The cost of outsourcing marketing depends on the problem you need to solve and the resources required. A one-off campaign, a website project and an external team coordinating strategy and execution have different scopes. Comparing only their monthly fees can lead you to choose a service that does not meet your needs.
To calculate your budget, separate four areas: setup, recurring fees, advertising spend and tools. Then check the deliverables included in each and how you will measure their contribution to your business.
Why two proposals can be so different
Imagine two proposals: one offers social media posts; the other includes reviewing your offer, improving service pages, managing campaigns and analysing which enquiries reach sales. Both might be called “digital marketing”, but they are selling different work.
The price depends on your starting point, the expertise needed and the amount of execution. The number of services, markets and languages, the complexity of your website and the availability of internal people and materials also matter.
Before asking for proposals, define a priority. “We want more visibility” is broad. “We need quote requests for our industrial maintenance service” makes it much easier to define scope and measurement.
The four budget items to separate
| Item | What it may include | What to clarify |
|---|---|---|
| Setup | Diagnosis, measurement, campaign structure and messaging review | Deliverables and whether it is a one-off fee |
| Recurring service | Leadership, execution, optimisation and reporting | Time commitment, deliverables, meetings and revisions |
| Advertising | Spend on Google Ads or other platforms | Whether it is included or paid separately |
| Tools and production | CRM, software, photography, video or additional development | Who contracts and pays, and what the client owns |
A proposal should let you calculate the full cost of the period, not just the first month’s invoice. Ask what happens if you need an extra page, another campaign or a piece of work outside the original scope.
An example budget calculation
Suppose a business wants to test enquiry generation for one service over three months. This is an illustrative example, not an Impulse ROI price or an industry average.
| Item | Assumed amount |
|---|---|
| One-off setup | €800 |
| Monthly management and optimisation | €900 |
| Monthly advertising spend | €600 |
| Monthly tools | €50 |
The first month would total €2,350. Each subsequent month would cost €1,550. The three-month total would be €5,450, excluding applicable taxes and additional work.
The value of this example is the method. Looking only at the €900 management fee would leave out a substantial part of the required investment.
Three months should not be interpreted as a guarantee of results. It can be an initial assessment period for some campaigns; SEO projects and long B2B sales cycles need a different perspective.
How to assess whether the investment makes sense
Connect cost to customers and margin, rather than only visits or enquiries.
In the example above, if the project generated five attributable customers, the marketing cost per customer would be €1,090: €5,450 divided by five. Sales time and other acquisition costs would also need to be included to calculate the full cost.
Compare that amount with the margin each customer contributes over a defined period. Revenue of €2,000 does not mean you have €2,000 available for acquisition: deduct the cost of delivering the service first. If customers return, use a cautious estimate supported by data, rather than assuming indefinite retention.
This calculation does not predict the outcome. It helps establish what you would need to achieve for the investment to be sustainable and how much you can spend on learning without compromising operations.
What a clear proposal should include
Ask the proposal to answer these questions:
- Which commercial goal and service will we focus on?
- Which activities and deliverables are included?
- Who executes, approves and provides materials?
- Which indicators will we review, and how often?
- Which expenses are outside the price?
- Who retains ownership and access to accounts, domains and content?
- How are scope changes, cancellation and handover handled?
A monthly meeting adds little if nobody explains the decisions made. Useful reporting connects the work completed with what has been learned and what will change next.
When to start with a project or an external team
A defined project fits an identified problem: a website that does not explain the offer, incomplete measurement or a campaign that needs reviewing.
An external team makes more sense when several areas need coordination and nobody internally sets priorities. Assess both leadership and execution: producing more content alone does not solve a lack of focus.
Explore our approach to marketing consultancy and conversion-focused web design.
Frequently asked questions
Is advertising spend usually included?
Do not assume so. Check that the proposal separates fees from media spend. Your business should also retain ownership of the advertising account.
Can I outsource only part of my marketing?
Yes. You can buy a specific capability and keep others internally. Define who coordinates the overall work and how information is shared.
What is the right minimum budget?
There is no universal amount. It depends on the problem, market and internal resources. If your budget cannot support meaningful execution and measurement across several activities, narrow the scope to one priority.
Decide what you need to solve first
The best budget is one you can understand, sustain and evaluate. Define the goal, cost categories and responsibilities before comparing fees. This helps you assess whether you are buying activity or work that makes sense for your company.
Compare more than the monthly fee
Ask each supplier to specify the same unit of work: objective, deliverables, owner, review frequency and exclusions. A fee that covers strategy and execution is not equivalent to one covering only ad management.
- Calculate the full cost: setup + recurring fees + media spend + tools + expected additional work.
- Reserve internal capacity: decide who provides information, approves content and responds to enquiries. Outsourcing does not remove these tasks.
- Define the review decision: establish what evidence you will need to continue, adjust or stop, taking the sales cycle into account.
As an illustrative check, if a programme costs €3,000 and each new customer contributes €600 in margin before that acquisition cost, five customers would be needed to cover it. This is not a forecast: it assumes the margin is earned within the evaluation period and excludes other fixed costs. Use your actual margin rather than revenue, and distinguish collected payments from closed sales.
A proposal should explain how progress will be measured. Google allows different valuable actions, such as purchases or calls, to be defined as conversions; a reported “conversion” therefore does not necessarily equal a customer. Read Google Ads’ conversion measurement documentation and our guide to evaluating lead quality.
At Impulse ROI, we help you organise priorities and define a scope tailored to your business. Request your marketing review.