A marketing budget for a Swiss SME is usually planned as a percentage of turnover. Commonly cited guidelines range from two to ten percent, depending on sector and growth goals, though they're not backed by any official statistic. More important than the amount is the order: first a working website, then the Google Business Profile, then regular content, and only after that paid adverts. With CHF 1'500 per month, this order can be fully covered, as the sample calculation on this page shows.
"How much should we spend on marketing?" is the wrong first question. The right one is: "What for first?" An SME spending CHF 1,000 per month in the right order achieves more than one spending CHF 5,000 that starts with adverts and skimps on the website. This page provides guidelines on amounts, an order for spending, and a sample calculation.
Rules of thumb for the amount: useful, but not proven
In consulting practice, percentages of turnover get passed around. They're useful as a starting point, but you should know there's no official statistic for Swiss SMEs to back them up. The Federal Statistical Office doesn't collect marketing ratios, and trade associations publish estimates at best.
| Situation | Commonly cited guideline | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Established business, full order books, regular customers | 2 to 5 percent of turnover | Maintaining visibility, replacing natural customer attrition |
| Business with growth goals or a new location | 5 to 10 percent | Building new customer groups takes lead time |
| New start-up with no turnover base | Fixed monthly amount instead of a percentage | Work from the goal: how many customers by when |
| Business with high order value (construction, property, consulting) | Tends towards the lower end | A single contract often covers the annual budget |
The percentage rule has a catch: it ties marketing to turnover, even though marketing is meant to generate that turnover in the first place. If you have low turnover, you spend little and stay small. That's why small businesses are better off calculating from the other direction: what's a new customer worth over their lifetime, and how many do you need per year?
Sample calculation: a plumbing firm gains an average first order of CHF 3,000 from a new customer, plus a further CHF 4,000 in follow-up orders over five years. If marketing is allowed to cost ten percent of this value, that's CHF 700 per customer won. At two new customers per month, a sensible budget is around CHF 1,400. These figures are made up, but the method applies universally.
The order: what gets paid for first
Marketing spend builds on itself. Every franc spent on a later stage is wasted if the earlier one isn't in place.
| Stage | Item | Why it comes here |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A website that works | Every other channel leads here. Outdated, slow or without a clear way to get in touch: everything after this comes to nothing |
| 2 | Google Business Profile | Free, determines whether you appear on the map for local searches, often the first point of contact |
| 3 | Regular content | Blog posts and guide pages build visibility that stays even once you stop paying |
| 4 | Paid adverts | An accelerator for topics where content isn't ranking yet, or for seasonal peaks |
| 5 | Social media, trade fairs, print | Depending on the sector, fed by existing content |
Stage 2 costs no money, just an hour to set up and then monthly upkeep. The guide is at Optimising your Google Business Profile. Stages 3 and 4 often compete for the same budget. The twelve-month comparison at Blog or Google Ads shows why content is cheaper in the long run and adverts work faster in the short run.
Example budget: CHF 1,500 per month
Example calculation for a trades business with eight employees, an existing website and regional customers. All amounts are assumptions for illustration, except for the BlogPilot prices mentioned, which reflect the status as of October 2026.
| Item | CHF per month | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Website maintenance and hosting | 150 | Updates, security, small adjustments; assumption |
| Google Business Profile | 0 | Own time: one hour per month for photos, posts, replying to reviews |
| Regular expert posts | 199 | Example: Starter plan with one post per week, excluding VAT |
| Google Ads for two core services | 800 | Click budget, assumption; managed yourself or through an agency |
| Reserve for photos, printed materials, small jobs | 350 | Assumption |
| Total | 1’500 |
After six months, the distribution looks different: once the expert posts for the core services rank on page 1, the ad budget can shrink or shift to new topics. Experience shows: first movement in rankings after six to eight weeks, noticeably more enquiries usually from the fourth month onwards. What content costs under the different models is shown on the page What does an AI blog cost?; an overview of agency prices is provided by the answer page What does SEO cost in Switzerland?
The forgotten item: your own working time
Most SME budgets only list external costs. The hours the managing director spends writing posts or setting up ads in the evening are missing. Factor them in using an internal hourly rate. This often shows that doing it yourself is the most expensive option, especially if posts don't get written due to lack of time. You'll find the honest comparison under Write it yourself or use a system.
What doesn't belong in the budget
- Ranking promises: Offers that guarantee a ranking position are not credible. Nobody can guarantee Google results.
- Reach without a goal: Followers, likes and impressions are not enquiries. Only pay for measures whose effect you can measure in enquiries or orders.
- Tools without an operator: An analytics tool nobody reads, or software nobody maintains, costs money and achieves nothing.
- Ongoing ads for evergreen topics: What customers search for all year round belongs in content, not in a click budget.
Reviewing the budget
Set a metric for each item and review it quarterly:
- Website: enquiries via form and phone, loading time, availability.
- Business profile: calls, direction requests, reviews (visible in the profile).
- Content: visitors from search and impressions per post in Search Console.
- Ads: cost per enquiry, not cost per click.
An item that shows no measurable effect after six months is cut or reworked. An item that works gets more. This way, the budget grows with success instead of with last year's revenue.
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of revenue should an SME spend on marketing?
As a rule of thumb, two to five percent is often mentioned for established businesses with regular customers, and five to ten percent for companies that are growing or just starting out. These are guideline figures from consulting practice, not proven averages for Switzerland. It's better to work from the question: what does a new customer cost, and how many do you need?
Should I start with Google Ads because it works immediately?
Ads bring visitors quickly, but only as long as you pay, and only to a website that convinces. If you run ads to an outdated website, you're paying for visitors who leave again. That's why the website and business profile come first, with ads as an accelerator afterwards.
Does my own working time count towards the marketing budget?
It should. If the managing director spends three hours a week writing posts, that costs around CHF 1,200 per month at an internal hourly rate of CHF 100, often more than an external solution. This calculation often decides whether doing it yourself or outsourcing is cheaper.
How do I know if the budget is being used correctly?
Set a measurable figure for each item: enquiries via the contact form, calls from the business profile, visitors from search in Search Console. Review quarterly. Items with no measurable effect after six months are cut or reworked.