How startups should approach their digital marketing budget

Start with Your Growth Ambition

• Are you aiming for steady traction or rapid market capture?
• High-growth goals typically demand higher marketing spend – 10–20% of net revenue, or more if VC-backed.

Assess Your Financial Foundation

• Do your unit economics support aggressive spend? Consider customer acquisition cost (CAC) vs. lifetime value (LTV).
• Is external investment in place to sustain early losses? If yes, you may have scope to invest ahead of revenue.

Prioritise Brand Awareness and Reach

Focus marketing on education, visibility, and credibility. Choose channels that deliver broad exposure and allow for testing, such as:

• Influencer marketing
• Shareable content campaigns
• Paid social with high reach targeting

Embrace Testing and Iteration

• Allocate budget for rapid experimentation.
• Measure, learn, and refine continuously to avoid wasted spend.

Refer Back to Core Budget Principles

For a deeper breakdown of marketing costs (tools, team, media, creative), see our main guide here.