What percentage of revenue should go to marketing?

Most companies land between 5% and 15% of revenue; early-stage businesses and e-commerce in crowded categories often go to 20% or beyond. Established businesses with loyal customers frequently sit at 3-7%. Percentages are a sanity check - the budget itself should be built from how many customers you need.

A percentage of revenue is easy to explain but it rewards standing still: when sales dip you automatically cut marketing and dip further. Build the number bottom-up first - cost per customer times the customers you need - then use the percentage only to check you haven't overreached.