Free calculator · Marketing
Marketing ROI Calculator
Marketing is only working if it makes you money. Forget likes and reach. Put in your real numbers and see exactly what your spend brings back.
The short version
Marketing ROI is the money your marketing makes you against what it costs. Take the leads it brings in, how many turn into paying jobs, and the profit on those jobs, then compare that with what you spent. If it makes more than it costs, do more of it. If it does not, stop.
Marketing return = Profit from the work won ÷ What you spent to win it
How to read your marketing ROI
Most tradespeople judge marketing by feel. It felt busy, so it must be working. This tool swaps the feeling for the numbers, and the numbers usually tell a different story.
Two figures matter most. Cost per customer is what you paid to win one job. Profit per customer is what that job puts in your pocket. As long as the second is comfortably bigger than the first, the marketing is paying its way, and you can afford to do more of it.
If a customer costs you $63 to win and makes you $240 in profit, you are not spending too much on marketing. You are almost certainly spending too little.
Judge on profit, not revenue
A $4,800 month sounds great until you remember most of it went on materials and labour. Marketing has to be judged against the profit you actually keep, which is why this tool asks for your margin. Revenue-based “ROI” is the number agencies love to show you, because it always looks bigger than it is.
What to do with the result
- Positive return? Spend more, carefully, and watch the cost per customer as you scale.
- Negative return? Fix the leak before you spend anything more. Usually it is a low conversion rate or a channel bringing tyre-kickers, not the spend itself.
- Track it monthly. One good or bad month is noise. The trend is the signal.
Questions tradespeople ask
What is a good marketing ROI for a trade business?
There is no magic number, but you want the profit from the work to comfortably outweigh the spend. Many trades aim to make back at least three to five times what they put in. What matters more is the direction of travel: is your cost per customer going down and your return going up.
What is the difference between cost per lead and cost per customer?
Cost per lead is what you pay for each enquiry. Cost per customer, or customer acquisition cost, is what you pay for each enquiry that actually turns into a paying job. If you win one in three leads, your cost per customer is three times your cost per lead.
Why does the calculator use profit instead of revenue?
Because revenue is not yours to keep. A big job with thin margins can make less than a small one done well. Judging marketing on profit tells you whether it is genuinely making you money, which is the only thing that counts.
What counts as marketing spend?
Anything you pay to get found and get enquiries: Google or Meta ads, directory listings, flyers and vehicle signage, your website, and any agency or freelancer fees. Do not include materials or labour on the jobs themselves, those come out in your profit margin.
Should I count my own time?
This tool measures cash spend, which is the simplest place to start. If you spend hours a week doing your own marketing, that time has a value too. Work out your rate with the True Hourly Rate Calculator and add it in if you want the full picture.
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