Why Most Brisbane Businesses Waste Money on the Wrong Suburbs
I see it every single week. A landscaper in Chermside tells me they’re spending thousands on ads, but half their enquiries are coming from Ipswich or Logan. They spend two hours a day sitting in traffic on the Gateway or the M1, burning petrol and losing billable hours, just to quote on jobs they don't even want.
If you want to grow your profit—not just your revenue—you need to stop trying to conquer all of Brisbane. You need to own your backyard first.
In Brisbane, our suburbs aren't just names on a map; they are distinct markets with different spending habits, different needs, and different ways of choosing who to hire. A homeowner in Ascot looks for a very different service level than a first-home buyer in North Lakes. If you treat them the same, you’re throwing money away.
The Data Doesn't Lie: Proximity Equals Profit
Most business owners think they need more leads. They don't. They need better leads that are closer to home. When we look at the numbers for our clients across South East Queensland, the data is clear: jobs within a 10km radius of your base are significantly more profitable than those 25km away.
Why? Because your overheads drop. Your team is more efficient. Your brand carries more weight because people see your trucks in their street.
To make this work, you have to stop chasing strangers and start focusing on the people who already live next door to your current happy customers.
Suburb Profiles: How to Target the Right Brisbane Pockets
To win in Brisbane, you need to understand the three main types of zones and how to market to them without wasting your budget.
1. The High-Value Heritage Belts (Ascot, Paddington, Clayfield, Bulimba)
These areas have older homes that need constant maintenance and owners with higher disposable income. The Strategy: They don't care about "cheap." They care about reliability, cleanliness, and expertise. If you're a tradie, show up in a clean uniform and a tidy truck. The Payoff: Higher margins and better word-of-mouth. If you do a great job for one person in a Hamilton cul-de-sac, you’ll likely get the next three houses on that street.2. The Rapid Growth Corridors (North Lakes, Coomera, Ripley)
These are full of young families and new builds. They are busy, stressed, and looking for convenience. The Strategy: Focus on speed. Can you get there today? Can they book online? The Payoff: High volume. These areas are dense, meaning you can knock out five jobs in one day without moving your van more than two blocks.3. The Established Family Suburbs (The Gap, Carindale, Kenmore)
These people have lived there for 20 years. They are skeptical of flashy ads but trust their neighbours. The Strategy: This is where community talk wins customers. Getting mentioned in the local Facebook group is worth more than a $5,000 billboard on Gympie Road.Stop Paying for "Dead Air"
If you are using Google or Facebook ads, most “experts” will set your location to “Brisbane + 20km.” This is a massive mistake. You are paying to show your business to people in suburbs you have no intention of visiting.
I’ve seen a plumber in Morningside cut his ad spend by 40% simply by turning off ads for the Northside. His lead volume stayed the same, but his travel time dropped by 8 hours a week. That’s a full day of work he got back just by being smarter with his targeting.
What to do first: Look at your last 50 jobs. Plot them on a map. Where are the clusters? If 80% of your money comes from the Inner South, stop spending money trying to find customers in Strathpine.
The "Street Dominance" Tactic
If you want to get more local jobs without a massive marketing budget, you need to use the work you’re already doing.
When you’re working on a house in Coorparoo, everyone else on that street is a potential customer. They see your truck. They hear the work. This is the best time to market.
The Old Way: Dropping 5,000 generic flyers across the whole suburb (99% go in the bin). The Smart Way: Putting 20 high-quality cards into the letterboxes of the immediate neighbours saying: "We're currently doing some work for your neighbour at number 42. If you need anything while we're in the street, give us a yell."This costs almost nothing and has a massive success rate because you've already proven you're a real business doing real work in their immediate vicinity.
How Long Until You See Results?
Marketing isn't magic, but local targeting is faster than most other methods.
Week 1: Clean up your Google profile and fix your ad targeting. Stop the bleeding of money going to irrelevant suburbs. Month 1: You'll notice your phone rings with people from the specific areas you've targeted. Your fuel bill will likely start to drop. Month 3: You start to build "suburb density." This is the holy grail. This is when people stop asking "how much?" and start saying "I saw you at Dave's place, when can you come here?"What’s a Waste of Money?
1. Radio Ads for Small Businesses: Unless you have a massive budget, radio covers too much ground. Why pay to talk to all of Brisbane when you only service the Western Suburbs? 2. Generic SEO: If a marketing company promises to get you to #1 on Google for "Plumber," run away. You want to be #1 for "Plumber Indooroopilly." It's easier, cheaper, and the callers are ready to book. 3. Letterbox Drops in Units: If you’re a gardener or a roof restorer, stop paying for flyer delivery in areas full of high-rise units. It sounds obvious, but you’d be surprised how many businesses pay for “blanket coverage” that includes thousands of people who literally can't use their service.
Summary: Your Step-by-Step Plan
If you’re a busy Brisbane business owner, don't try to do everything at once. Do this:
1. Identify your "Gold Mine" suburbs: Which 3-5 suburbs are closest to you and have the best customers? 2. Adjust your digital presence: Make sure your website mentions these suburbs by name. Google likes this, and so do customers. 3. Own the street: Every time you do a job, make sure the neighbours know you were there. 4. Stop the waste: Switch off any ads that are showing to people outside your profitable service area.
At the end of the day, marketing should be an investment, not an expense. If you spend $1,000 on ads, you should be seeing $5,000 to $10,000 in return. If you aren't, you're likely targeting the wrong people in the wrong places.
Need a hand figuring out which Brisbane suburbs will actually make you money? We help local businesses stop wasting cash and start getting more calls from the right areas.
Contact Local Marketing Group today and let’s get your phone ringing.