What Should Your Marketing Budget Look Like for 2027?

What should you be spending on marketing in 2027? It's a fair question. The trouble is that most of the answers online were written for companies with a marketing department, or written to sell you something expensive. So I pulled the actual numbers. Here's what they say, and here's how I'd plan a 2027 marketing budget for a small business.

Start With a Number on Purpose

The U.S. Small Business Administration gives a clear rule of thumb. Businesses under $5 million in revenue should put 7 to 8 percent of it toward marketing. That assumes margins around 10 to 12 percent after expenses. The SBA also notes that budgets swing anywhere from 2 to 20 percent, depending on your goals.

Bigger companies land in the same neighborhood. The 2026 CMO Survey, run by Duke University, Deloitte and the American Marketing Association, found the average company spends 5 percent of revenue on marketing.

So what does that mean for a local business? Say you run a landscaping company that brings in $400,000 a year. At 7 percent, that’s $28,000 a year, or about $2,300 a month. At a lean 2 percent, it’s $8,000 a year, or roughly $670 a month.

Now, I won’t tell you that you have to spend 8 percent. However, I will tell you to pick a number on purpose. Write it down. Then spend it in the right order.

Your Website Comes First

Think about every way people hear about you. A neighbor’s referral. Your truck at a stoplight. A networking happy hour. A yard sign. Almost every one of those ends the same way. Somebody pulls out their phone and looks you up.

Interestingly, the SBA lists your website first among the brand costs a marketing budget should cover. That’s no accident. Your website is where every other dollar you spend most likely lands.

Speed matters, too. Google’s own research found that 53 percent of mobile visitors leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load. In other words, a slow site throws away half the people your marketing worked so hard to reach.

That’s why I hand-code every Lamplighter website to load in under a second. Not sure how yours stacks up? Here’s how to know if you have a good website.

Ads Are Rent. Your Website Is Equity.

Paid ads work, and they work fast. If you need the phone ringing next week, ads can do that. But there’s a catch. The day you stop paying, the leads stop too. Nothing you bought keeps working.

A strong website works differently. Once a page earns its spot in local search, it keeps bringing people in month after month. You don’t pay per click. Instead, you build something that grows in value the longer you keep it current.

So I tell clients the same thing. Build the thing you own first. Then, if there’s room, rent attention on top of it.

Don’t Skip the Free Stuff

Some of the best marketing costs nothing. Your Google Business Profile is free. Asking every customer for a review is free, too.

And reviews pull real weight. Northwestern University’s Spiegel Research Center found that a product showing five reviews was 270 percent more likely to sell than one with zero reviews. Better yet, those first few reviews did most of the heavy lifting.

So make asking a habit. Text your review link after every job. It takes thirty seconds.

A Simple 2027 Budget to Start From

So what does a real budget look like? I used 7.5 percent of yearly revenue, right in the middle of the SBA’s guideline, and built three budgets around what a business actually brings in. Find the one closest to your revenue and start there. Treat it as a starting point, not a rule.

Bringing In About $30,000 a Year - Around $200 a Month

At 7.5 percent, $30,000 in revenue gives you $2,250 a year for marketing. That’s $187.50 a month, which is right where a Standard Business Website lands at $187. It gets you a custom, hand-coded site with hosting, local SEO, unlimited edits and 24/7 support, all with $0 upfront. Then add the free stuff: a complete Google Business Profile and a steady stream of reviews.

Sarah wrote more about that in build your foundation first.

Bringing In About $80,000 a Year - Around $500 a Month

At $80,000, 7.5 percent comes to $6,000 a year, or $500 a month. So keep the $187 website and add SEO Boost for $300. For $487 a month, we track your rankings every two weeks, track calls and form fills, optimize your Google Business Profile and send a written report every quarter. Best of all, we make the fixes ourselves.

Bringing In $160,000 a Year or More - $1,000 a Month or More

At $160,000, 7.5 percent gives you $12,000 a year, or $1,000 a month. By now, you’ve probably outgrown five pages. So step up to the Growth Business Website at $287 a month for 10 pages, free service pages and one free integration, like a blog or chatbot. That gives Google more chances to match you with what people actually search for.

Or go all in with the Unlimited Business Website at $487 a month. That gets you 15 or more pages, free service, location and landing pages, plus a blog post we write for you every month. Better yet, we write a blog post for you every month, so fresh content keeps going up without you lifting a finger.

Pair Unlimited with SEO Boost and you’re at $787 a month. Then put the rest toward ads, sponsorships or networking, so every dollar you rent lands on a foundation you own. Best of all, moving up is simple. We just bump you to the next tier. No rebuild, no hassle.

Running Leaner?

That’s okay. If 7.5 percent feels like a stretch, try the SBA’s low end of 2 percent.

• Bringing in about $30,000 a year: around $50/month (600 a year)
• Bringing in about $80,000 a year: around $133/month (1,600 a year)
• Bringing in about $160,000 a year: around $267/month (3,200 a year)

At the lower end, you may need more sweat equity for your website (do it yourself, but do it smart), then build out your foundational stuff, and upgrade to a professional (like Lamplighter) as you grow. By $160,000 a year, EVEN 2 PERCENT covers a $187 Standard website, with room to spare.

Keep the Light On

No matter which size fits, the order stays the same. Website first. Free stuff second. Then SEO, then everything else.

A good marketing plan works a lot like a lantern. An ad is a bright flash. It grabs attention for a moment, and then it’s gone. A steady light that stays on is what people actually find their way by.

If you’d like a second set of eyes on your 2027 budget, text or call me! We can talk through your options and about where your money will go furthest, even if the answer isn’t me.

Call or text me directly at (719) 357-8727.