{"id":18434,"date":"2025-10-06T11:52:05","date_gmt":"2025-10-06T09:52:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sortlist.com\/blog\/?p=18434"},"modified":"2026-03-26T12:16:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-26T11:16:19","slug":"price-of-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sortlist.com\/blog\/price-of-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"The real price of marketing, and how to make it do more"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A company’s marketing budget isn\u2019t expensive. Paying for the wrong work is.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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Companies routinely sink cash into salaries, tools, and \u201clearning time\u201d that never ships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But even when experts often recommend investing around 2\u20135%<\/strong> of company revenue in marketing to stay competitive, in practice, many brands either overspend<\/strong> on inefficient in-house efforts or under-invest<\/strong> and miss out on growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For any company dissatisfied with current marketing results or unsure whether to outsource or keep it in-house, read on. A small shift in strategy could <\/strong>save you tens of thousands and turn the same budget into more pipeline <\/strong>– with fewer surprises.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Or if you’re already convinced that marketing is your next move, match with an agency here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Budgeting for marketing: a strategic investment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Any CEO or founder thinks of their marketing budget<\/a> as the fuel for their company\u2019s future revenue and brand equity – not just an expense line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In fact, companies worldwide typically reinvest around 2\u20135% of their revenue into marketing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n

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However, it’s a ballpark figure<\/strong> – many successful companies find that investing at the higher end (or beyond) of that range pays off in stronger market presence<\/strong> and customer acquisition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, B2C firms often allocate 5\u201310% of revenue to marketing, recognizing the need to engage broader consumer audiences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Benchmarking marketing budgets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

It helps to know what similar businesses spend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Sortlist data, the average marketing budget for small companies sits around $31,800. <\/strong>These are businesses with under $2M in annual sales and under 20 employees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For those with 20-49 employees, the budget doubles to approximately $60,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And companies with 50 or more employees tend to have marketing budgets above $100,000<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It\u2019s also telling that larger companies invest far more<\/strong> in marketing as a proportion of resources – big firms devote around 13.6%<\/strong> of their total budgets to marketing, whereas small businesses stick to the usual 2\u20135%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Takeaway for decision-makers<\/em>: under-investing in marketing can leave brands at a competitive disadvantage<\/strong>. A Fortune-500-sized budget is not needed to grow, but they do need to spend enough – and spend it smartly – to make an impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you think you’re one of those brands, start now.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What are typical prices for marketing service?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Social media management<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Prices can range widely based on the scope and number of platforms. For a basic package (e.g. 2\u20133 posts per week on a couple of platforms with content creation included), ~$2,000 per month<\/strong> is a common starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A comprehensive social media strategy<\/a> with daily posting, community management, and paid ad campaigns can cost more – in some cases $5,000-$10,000+ per month<\/strong> for larger brands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Search engine optimization (SEO)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

SEO is a long-term play, and agencies often offer monthly retainers. On average, SEO<\/a> agency services run between $350 and $2,000 per month<\/strong>, depending on how many keywords and technical fixes are involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content creation and content marketing<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Quality content is essential for SEO, lead generation, and brand authority. Many agencies offer content creation<\/a> packages. For example, website content writing might cost $2,000 to $10,000 per month<\/strong> for ongoing content (blogs, articles, landing pages).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Content strategy and research adds to the cost: thorough content research or auditing can run $5,000 up to $25,000 for larger projects<\/strong> (though basic audits might be a few hundred dollars).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Paid advertising (PPC and social ads)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Running Google Ads, Facebook Ads, or other paid campaigns<\/a> requires both ad spend and management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A typical small-business PPC management fee might be $500 to $1,500 per month<\/strong>, and agencies may require a minimum ad budget of a few thousand dollars to be effective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Sortlist data, companies should expect to invest around $9,000 to $10,000 per month<\/strong> on pay-per-click advertising to see meaningful results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The good news?<\/strong> Agencies managing ads will continually optimize for performance, so companies get the highest return on whatever budget they have.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Design and branding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These services are often one-time project costs rather than ongoing fees (unless continuous design work is needed). A logo and basic brand identity<\/a> package might range from $5,000 to $15,000<\/strong> with an agency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A complete company rebrand (new visual identity, messaging, website redesign, etc.) can cost significantly more. SMBs often budget $15,000+<\/strong> on rebranding projects on Sortlist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Website design and development<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

These can vary widely: a simple business website might be $5k-$10k<\/strong>, while an advanced e-commerce site could be $30k<\/strong> or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Outsourcing them is typically much cheaper than hiring a full-time designer or developer, unless there are ongoing web needs<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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In-house marketing: are companies paying more than they realize?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Hiring employees to handle marketing in-house might seem straightforward – you control the team and they focus solely on your company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But the true cost of an in-house marketing team goes far beyond salaries<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n