
CMO Survey (Deloitte/Duke), HubSpot State of Marketing, IAB Industry Benchmarks, plus our own operator data. We take the median + interquartile range and tighten where our own data conflicts with public reports.
Is the channel mix what TNova would actually run?
Yes — for the first 90 days. After that we adjust based on what's actually performing in your account: typically 2-3 channels absorb 70%+ of budget once data clarifies which audience-creative-channel triples close.
The next step · 8-page action report · 24 hours · free
Find the leak. Plug it before you spend another dollar.
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Output
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Cost
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