Posted by u/hvac_hopeful
What percent of revenue should marketing be?
Answered by Ask a Shop Owner ·
I keep hearing 5, 8, 12 percent. What do you actually spend?
u/askashopowner Owner-operator advisor
Top answer
For established owner-operator service shops, 3 to 5 percent of revenue is normal. For growth mode or a new market, 8 to 12 percent. If you are under $500k revenue and paying more than 10 percent, you are almost certainly wasting most of it.
Before you set a percentage, do the tracking. Every lead that comes in, ask the source. Write it on a sticky, in a sheet, whatever. In 60 days you will see 2 or 3 sources drive 80 percent of your work. Cut the rest.
For most trades, the highest-ROI spend is not ads. It is Google Business Profile, review requests, and a truck wrap. Costs almost nothing, works forever.
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