{"id":1057,"slug":"marketing-budget-benchmarks-cross-industry-vs-construction-table","title":"Marketing budget benchmarks 2024–2026 — cross-industry vs construction comparison table","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","candid-team"],"topics":["gc-vertical","psychology-aversion","marketing-budgets"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** Comparative table of marketing-spend benchmarks, with each row sourced and confidence-labelled.\n\n| Reference point | Marketing as % of revenue | Source / confidence |\n|---|---|---|\n| Gartner CMO Spend Survey, May 2024 (395 CMOs, median rev >$5.3B) | **7.7%** (down from 9.1% in 2023) | Gartner — Verified |\n| Gartner CMO Spend Survey, May 2025 (402 CMOs) | **7.7%** (flat); 59% of CMOs report insufficient budget | Gartner — Verified |\n| Duke / AMA CMO Survey, Fall 2024 | **7.7%** | CMO Survey Fall 2024 — Verified |\n| Construction industry, digital marketing | **~3%** | The CMO Survey 2023 via Studio Barn Creative — Industry-consensus |\n| U.S. residential builder | **0.8%** of avg home sale price | NAHB Cost of Constructing 2024 — Verified |\n| Residential builders, 2026 | **1.8–3.2%** | Buildern Residential Construction Marketing Report 2026 — Industry-consensus / Directional |\n\n**Takeaway:** Construction's marketing spend is roughly **one-quarter to one-half of the cross-industry average**, depending on the measure. This is not because GCs are wrong; it is because the structural economics — referral-heavy lead sourcing ([[apb-sorci-2024-48-7pct-referrals-half-of-sales]]), low margins ([[nahb-remodelers-cdb-2024-6-3pct-net-margin]]), project-based revenue — make a 7–10% allocation prima facie irrational. **Candid's pitch cannot assume the GC should \"catch up\" to the cross-industry benchmark; it has to argue from the GC's actual economics.**\n\n**Confidence:** Verified (composite — each row independently sourced).","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[{"slug":"research-brief-psychology-gc-marketing-aversion-may-2026","title":"Research brief: the psychology of marketing aversion among general contractor owners (May 2026 foundation)","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"apb-sorci-2024-48-7pct-referrals-half-of-sales","title":"APB SORCI 2024 — 48.7% of builders rely on referrals for >50% of sales; 41.1% need 1–50 paid leads to close one contract","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"}],"incoming":[]},"created_at":"2026-05-24T23:24:06.300Z","updated_at":"2026-05-24T23:24:06.300Z"}