How Long Island and Queens Businesses Should Plan a 2027 Marketing Budget
Quick answer: Start with a percentage of revenue, then adjust for your growth goals. Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey found marketing budgets average 7.8% of company revenue, and The CMO Survey's 2025 edition reported 6.4% for B2B product companies and 9.0% for B2B services firms. Fund the channels that already produce leads first, keep 10 to 20 percent for testing, and tie every line to a measurable outcome.
Most companies on Long Island and in Queens set next year's marketing budget by copying last year's number. A better approach starts with benchmarks, then works backward from the revenue you need.
What the benchmarks say
Gartner's 2026 CMO Spend Survey of 401 marketing leaders found budgets averaged 7.8% of company revenue, up slightly from 7.7% in 2025. Most of those respondents work at companies with more than $1 billion in revenue, so treat the number as a ceiling for larger firms rather than a rule for a 20 person company. The CMO Survey, run by Duke University's Fuqua School of Business with Deloitte, gives a more useful split by business type in its 2025 edition:
- B2B product companies: 6.4% of revenue
- B2B services firms: 9.0% of revenue
- B2C product companies: 15.5% of revenue
- B2C services companies: 6.0% of revenue
A growing company that needs to win market share usually budgets above these averages. A stable company with strong referrals can sit below them.
Work backward from revenue goals
The U.S. Small Business Administration advises owners to include a complete breakdown of marketing costs in their plan and to compare those costs with the revenue they produce. Put that into practice with simple math. If you need 40 new clients in 2027, your website converts 3 percent of visitors into leads, and you close 1 in 4 leads, you need about 160 leads and roughly 5,300 qualified visitors. Now you can price the traffic, content, and ads that produce those numbers instead of guessing.
How to split the budget by channel
Gartner's 2025 survey found paid media took 30.6% of the average marketing budget. For most small and mid-size companies in Nassau, Suffolk, and Queens, a practical starting split looks like this:
- Foundation (15 to 25%): website, CRM, tracking, and Google Business Profile upkeep
- Search and AI visibility (20 to 30%): SEO, content, and generative engine optimization
- Paid media (25 to 35%): Google, Meta, and LinkedIn ads
- Content and video (15 to 25%): social, email, and video assets that every other channel reuses
- Testing (10 to 20%): new channels or offers with a clear stop rule
Plan for AI in the budget
Gartner's 2026 survey found CMOs now put 15.3% of marketing budgets toward AI, and 56% said they lack the budget for their 2026 strategy. For a local business, the AI line is less about software and more about being found: making sure ChatGPT, Gemini, and Google AI Overviews can read and cite your site. Our SEO vs GEO guide explains the difference.
Build in quarterly checkpoints
A budget is a plan, not a contract. Review results every quarter, move money from channels that miss their cost per lead targets to the ones that beat them, and keep seasonality in mind. Many B2B buyers on Long Island slow down in July and August and in the last two weeks of December. If you want a second set of eyes, our fractional CMO and strategy team builds annual plans with clients, and our guide to what a marketing agency costs helps you price outside help.
The takeaway: Use published benchmarks as a starting point, work backward from the number of clients you need, fund proven channels first, reserve a testing line, and review results every quarter.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of revenue should a small business spend on marketing?
Published surveys put average spend between about 6 and 10 percent of revenue for B2B and services companies. Businesses in growth mode often spend more, while established firms with strong referrals can spend less.
Should agency fees count as part of the marketing budget?
Yes. Include agency retainers, freelancers, software, ad spend, and internal staff time so you see the true cost of each channel.
When should we finalize a 2027 marketing budget?
Ideally in October or November, so campaigns, content calendars, and ad accounts are ready to launch in January instead of February.
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