Question 1

How much should a small business spend on marketing?

Accepted Answer

Small businesses typically spend 5-15% of annual revenue on marketing. The right number depends on your industry, your margin, and how long you have been marketing at all: a new company building a name needs the top of that range, an established one can live at the bottom. The Don Marketer calculator gives you your own range in two minutes.

Question 2

How do I know marketing is paying off?

Accepted Answer

Work out your break-even: divide one by your margin. At a 35% margin the break-even is 2.9: every dollar of ad spend has to return $2.90 in revenue just to break even. Anything above that is profit. Brand pays back slower than performance advertising; count in months, not days.

Question 3

Should I put money into brand or into performance?

Accepted Answer

Both, in a ratio that shifts with your stage. In year one most of the money goes into performance, because you need sales fast and you are still learning what works. After a few years the weight moves toward brand, which quietly makes every later order cheaper.

Question 4

Do I need an agency or can I do it myself?

Accepted Answer

Up to roughly $1,500 a month one capable person or a freelancer is enough. Between $1,500 and $7,000 a month a single full-service agency makes sense. Above that, channel specialists plus someone in-house to steer them.

Question 5

Does the calculator work for a physical store with no online shop?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Switch measurement to offline and it works with footfall, average spend per visit and offline channels. It also gives you three simple ways to measure impact without an online shop: a discount code, one question at the till, and period-over-period comparison.

Question 6

What does the calculator cost and what's the catch?

Accepted Answer

It is free and needs no sign-up. You only leave contact details if you want the result emailed or want me to get in touch. Only the PDF guides are paid.

Marketing calculator

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