Marketing Spend and ROI in B2B Professional Services raises the same questions for many business leaders. How much is enough, where does it really pay back, and how do you invest in the right places without simply chasing numbers?
Behind the strategy and the tools sits a simple reality. One of the most common questions professional services business owners ask is:
How much should we be spending on marketing?
The honest answer is that it depends on your business, your goals and how competitive your market is. Benchmarks can help as a sense check, but they are not rules. What matters most is not the number itself, but whether your spend is focused, intentional and reviewed regularly.
2025 benchmark guidance suggests:
- Around 5 percent of revenue is typically spent to maintain your current position
- Around 8 to 10 percent of revenue is often needed to drive growth, particularly in competitive or fast moving markets.
Accountancy, HR, Legal, Education and Healthcare
Clear percentage benchmarks are less widely published for these sectors. Instead, performance data and channel effectiveness give a more useful picture. The key point is not copying someone else’s budget. It is aligning your investment with your ambitions and reviewing performance regularly. In practice, a smaller, focused budget that is well planned will usually outperform a larger budget that lacks direction.
What did we see consistently across these sectors in 2025?
- Search and SEO deliver strong long term value, especially where trust and credibility matter
- Content and thought leadership often outperform paid activity over time
- Email marketing and webinars continue to deliver reliable B2B ROI
- Paid search can work well in healthcare and education when campaigns are carefully tested and measured.
SaaS
For B2B SaaS firms in 2025, median marketing spend sits around 8 % of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), based on industry benchmarks from private SaaS companies.
That figure is a helpful midpoint, but actual spend varies a lot by company stage, growth goals and funding. Some firms allocate more, especially in high-growth phases, while others spend less once they reach maturity
2025 SaaS benchmarks show:
- Marketing spend averages around 8 percent of Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR)
- This sits alongside significant ongoing sales investment
This level of spend reflects long buying cycles, high competition; and the need for consistent lead generation, education and conversion activity
What Drives Marketing ROI?
Across professional services, some channels continue to earn their place year after year. Not because they are fashionable, but because they work.
The strongest ROI usually comes from a mix of visibility, trust and consistency.
High-performing channels in 2025:
- Search and SEO remain foundations rather than quick wins. When done well, they support credibility, lead quality and long term growth. This is especially important in sectors where people take time to decide and want reassurance before they enquire.
- Email marketing continues to punch above its weight. Regular, useful communication keeps your firm front of mind during longer buying cycles. Webinars also perform well where education and insight influence decision making.
- Account based marketing: for firms targeting larger or more complex clients, account based marketing can be effective. It supports fewer, better conversations rather than chasing volume.
- Paid activity still has a role. It can support launches, events and short term visibility. It works best when paired with strong content and a clear message, rather than running on its own.
AI and Automation in Everyday Marketing
AI is now part of everyday marketing for most teams. In 2026, the question is no longer whether to use AI, but how to use it well, transparently and with a human point of view, sense checking facts and accuracy.
Common AI uses include:
- Research and insight gathering
- Planning and content first drafts
- Data analysis and pattern spotting
- Reducing time spent on repetitive tasks.
Automation also helps teams stay consistent with:
- Email journeys
- Follow ups
- Reporting and performance tracking.
These can run quietly in the background, freeing up time for higher value work. The biggest gains come when AI is used with intention. Firms that are clear on where AI fits their strategy see better results than those adding tools without a plan. AI works best as support, not a substitute.
What Humans Still Do Better Than AI
Technology excels at scale and speed. People are better at judgement, empathy and context. Strategy is also an area where human insight leads. AI can surface information, but it can’t decide what matters most to your business, your clients or your values. The strongest marketing decisions usually sit at the intersection of data, experience and intuition.
Humans bring strategic insight and strengths that matter deeply in professional services:
- Understanding nuance and tone
- Knowing when a message feels right or wrong
- Handling sensitive or complex topics
- Connecting marketing activity to real client conversations.
AI and Human Insight Work Best Together
The real opportunity is combining people and technology, not choosing between them.
- AI supports research, data, analysis, optimisation, automation.
- Humans provide direction, judgement, meaning and creativity.
Together, they help firms move faster without losing quality. Marketing can feel more personal, not less. Teams gain time to focus on relationships, ideas and growth. When used well, this partnership supports better conversations, better decisions and better results.
So, what does this mean for your firm?
Marketing works best when it is treated as a system within a strong strategy, not a collection of disconnected tactics. What tends to make the biggest difference is clear goals, and thoughtful investment with regular reviews and adjustments. The firms that do well usually take a steady, joined up approach and adapt as they learn.
If you are weighing up where to invest, how much to spend, or how to use AI without losing the human touch, it can help to talk it through. Freelance marketing support offers flexibility, perspective and hands on experience, especially when that support understands both marketing and sales in B2B professional services.
If any of this resonates, and you would like to explore what that kind of support could look like for your firm, get in touch.
_______________________________________________________________
Reference Sources Cited
• 2025 Spending Benchmarks for Private B2B SaaS (median ~8 percent of ARR on marketing
SaaS Capital
• SaaS marketing budget ranges in 2025 (typically 7 to 15 percent, varies by stage)
Camel Digital
SaaS Marketing Budget Benchmarks and Key Strategies for 2025
• SaaS marketing budget guidance by stage (early-stage to mature SaaS)
42DM
https://42dm.net/how-to-plan-a-b2b-saas-marketing-budget/
• SimpleTiger on median SaaS marketing spend around 8 percent of ARR
SimpleTiger
https://www.simpletiger.com/blog/saas-marketing-budget/
• PedalSup confirming 8 percent of ARR as a median benchmark
PedalSup
• HubSpot 2025 Marketing Statistics and Trends, [hubspot.com] (https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)
• McKinsey 2025 State of AI Survey, [mckinsey.com] (https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/quantumblack/our-insights/the-state-of-ai)
• Gartner CMO Spend Insights 2025, [gartner.com] (https://www.gartner.com/en/marketing/topics/marketing-budget)
• IPA Bellwether UK Marketing Budget Trends, [sopro.io] (https://sopro.io/resources/blog/the-state-of-marketing-spend/)
• SaaS Spending Benchmarks 2025, [saas-capital.com] (https://www.saas-capital.com/blog-posts/spending-benchmarks-for-private-b2b-saas-companies/)
• AI Marketing Adoption Statistics 2025, [uk.surveymonkey.com] (https://uk.surveymonkey.com/mp/ai-marketing-statistics/)
• B2B Marketing ROI Benchmarks 2025, [linkedin.com] (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/b2b-marketing-roi-benchmarks-2025-what-actually-works-pierson-p-e–85otc)
• Healthcare Paid Search Benchmarks 2025, [medicodigital.co.uk] (https://www.medicodigital.co.uk/insights/2025-uk-healthcare-paid-search-benchmarks/)
• Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals Report 2025, [thomsonreuters.com] (https://www.thomsonreuters.com/content/dam/ewp-m/documents/thomsonreuters/en/pdf/reports/future-of-professionals-report-2025.pdf)