Table:
|  |  | Year Ended December 31, |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
|  |  | (dollars in thousands) |  |
| Sales and marketing | $227,733 | $224,635 | $240,271 |
| Percent of revenue | 39.5% | 41.8% | 49.9% |
Paragraphs:
Sales and Marketing
Sales and marketing expenses increased $3.1 million, or 1%, in 2019 as compared to 2018. As a percentage of revenue, sales and marketing expense decreased by approximately two percentage points, resulting from the 2018 Reallocation, increased cost efficiency, and leverage realized from changes to our sales commission plans as we continued our efforts to strategically scale our sales teams and improve their productivity.
Sales and marketing expenses decreased $15.6 million, or 7%, in 2018 as compared to 2017. As a percentage of revenue, sales and marketing expense decreased by approximately eight percentage points, primarily resulting from a combination of increased cost efficiency, reduction in headcount as part of our restructuring activities, and leverage realized from changes to our sales commission plans as we continued our efforts to strategically scale our sales teams and improve their productivity.
Question:
Why did sales and marketing expenses increase between 2018 and 2019?
Answer: the 2018 Reallocation, increased cost efficiency, and leverage realized from changes to our sales commission plans as we continued our efforts to strategically scale our sales teams and improve their productivity