Most small businesses struggle to market effectively—not because they’re not trying, but because they’re measuring incorrectly, misunderstanding metrics, or simply marketing poorly. If you’re in coaching, home improvement, real estate, or medspas, here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Your Metrics Are Probably Hurting Your Growth
Let’s face it—most businesses don’t even track their metrics accurately. If you’re one of them, you’re driving blind. Here are the benchmarks and where many small businesses go wrong:
- Return on Investment (ROI): A healthy ROI for digital marketing should be at least 3:1. Yet, most small businesses hover around 1.5:1 or less, meaning they’re barely breaking even after expenses.
- Return on Ad Spend (ROAS): Industry average ROAS benchmarks:
- Coaching: Good ROAS should exceed 4x, yet many coaches barely crack 2x.
- Home Improvement: Great campaigns see 5x+, while average businesses scrape by at 2.5–3x.
- Real Estate: Top realtors achieve 6x+, yet most fall below 3x.
- Medspas: Highly profitable medspas hit 7x+ ROAS, but many businesses struggle under 3.5x.
If you’re seeing these lower numbers, your ad targeting, copy, or funnel structure likely needs major help.
- Cost Per Lead (CPL):
- Coaching: Good CPL <$40, but average is $100+.
- Home Improvement: Good CPL <$75, yet many average $150+.
- Real Estate: Good CPL <$30, typical realtors spend $80+.
- Medspas: Good CPL <$50, average businesses often see $120+.
Why the high CPL? Poor targeting, weak offers, and generic ads.
- Click-Through Rate (CTR):
- A strong CTR on Google and Facebook ads should be at least 2%. Most small businesses struggle around 0.7%–1.2%. Low CTR means your ads aren’t capturing attention or aren’t speaking directly to your audience’s pains and desires.
- Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC):
- Coaching: Profitable CAC <$300, yet businesses without clear messaging or strong offers see CAC soaring past $1,000.
- Home Improvement: Profitable CAC <$750, average businesses routinely spend over $1,500.
- Real Estate: Profitable CAC <$1,000, average realtors often pay upwards of $3,000.
- Medspas: Profitable CAC <$500, many pay closer to $1,500.
If your CAC is high, your funnel isn’t converting leads into customers effectively—plain and simple.
What’s Going Wrong?
- Poorly Defined Audience: You’re trying to talk to everyone, so nobody’s listening.
- Weak or Generic Offers: You’re selling features instead of transformations.
- Bad or Missing Calls-to-Action (CTAs): You’re not directly asking your audience to take action.
- Inefficient Funnels: You’re losing leads at critical stages because your process isn’t optimized.
- Inconsistent Measurement: You’re either measuring incorrectly or not at all—leaving you guessing.
What Should You Do About It?
First, acknowledge if you’re not a pro at marketing—you need a pro. DIY marketing often leads to bleeding money slowly, wasting valuable resources without noticeable gains.
- Fix Your Metrics: Immediately implement proper tracking tools (like Google Analytics, Hyros, or Triple Whale).
- Optimize Your Funnel: Every stage—from ad click to checkout—needs continuous testing and improvement.
- Upgrade Your Creative and Copy: Stand out with emotionally engaging and problem-solving ads that stop your ideal clients mid-scroll.
If You’re Not a Pro, You Need a Pro
You wouldn’t fix your roof, perform surgery, or litigate your own court case without professional help. Marketing is no different. If you’re serious about growing your business, improving your metrics, and getting results, you need professional guidance.
At LAUNCH, we specialize in turning mediocre metrics into market-leading results. While this article isn’t here to sell you, it’s a gentle nudge—if your numbers look like the averages above, imagine what your business could become with the right professional touch.
Stop guessing. Start growing.
