How Much Should You Really Be Spending on Marketing? A Practical Breakdown for FECs

Raydius

Feb 5 · 4 min read

One of the most common things we hear from location-based entertainment owners is simple and honest: “We’re not really spending anything on marketing right now.”

And we get it. Running a Family Entertainment Center isn’t cheap. Payroll, rent, insurance, equipment, repairs, safety, utilities, it adds up fast.

But if your business is well run, clean, safe, and guests genuinely have a great time, then marketing isn’t a risk. It’s leverage.

The Real Question Isn’t If You Should Market

It’s how much.

Across the industry, marketing spend typically falls between 7 and 10 percent of revenue. That number can feel high at first, but it exists for a reason. Growth requires visibility.

If you’re aiming for aggressive growth, closer to doubling revenue year over year, you’ll likely need to be near the top of that range.

If your goals are more modest, there’s still a floor you should not go below.

The Bare Minimum That Actually Works

In our experience, 3 percent of revenue is the minimum effective spend.Most of our successful FEC clients land in the 3 to 5 percent range, especially in the early stages.

Below that, marketing becomes inconsistent, reactive, and easy to pause, which usually means it stops working altogether.

We’ve seen what happens when a strong operation finally puts a spotlight on itself. One client we started working with late in the year saw revenue climb 30 percent within the first month of consistent marketing, then 60 percent the following month. The business was already solid. Marketing simply made sure people knew about it.

If You’re on a Tight Budget, Start Here

When dollars are limited, the goal is not complexity. The goal is awareness.

People need to know you exist before they can visit, book, or recommend you.

1. Content First

Your location is already built for content. Attractions, parties, families having fun, it’s all there.

Hire a photographer or videographer for a half day. Spend a few hundred dollars once, and walk away with months of usable photos and short videos.

Do not rely on a front desk employee to do this consistently. Unless it’s someone’s actual job, content will slip.

Bad content posted consistently beats great content that never gets published.

2. Schedule and Stay Visible

Use a simple social scheduling tool and spread that content out over the next few months. Fun photos. Short videos. Simple captions.

This doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to exist.

3. Boost What You Already Posted

Take a small budget, even $100 a month, and boost your best posts to a local audience on Meta.

This is one of the lowest-effort ways to stay visible in your market. Meta wants this to be easy. You don’t need advanced targeting to get started.

4. Start Collecting First-Party Data

If guests aren’t signing waivers, you still need emails and phone numbers.

Run simple giveaways tied to what you want more of. Birthday parties. Group events. Free passes.

Tools like giveaway widgets make this easy and affordable, and even a small monthly ad spend can build a meaningful list over time.

Once you have contacts, you can run email and SMS campaigns for very little cost. No list means no follow-up. Data comes first.

If you want more detail on this, our post Why First-Party Data Matters More Than Ever for FECs breaks it down step by step.

5. Layer in Paid Channels Carefully

As budget allows, add:

• Local Meta awareness ads

• Google paid listings

• Search engine optimization

Paid channels can drive quick results. SEO takes longer, which is why it usually comes later. It’s valuable, but not instant.

We covered this tradeoff in more detail in The Marketing Budget Dilemma: How Much Should You Really Spend?

Marketing Works When the Business Is Ready

Marketing won’t fix a broken operation. But if your business is clean, safe, fun, and well staffed, marketing amplifies everything that’s already working.

You don’t need a massive budget to start. You do need consistency.

Allocate the dollars. Start simple. Stack strategies over time.

At Raydius, we help location-based entertainment brands turn smart marketing spend into real visits using first-party data, local visibility, and systems that don’t require constant babysitting.

If you’re ready to stop guessing and start seeing results, reach out