A smarter marketing budget in 2026 for stronger results

Many credit unions unintentionally handicap their marketing departments. The biggest mistakes? Treating marketing as a cost center instead of a growth driver, and building the marketing budget in isolation from strategic planning.

Marketing budgets are too often created before strategic goals are defined. They rely on last year’s spending, plus a small adjustment, without tying investments directly to business outcomes such as member acquisition goals, product adoption, or share-of-wallet growth. This backward-looking approach overlooks what lies ahead, such as new product launches, market expansions, ambitious growth goals, and increasing acquisition costs, which limit marketing’s ability to support growth.

A better approach starts with the end in mind. What growth is expected in membership, loans, and deposits? What behaviors need to be influenced? Then work backwards to determine what level of marketing investment is required to achieve those goals. This flips the conversation from “how much can we spend?” to “what will it take to grow?” This is a much stronger position when advocating for resources and strategic alignment. When marketing leaders are engaged in strategic planning, the budget becomes a deliberate tool for impact aligned with business objectives, responsive to evolving needs, and better equipped to deliver measurable results.

How did we get here?

Marketing leaders are slowly climbing back to pre-COVID spending levels. Many budgets that were slashed have not fully recovered, even as expectations for growth, personalization, and member engagement have surged. Many marketing teams are still being asked to drive more with less. To change that, credit union marketers must rethink not just how much they ask for resources, but how they make the case for a more strategic and flexible marketing budget.

Before the pandemic, the average marketing spending for credit unions was around 0.12% of total assets, according to CUNA research. Today, most institutions need to invest at least 0.15% to remain competitive, especially in high-cost media markets or multi-region operations. Growth-focused credit unions are pushing even higher with budgets ranging from .20-.25% of assets.

Building the framework for better marketing budget conversations

Improving how marketing budgets are built requires consistent education at the executive level. Marketing is often misunderstood by leadership, especially when the marketing leader isn’t part of the C-suite or when the marketing team operates in a silo. The outdated notion that “everyone is a marketer” minimizes the strategic depth and technical complexity of the function. Marketing leaders must proactively and regularly communicate not just what campaigns are running, but how those efforts tie directly to business outcomes such as acquiring new members, increasing product usage, or driving stronger retention.

It is essential to use data that speaks the language of the business. Marketing teams should report on metrics that matter to the organization, such as cost per acquisition, services per household, and product adoption rates, while benchmarking these numbers against industry peers. For example, the average acquisition costs per new member hover around $489. Providing data like this helps set realistic expectations and frames marketing spend as an investment versus an expense.

Equally important is aligning the strategic marketing plan to the broader business strategy. Budgets need to be built with an understanding of what's ahead for the organization. For example, if there are plans for new market expansions, product launches, or targeted campaigns to new audiences, those initiatives must be reflected in the marketing plan, and they should be backed by corresponding investment. These efforts go beyond the day-to-day marketing programming and deserve incremental funding to succeed.

Increasing the effectiveness of marketing spending

Credit unions should prioritize efforts that are rooted in data to maximize return on marketing spend. A critical step is understanding who your key growth audiences are, demographically and behaviorally. Identifying where these members are located, how well your institution is positioned to serve them, and whether they’re positively contributing to the bottom line requires a strong, data-driven segmentation strategy versus gut instinct alone.

Member acquisition becomes significantly more efficient when credit unions tap into intent data. By targeting individuals who are actively shopping for financial products through tools like predictive modeling and third-party data, marketers can boost conversion rates while reducing acquisition costs.

Timing also plays a critical role. Many credit unions delay budget approvals into the first quarter of the new year, missing out on January, a time when consumers are reevaluating their finances and actively making decisions. Having a plan and budget ready at the start of the year allows marketing to hit the ground running during this key window.

Finally, to fully realize marketing’s potential, credit unions must invest in the right tools. Many teams still lack access to critical technology like customer data platforms, advanced marketing automation systems, and real-time campaign dashboards. Without these capabilities, measuring performance and optimizing spend becomes incredibly difficult with time-intensive manual work. Marketing leaders must continue advocating for the infrastructure required to drive results and demonstrate impact.

In summary, credit union marketers must do more than simply ask for bigger budgets. They must reframe the conversation entirely to keep pace with rising expectations and drive sustainable growth. Aligning marketing investments with strategic priorities, tying spend to measurable outcomes, and advocating for the tools and data needed to perform, marketing becomes more than a support function—it becomes a strategic engine for growth. The opportunity is clear: budget not for the past, but for the future you intend to build.

This article was first published by CUInsight.