Setting the Right Inbound Marketing Budget for Your B2B Campaign

Travis Morgan 2561 Views 3 min read Share

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You know you want Inbound, and you probably have a general idea of how much it costs. But the question you need answered most is, “How much is it going to cost me?” One company’s Inbound Marketing budget can only tell you so much. Your business is unique, so your resources and objectives won’t be the same. Determining the right inbound marketing budget for your B2B Inbound Marketing campaign requires a good deal of self-analysis. Knowing where to start looking can be tough, so we’re happy to offer some guidance. By the time you finish this article, you’ll have the knowhow to start putting together a Inbound Marketing budget that fits your business.

Elements of an Inbound Marketing Budget

There’s no need to make things more complicated than they need to be. Especially when you’re just getting your bearings. For starters, let’s break down your Inbound budget into 3 categories:

• Content Creation: This isn’t a job for a single writer. Even with the greatest written content, your blog won’t reach its potential if it doesn’t look and function like a winner. For the best results, a Content Strategist, Designer, and a Developer are essential team members. Anticipate allocating the majority of your Inbound Marketing budget to this category.
• Software Expenses: There’s no shortage of moving pieces in an Inbound Marketing campaign (ex: email automation, social media, lead scoring and nurturing, etc). Using a dependable platform like HubSpot simplifies the entire process. Generally, platforms are priced in tiers, with basic, monthly subscriptions ranging from around $200 on up to $3000. Compared to Content Creation, Software Expenses tend to make up a smaller percentage of the Inbound Marketing budget.
• Testing and Optimization: Hate them or love them, analytics are here to stay. Other than SEO, there’s conversion rate optimization, multivariate testing, and every other “zation” that can be measured. Some of the costs of Testing and Optimization will overlap with Software Expenses, but you’ll need to hire a Wiz to hold down the fort.

You have the option to construct a team in-house or collaborate with an Inbound agency. The best choice for your business will come down to the skill set and availability of your marketing department. According to HubSpot, even the smallest Inbound Marketing team costs more than $120,000 in salary alone.

How Much Should You Budget?

The Small Business Association recommends that companies allot 9.6% to 11.8% of their revenue to marketing. In order to execute a successful Inbound campaign, it’s best to set aside at least good portion of your marketing budget for content strategy, production, and tools. As an industry standard, typically 2.5% of annual revenue is common budget used for content and inbound marketing. Take a business that generates $2 million in annual revenue for example. $50,000 is around the right amount of funding to fulfill their needs (if utilizing an Inbound partner for services instead of hiring just one marketer to do everything). For a business that pulls in a revenue of $10 million, their Inbound Marketing budget would be something like $250,000 (typically a few in-house marketers and a specialized outsourced team). If you consider the ROI, Inbound Marketing is worth the investment. A report by SocialMedia B2b.com states that businesses that blog produce 67% more leads than the ones that don’t. Inbound isn’t the only key to a company’s success, but it does have a significant impact.

Read – Best Ways to Develop an Effective Content Inbound Marketing Strategy

The Bottom Line

You now have the knowledge to start building your own B2B Inbound Marketing campaign! It goes without saying that you still have a mountain of research to climb, but you’ll work your way through it. Whether you choose to build a team or hire an agency, the focal point of your campaign will be a thoughtful strategy. Your online marketing success depends on it, so be sure to take the time to get it right. Feel free to ask plenty of questions. We’re here to listen. Thanks for reading!

Also Read – Inbound Marketing Tools to Effectively Generate Leads