If you’re in B2B marketing, asking for a larger marketing budget can feel like a tough sell – especially when you’re wearing multiple hats and working with limited resources. The challenge isn’t just in asking for more money than the previous year. Rather, it’s in showing leadership that the investment will pay off.
So how do you build a case that leadership will say yes to? It starts with a clear, honest story backed by data – and tied directly to business goals. Additionally, it requires understanding what matters most to your executive team.
Start with industry benchmarks and clear KPIs
If you don’t have much internal data, industry benchmarks are a great starting point. For many B2B companies, marketing spend typically falls between 2% and 5% of sales. That range is considered sufficient to maintain market presence, but conservative for growth-focused businesses. Therefore, if your proposed budget falls within or below that range, it shows your request is reasonable and grounded in reality.
Meanwhile, if your company is targeting significant growth, you may need to invest more aggressively in marketing – potentially as much as 15% or even 20% of revenue.
Allison Wagner, director of marketing and business strategy at Morrison Container Handling Solutions, suggests the 2% to 5% approach.
“A standard marketing budget is anywhere from 2 percent to 5 percent of company sales,” she said. “Going in at 3 percent and knowing it’s probably going to be less is still probably more than you’re asking for. So that can be a really nice comparison.”
Framing your ask this way gives leadership a baseline to compare against. In addition, it shows you’re not pulling numbers out of thin air. Moreover, you’ve done your homework and are relying on sound benchmarks.
Build confidence with clear metrics
Of course, benchmarks aren’t enough on their own. Leaders want to know how you’ll measure success.
Therefore, even if your program is new, setting key performance indicators (KPIs) builds confidence. It also shows that you’re not just thinking about tactics, but about measurable outcomes.
Wagner suggested being transparent about expectations when asking for more funding.
“You can say something like, ‘You need to have some blind faith in me for a year here. Understand I’m already asking for less than best practice,'” Wagner said.
“Use baseline data in your presentation if you have it, even if it’s relevant industry data on spend areas versus your own data,” she added. “Then, you can track for a full year, and come back next year and have an even more fruitful conversation.”
Staci Harvatin, chief of staff at SureCam, agreed, noting that clarity and measurability are essential when you’re asking leadership to take a leap with you.
“You may need to tighten up your story and your game plan for how you’re going to track the impact from the investments,” she said.
Setting KPIs early shows you’re thinking beyond spend – you’re planning for impact. In turn, that makes your marketing budget feel less like a gamble and more like a calculated step forward.
Connect marketing spend to business goals
The most effective way to gain support for your marketing budget is to tie your ask to business goals, said Alice Maniev, marketing communications manager, at Loma Systems Whether your company is focused on customer retention, upselling or entering a new market, your plan should connect the dots.
Above all, don’t bury leadership in marketing jargon. Instead, outline key investments – like trade shows, paid media or content – and explain how each one supports specific business goals. In fact, Maniev recommends creating a summary document that explains “where to play and how to win.”
As a result, when leaders see that your marketing budget supports what they care about, they’re more likely to get on board than if you present a list of tactics with no clear connection to business goals.
Back it up with real-world proof
When internal data is thin, bring in external examples. For example, you can cite industry statistics, analyst reports or case studies from similar companies. These sources add credibility and help bridge any data gaps.
Victoria Sithy, senior marketing communications specialist at Felins, often uses this approach.
“We try to pull stats from the real world,” she said. “We’ll ask ChatGPT, ‘What are some examples of other B2B manufacturing companies who’ve done this? And what is their success rate?’”
These examples make your strategy feel proven rather than theoretical. In addition, they signal that you’re informed and thorough.
Next, to enhance trust, pair your proposal with scenario planning. Sithy suggests laying out a few possible outcomes – best case, expected case and worst case. In short, this helps business leaders weigh risks, rewards and trade-offs before they make decisions. Furthermore, it allows you to demonstrate foresight and flexibility.
Estimate spend using customer value
In fact, you don’t need years of data to make a strong case for your marketing budget. In many cases, working backward from customer value can give you a smart, simple framework. Start by identifying your top accounts. What do they have in common? How much do they typically spend each year?
After that, ask yourself how much you’re willing to spend to win similar customers. This logic-based method is easy to follow and hard to argue with.
Wagner breaks it down like this:
“If we’re comfortable spending $2,000 to acquire a customer and that customer spends $50,000 a year, how many more of those do we want? OK, that’s $100,000 we need to put across multiple channels.”
This approach keeps the math straightforward and connects directly to revenue goals. Even without historical marketing performance data, you’re still making a solid, data-informed case for investment.
Look inside for hidden insights
While you may not have marketing-specific data yet, other departments likely do. Your customer relationship management system, sales dashboards or customer success tools may hold useful information on customer behavior, revenue trends or account churn.
Without a doubt, it pays to build relationships internally. In fact, cross-functional collaboration is often the key to uncovering untapped value.
“Find out who your best friend is in finance,” Harvatin said.
Suzanne Fenton, senior manager, marketing communications at Spartech, added that asking your vice president of sales who they work with in finance can help open the right doors and pave the way for the most fruitful, collaborative relationships.
These internal allies can help you gather information like customer lifetime value, cost-per-acquisition and spend by segment – key elements for a thoughtful marketing budget discussion. And when you present internal trends, you show that your plan is grounded in the company’s reality. Consequently, this gives leadership more reasons to trust your proposal.
Don’t go quiet during uncertainty
It’s tempting to pull back on marketing when the business environment gets shaky. However, that’s often when you need it most.
Economic shifts, supply chain issues and changing buyer behavior make it difficult for brands to stay top of mind. But pulling back sends the wrong signal. Instead, marketing is what keeps your company visible and responsive when conditions change.
Here are a few practical ways to plan your marketing budget during uncertain times:
- Stay flexible. Break your budget into segments so that you can shift priorities as needed.
- Focus on feedback loops. Invest in channels that deliver results you can track.
- Listen to your customers. Adjust messaging based on what they’re experiencing.
- Reinforce your presence. Show leadership that marketing is a steadying force.
By showing how marketing helps your business stay resilient, you’re giving leaders one more reason to say yes. Moreover, you’re demonstrating that marketing is a growth enabler rather than a cost center.
Make a thoughtful case
In conclusion, justifying your marketing budget isn’t about having perfect data. Rather, it’s about showing your thinking.
When you combine industry benchmarks, business-aligned goals, practical projections and smart scenario planning, you’re telling a clear, credible story. Furthermore, when company leaders see that story as part of the organization’s success, they’ll be inclined to approve your ask.
Therefore, take the time to prepare, use the data you have and speak their language. In doing so, you’ll build leaders’ trust and the clarity needed to get to yes.
