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Small wellbeing practices may be spending twice the marketing budget of big chains, according to an unnamed source

A marketing agency's 2026 budget guide claims smaller UK businesses put nearly 17% of revenue into marketing, well above what bigger companies apparently spend, and this includes practices like yours.

Whole-practice growth for wellness practices. Rooted in Wiltshire, UK, working worldwide.

Practices without a household name still have to buy their trust, one campaign at a time, and this figure is being used to say exactly that, though nobody has shown their working.

Original ResearchA claim that UK small businesses spend a much larger slice of revenue on marketing than larger firms do, thanks to those firms coasting on existing brand recognition.
Sourcehttps://whitehat-seo.co.uk/blog/how-much-should-i-spend-on-marketing
OverviewA blog post from an SEO agency setting out marketing budget benchmarks for smaller UK businesses.
YearNot stated (guide is branded 2026)
PublisherBrand, Whitehat SEO
Relevance to WellbeingThe revenue band and the logic about brand equity map neatly onto most independent wellbeing practices, even though the figure itself has no named source.
Our VerdictToo early to tell a specific number without a named survey, sample or methodology behind it, so treat it as a talking point, not a fact to build a budget on.
Our Summary
  • The underlying idea, that small practices need to work harder for trust than established chains, holds up regardless of the exact percentage.
  • There is no survey named, no sample size, and no way to check where 16.8% actually came from.
  • It gives you a rough, defensible starting point for a marketing spend conversation with an accountant or business partner.
  • Presenting it as established research, rather than one agency's estimate, would be overstating what it is.
Our Geo ViewSpecific to UK small businesses; the percentage and revenue threshold may not translate to other tax or business systems.
Abstract of wellbeing niches and revenue flow
Recognise how this might impact your practice

Why this might matter to you

  • Coaching: this matters because a solo coach with no waiting list built up over years is, budget-wise, exactly the "small business" this claim is talking about.
  • Therapy: this matters because private therapists competing with the NHS and big platforms often have to spend more just to be found at all.
  • Training: this matters because a new training business has no reputation to lean on, so every enquiry has to be earned with actual spend.
  • Alternative Healing: this matters because healers explaining an unfamiliar modality usually need more marketing, not less, to get someone through the door once.
  • Clinical: this matters because a small clinic is up against branded chains with decades of name recognition doing quiet work for them.
  • Retreat/Centre: this matters because filling rooms and retreats from scratch, without an established brand, tends to cost more than people expect.

Where this came from

An SEO agency's own guide states, without citing anyone, that small UK firms spend around 16.8% of revenue on marketing, compared with less for bigger companies.

Whitehat SEO, blog post, publish date not confirmed (guide titled for 2026).

Credibility flags: no methodology disclosed, no sample size given, and the publisher is the agency making the claim, not an independent researcher.

How we scored this

A relevance score out of 100, built from three things: how well it fits the six practice types, how recent it is, and how solid the methodology behind it is.

40%
Practice fit, 25How new, 100How solid, 0

The idea fits practices reasonably well, the timing looks current enough, but it was marked right down on how solid the method is, since there isn't one to check.

Faces of satisfied clients
It's worth considering changes to your marketing practices

What this means for your marketing

  • Put a rough marketing budget line in front of clients or partners, but call it an estimate, not a proven figure.
  • Say plainly, if it comes up, that the 16.8% number is one agency's claim, not a published study.
  • Brief your team to talk about "investing in trust from scratch" rather than quoting the percentage as fact.
  • Use the general point, that small practices spend proportionally more than big chains, as a reason to explain your own budget choices to hesitant clients.

Who this is most useful for

Practice typeRelevanceRecommended action
CoachingMediumUse the general logic when setting your own budget expectations, skip quoting the exact number.
TherapyMediumFrame spend decisions around building trust locally, not around this figure specifically.
TrainingMediumReference the idea, not the percentage, when justifying marketing costs to yourself.
Alternative HealingMediumLean on the "no brand equity yet" argument rather than the stat when explaining spend.
ClinicalMediumUse as a rough sense-check against your own numbers, nothing more.
Retreat/CentreMediumTreat the figure as a conversation starter with investors, not a benchmark to hit.

Best before

Best before: revisit if Whitehat SEO ever names a source for this figure, or when a properly attributed UK SME marketing-spend survey turns up.

What next?

Most practice owners already suspect they're spending more on marketing than a big clinic chain ever needs to, and this guide simply says it out loud, without proof.

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