Introduction
The shift is already happening; most teams just haven’t named it yet. Until now, the marketing spend of SaaS has been based on campaign plans for several years:
- Quarterly launches.
- Big feature announcements.
- Paid Bursts.
- Webinars.
- Email sequences.
- Owned traffic from marketing vs. Product-owned experience.
This made sense when the cost of acquisition and the attention were inexpensive. Neither of these is true anymore. Going into 2026, SaaS companies are facing an unpleasant, irrevocable truth: campaigns don’t compound; products do. Budgets are slowly adjusting to the realization.
Campaign-Led Growth Is Breaking Under Pressure
“The problem isn’t that campaigns don’t work. The problem is that these things work only once, then stop.”
A typical SaaS marketing organization has to address:
- CAC across paid channels is on the rise.
- Declining email engagement.
- SEO saturation.
- Webinar Fatigue.
- Launching spikes, followed by flatlines.
Campaigns are a series of moments. A product, however, instills habits. It is habits that power retention, growth, and LTV. This explains why marketing budgets are moving away from “what’s next that we are launching?” to “how does the product itself drive growth?”
What is Meant by "Product-Centered Marketing Budgets"
This does not mean marketing departments suddenly turn into product management departments. It means that marketing budgets now connect directly to the experience, understanding, and use of the product, rather than merely finding it.
By 2026, SaaS marketing budgets will focus on:
- Onboarding flows.
- UX activation.
- Lifecycle messages.
- In-product learning.
- Improved nudges.
- Retention loops.
- Product-led content.
In short, the marketing budget will shift both within and out of the product.
Why This Matters: Budgeting Processes
In 2026, no longer will impressions, clicks, and leads provide protection for budgets. Protection of the budget will shift to:
Old Metrics | 2026 Success Metrics |
Impressions | Activation rates |
Clicks | Time-to-value |
Leads | Feature adoption |
MQLs | Expansion revenue |
Traffic | Churn reduction |
This shift toward product-centered growth isn’t theoretical. Research from OpenView Partners, one of the earliest proponents of product-led growth, shows that SaaS companies investing in activation, onboarding, and in-product experiences consistently outperform peers that rely heavily on campaign-led acquisition.
https://openviewpartners.com/product-led-growth/
Marketing leaders who cannot correlate spending to product outcomes will have a hard time justifying budget spending. The product is becoming the primary growth channel.
The Product as the Best Marketing Channel
Successful SaaS businesses have long viewed their product as the best marketing tool. Consider examples where usage leads to growth:
- Inviting team members.
- Sharing links.
- Exporting brand assets.
- Speaking out publicly about the product.
None of that is from a campaign; it originated because of product choices backed by marketing budgets. By 2026, more teams will spend marketing dollars on:
- First-time user improvement.
- Simplifying the processes of setting up.
- Reducing friction in key actions.
- Designing viral touchpoints.
- Explaining value within the UI.
Rise of "Activation Spend" Inside SaaS Marketing Budgets
Until recently, Activation was thought of as a product metric. It’s actually starting to be a line item in the budget. Why? Because unactivated buys are a waste.
The following will be explicitly funded in the SaaS marketing budget for 2026:
- Onboarding UX improvements.
- Onboarding content and walkthroughs.
- Context tooltips and product tours.
- A/B testing for in-app messages.
Why Campaigns Will Still Exist
It’s not a declaration of war against campaigns. Campaigns remain relevant in respect to:
- Major product launches.
- Category education.
- Repositioning.
- Expanding into new markets.
However, that role is evolving. Campaigns will act as entry points, not growth engines. They bring customers to the doorstep; retention will be based on the user experience.
“If a campaign isn’t driving improvements in use, there’s no reason to continue investing in it,” Weaver.
How AI Is Driving the Change
AI quietly hastens the end of campaign-rich budgets because AI decreases execution cost. * Creation of content, design, testing, and segmentation are becoming automated.
- As the cost of execution decreases, the focus shifts to strategy.
What will matter in 2026 is what happens to the user after the click, how swiftly value is delivered, and how clearly the product articulates its purpose.
Merging Marketing, Product, and UX Budgets
By 2026, marketing budgets will start merging with product and UX budgets. Instead of siloed spending, we will see blended growth budgets that fund:
- Food with health benefits (acquisition).
- Activation.
- Retention.
It will not be the case anymore that marketing “brings users” and product “builds features.” They will be collectively accountable for the outcomes of growth.
What It Means for SaaS Founders and CMOs
If you’re budgeting with 2026 in mind, the question isn’t “How much are we supposed to spend?” but “Where does spending actually change user behavior?”
Budgets that finance silos will underperform. Budgets that finance the following will win quietly:
- Customer insight.
- Product User Confidence.
- Habit formation.
Conclusion
We help SaaS businesses align marketing, product, and UX into a single growth system by:
- Auditing where marketing spend actually converts.
- Redesigning onboarding and activation funnels.
- Linking marketing activities to product use.
- Establishing the foundation for product-led growth.
If you’re considering how your SaaS marketing budget in 2026 needs to be allocated, this is the conversation to have now, not later.
