Despite being in a mature industry with proven technology, drone companies are allocating more resources to finding customers than anything else. The numbers reveal why they’re spending big money on good marketing — and it’s not what you’d expect.

Marketing and sales has consistently claimed the largest share of drone companies’ resources for years— and in 2025, it still commands 29% of all resource allocation. That’s according to the Global State of Drones 2025 report from drone market research company Drone Industry Insights. Their report surveyed nearly 800 people across 87 in mid-2025 via online survey. It found that marketing and sales budgets amongst drone companies “has remained stable at just under a third” for years, with only a slight 2% decline in 2025. That’s the single greatest area that drone companies are allocating resources,

When it comes to overall resource allocation, software development comes in second at 19%, hardware development at 16%, staff development at 15% and funding at 16%. Still, no other category comes close to marketing’s dominance.

No matter what type of drone company you look at — whether it’s a hardware company, a software company or a drone service provider — they’re all spending a good chunk of their money on marketing and sales. (Software companies are the only type of drone company that spend more money on product development than on sales and marketing).

This might seem odd for a technology industry. Shouldn’t drone companies be focusing on making better drones? Or flying more flights? The persistent priority on sales and good marketing reveals something fundamental about the commercial drone industry: the problem isn’t convincing people drones work. It’s convincing them to actually buy.

The customer acquisition crisis in the drone industry

Marketing’s dominance makes more sense when you look at the challenges facing the industry. Client acquisition — finding clients and closing contracts — ranks as the second-biggest challenge facing drone companies in 2025, right behind regulatory obstacles, DII’s survey found.

Regulatory challenges are largely outside companies’ control — you can lobby and advocate, but ultimately aviation authorities set the rules. Client acquisition, meanwhile, is theoretically within companies’ control. Yet it’s proving nearly as difficult.

The survey reveals that “customer acceptance” remains one of the significant problems in the drone business. Despite years of proven results, successful case studies and technological improvements, getting customers to commit to drone solutions remains stubbornly difficult.

Why sales is so hard

The difficulty in customer acquisition reflects several interconnected factors:

Enterprise sales cycles are long: Drone solutions often require approval from multiple departments — operations, safety, legal, procurement, IT. Each stakeholder has different concerns and priorities. A drone service provider might spend six to twelve months nurturing a relationship before closing a deal.

Decision-makers are conservative: The people with budget authority are often the least familiar with drone technology. They’re making decisions based on risk avoidance rather than opportunity maximization. “We’ve always done it this way” remains a powerful force.

Proving ROI takes time: Unlike consumer products where the value is immediate and obvious, enterprise drone solutions require demonstrating return on investment. That means pilot projects, data collection, analysis and comparison to existing methods before a full commitment.

Competition from traditional methods: Drones aren’t just competing against other drones—they’re competing against established practices. A construction company considering drone surveying isn’t choosing between DJI versus Autel; they’re choosing between drones and the surveying crew they’ve used for 20 years.

What “marketing and sales” actually means

What does this category consist of anyway? Marketing and sales encompasses a range of focus areas, including:

Direct sales teams: People whose job is to identify potential customers, make contact, give presentations, negotiate contracts and close deals.

Marketing content: Case studies, white papers, blog posts, videos and other content designed to demonstrate capability and build credibility. Public relations and handling media requests also falls into this bucket. And hey, contact me if you want to work with TheDroneGirl on marketing your product or need help with your PR!

Trade shows and events: Booth fees, travel costs, demo equipment and personnel time at industry conferences and trade shows.

Website and digital presence: SEO optimization, paid advertising, social media management and website development.

Proposals and pilots: The considerable time and resources spent creating proposals, conducting pilot projects and proving value to potential customers.

Customer relationship management: Tools and personnel to track leads, nurture relationships and manage the pipeline.

Consider what a drone service provider is actually selling. It’s not just “we’ll fly a drone over your site.” It’s “we’ll change how you collect data, integrate with your existing workflows, train your team and deliver insights that improve your decision-making.” That’s a complex value proposition requiring education, trust-building and proof.

Compare this to selling, say, accounting software. The value proposition is clear, the workflow integration is understood and the ROI is measurable. Drone solutions are still explaining the why, not just the how.

How drone businesses should think about good marketing

For companies building drone businesses, the resource allocation data (and the emphasis compaines are putting on good marketing) offers important lessons:

Budget realistically for sales: If you’re a service provider, plan on spending at least a third of your resources on good marketing and sales. Companies that underbudget here struggle to acquire customers and fail despite having good technology.

Focus on demonstrable ROI: Since sales cycles are long and proof is required, having clear, quantifiable ROI stories becomes essential. “Cool technology” doesn’t close deals; “we saved this customer 40% on inspection costs” does.

Consider partnerships: The high cost of direct sales is why partnerships with established players can be attractive. Let someone with existing customer relationships handle sales while you focus on delivery.

Choose markets carefully: Some industries and applications have shorter sales cycles than others. Construction and agriculture are generally more receptive than government agencies or utilities.

Invest in good content: Case studies, white papers and educational content do double duty — they establish credibility and answer questions that prospects have during long evaluation periods. If you don’t want to publish on your own site, reach out to me, as I might be able to help!

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