Online marketing budget: how to work it out

Why a fixed marketing budget matters

Without a budget, marketing becomes something you do when things are quiet. And that's exactly when it's too late, because most marketing needs time to get going. A fixed budget gives you:

• Peace of mind: you know what you spend each month and don't have to decide all over again every time.
• Comparison: you can see which channel delivers the most per euro.
• Planning: you can work ahead towards busy seasons.
• A clear brief for whoever does your marketing, in-house or external.

Step 1: work out what a customer is worth to you

Start with your own figures, not with an agency's price. You need three numbers:

• Average job value: what does a job or order bring in on average?
• Margin: what's left of that after purchasing and direct costs?
• Repeat business: does a customer come back, and how often on average?

Multiply your margin per job by the number of times a customer comes back. That's roughly what a customer brings you in total. So a hairdresser with regular clients has a very different number from a business that installs a kitchen once.

Step 2: decide what a new customer may cost

Now decide what share of that customer value you want to spend to win the customer. That's your maximum cost per customer. Be careful: you want to keep something for yourself, too.

A worked example, with made-up figures for illustration. An installation company earns an average margin of €400 per job. A customer comes back twice on average, so three jobs: €1,200 in total. The company decides a new customer may cost no more than €200 in marketing. If it wants ten new customers a month, that means a budget of around €2,000 a month.

How many customers you need depends on your capacity. A budget for thirty new customers makes little sense if you can only help ten a month.

Don't know your margin exactly? Ask your accountant for a rough estimate per type of job. A reasonable estimate is enough to start with. After a few months of measuring, you replace it with real figures, and your budget gets more and more accurate.

Step 3: split your online marketing budget across channels

Don't spread your budget evenly over everything. Choose based on how your customers search and how quickly you need results:

• Google Ads: fast results with people who are already searching. You pay per click. Read more about what Google Ads costs.
• SEO: grows slowly, but keeps working when you stop paying per click. Good for the long term.
• Social media: strong if your product is visual or you want to reach a local audience. Ads are possible on small budgets.
• Email marketing: cheap, especially for returning customers.
• Your website itself: a fast site that converts well makes every other channel cheaper per customer.

A common approach is a mix: part for quick results, such as Google Ads, and part for the long term, such as SEO and content. Unsure about the balance? Read SEO or Google Ads.

What falls under your marketing budget?

Don't forget that marketing costs are made up of several parts:

• Media budget: the money that goes straight to Google, Meta or other platforms.
• Management and execution: the time of a specialist or agency.
• Tools: for example an email tool, scheduling tool or SEO tool. Prices change, so check the current price.
• Content: photos, copy and videos.
• Your own time. That counts too, even though you don't pay for it directly.

With online marketing through Violexa, you pay from €599 excl. VAT (€725 incl. VAT) per month for management. That covers SEO, Google Ads and social media, tailored to what you need. Your ad budget goes directly to the platform on top of that. There's no minimum term: you can cancel monthly with one month's notice.

How much should you spend when you're just starting?

If you don't have any figures yet, you can't work backwards precisely. In that case, start with a test budget you can afford to lose, for a fixed period of, say, three months. Make sure you track conversions from day one, so you do have figures after that period. Then adjust: more budget for what works, less for what doesn't.

Starting with a new website? Then include the one-off costs too. Read what having a website built costs.

Pitfalls when setting your marketing budget

• Stopping too soon. Many channels need a few weeks to months to learn and grow.
• Only looking at clicks or visitors instead of enquiries and revenue.
• Putting everything into one channel, so you depend on a single platform.
• Not allowing for seasons. Plan more budget in the weeks before your busy period.
• Sending money to ads while your website is slow or unclear.
• Signing long contracts before you know whether it works.

Setting your budget together

A good budget starts with your own figures and gets a little better every month. At Violexa we help you work it out, split it and adjust it based on real enquiries. Read more on our online marketing page.

Want to know which budget fits your goals? Book a free quickscan. In 30 minutes, online or on site, we look at your situation. Afterwards you get short written advice with a price indication, with no obligation.

Frequently asked questions