Let’s do break down what a real advertising budget looks like when a company’s in maintenance mode.
A lot of people ask, “How much should I be spending on marketing every month?”
The answer really depends on what stage your business is in. Here's the general rule I go by:
This business did $92,341 in revenue and spent $4,865 on advertising — that’s about 5.2%.
Classic maintenance mode.
They’re not trying to grow fast — just keeping steady, filling the schedule, staying visible. Nothing wrong with that if that’s the plan. But if they wanted to grow, they’d have to push that budget closer to $7K–$14K/month and actually track what’s working.
The main takeaway: your ad budget needs to match your goals.
You can’t be in maintenance mode and expect growth numbers. On the flip side, you don’t want to overspend without a system in place.
Spend smart. Track results. Scale when you’re ready.
What phase of ad spend are you in right now, maintaining, growing, or scaling?
A lot of people ask, “How much should I be spending on marketing every month?”
The answer really depends on what stage your business is in. Here's the general rule I go by:
- 5% of your gross revenue = you're maintaining
- 8–12% = you're looking for steady growth
- 15+% = you're trying to scale aggressively and take market share
This business did $92,341 in revenue and spent $4,865 on advertising — that’s about 5.2%.
Classic maintenance mode.
They’re not trying to grow fast — just keeping steady, filling the schedule, staying visible. Nothing wrong with that if that’s the plan. But if they wanted to grow, they’d have to push that budget closer to $7K–$14K/month and actually track what’s working.
The main takeaway: your ad budget needs to match your goals.
You can’t be in maintenance mode and expect growth numbers. On the flip side, you don’t want to overspend without a system in place.
Spend smart. Track results. Scale when you’re ready.
What phase of ad spend are you in right now, maintaining, growing, or scaling?
