Free tool
Marketing Budget Calculator
Work backwards from the revenue you want to the leads and the monthly budget it takes to get there. Enter your own numbers. Nothing you type leaves this page.
- New customers needed
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- Leads needed
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- Cost per new customer
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- Revenue per dollar spent
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- Yearly budget
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Your cost per new customer is higher than the value of a customer. At these numbers, spending more loses money. Work on close rate, customer value or cost per lead first.
Get a second opinion on your numbersHow the math works
- Customers needed = revenue goal ÷ value of one new customer.
- Leads needed = customers needed ÷ close rate.
- Monthly budget = leads needed × cost per lead.
- Cost per new customer = cost per lead ÷ close rate.
The budget here covers media and campaign spend. Add agency, creative and software costs on top. The result is only as good as the inputs, so track your real close rate and cost per lead and rerun it every quarter.
Questions
How do I work out my marketing budget?
Start from the revenue you want, not from a percentage. Divide your revenue goal by the value of one new customer to get the customers you need. Divide that by your close rate to get the leads you need. Multiply the leads by what each lead costs you. That is the budget the goal requires.
What is cost per lead?
It is what you pay, on average, for one enquiry: a form fill, call or booked meeting. Your ad accounts show it as cost per conversion or cost per result, as long as conversion tracking is set up. If you do not track it yet, set that up first, because every budget decision depends on it.
What close rate should I use?
Use your own. Count the enquiries you received over the last few months and the number that became paying customers. If you have no records, start tracking now and use a careful estimate until you do.
What if the budget comes out too high?
There are three ways to bring it down: raise the value of each customer, close more of the leads you already get, or lower what each lead costs. Change one number at a time in the calculator to see which moves the budget most for your business.
More free resources: the AI Search Visibility Checklist and guides and playbooks.