Why Your Gut Feeling is Costing You Money
I was sitting down with a landscaper in Chermside a few months ago. Let's call him Dave. Dave was spending about $3,000 a month on various bits of marketing—some Google ads, a bit of Facebook, and a local directory.
When I asked him which one was bringing in the most jobs, he shrugged. "I think it's the Google stuff?" he said. "I mean, the phone rings, but I don't really know why."
This is the reality for most Brisbane business owners. You're busy. You're on-site, you're quoting, you're managing staff. You don't have time to sit there and ask every single caller, "And pray tell, which specific keyword did you type into the search engine to find our digital presence today?"
But here’s the problem: without knowing exactly where your leads come from, you are almost certainly flushing money down the toilet.
In this guide, I’m going to show you how to move away from "guessing" and start using simple numbers to grow your business. No jargon, no tech-talk—just a clear path to getting more phone calls for less spend.
The "Aha!" Moment: A Tale of Two Marketing Spends
Let’s look at a real-world example we saw with a local plumbing firm. They were splitting their budget between two main areas: Google Ads and Facebook Ads.
On the surface, Facebook looked like the winner. Their page was getting heaps of likes, people were commenting "Great job!" on their photos of new bathroom installs, and it felt like they were "out there."
Google Ads felt more expensive. Each click cost more, and they didn't get the "social buzz."
However, when we actually looked at the data—real numbers, not just feelings—the story changed completely.
- Facebook: Generated 50 "leads" (mostly people asking for rough prices in comments or messages) but only 2 turned into actual paid jobs. Total cost per job: $750. - Google Ads: Generated 15 leads, but 10 of them were emergency call-outs that were booked and paid for within the hour. Total cost per job: $120.
Because they weren't tracking the outcome, they were about to cancel the Google Ads because they "felt" too expensive. This is why you need to see exactly where sales come from before you make any big decisions about your budget.
What We Mean by "Analytics" (In Plain English)
When most people hear the word "analytics," they think of complicated graphs and nerdy blokes in hoodies. In the world of a small business owner, analytics really just means The Scoreboard.
If you were watching the Broncos at Suncorp, you wouldn't just look at how fast the players were running. You’d look at the score. Who’s winning? How many points did we get from that play?
In your business, the "points" are: 1. Phone Calls: Someone picking up the mobile and calling you. 2. Form Submissions: Someone filling out the "Get a Quote" box on your site. 3. Bookings: Someone actually locking in a time in your calendar.
Everything else—website visitors, "impressions," clicks, likes—is just noise. You can't pay your mortgage with a Facebook Like.
Step 1: Tracking the Phone Calls
For 90% of local Brisbane businesses, the phone is the lifeblood. Whether you’re a lawyer in the CBD or a sparky in Logan, you want that phone to ring.
But how do you know if that caller found you on Google, clicked an ad, or saw your truck in traffic?
We use something called "Call Tracking." It sounds fancy, but it’s simple. We put a tiny piece of code on your site that shows a slightly different phone number to different people.
- If they come from a Google Ad, they see Number A. - If they come from a normal Google search, they see Number B. - If they type your website in directly, they see Number C.
All these numbers still ring directly to your office or mobile. You don’t notice a difference. But on the backend, we can see exactly which ad triggered the call.
The Result: You might find out that your "Emergency Hot Water" ad is responsible for 80% of your profit, while your "General Plumbing" ad is just attracting tyre-kickers. You can then stop wasting money on the bad ad and put it into the one that works.
Step 2: Fixing the Leaky Bucket
I see this all the time. A business owner spends $2,000 a month to get people to their website, but their contact form is so long and annoying that nobody fills it out.
Imagine driving 100 people to your shopfront, but you’ve bolted the door shut and left a note saying "Please fill out this 12-page questionnaire and mail it to us to enter."
That’s what a bad website form does. If you want to stop losing money, you need to look at why your website form is costing sales. Sometimes, "analytics" tells us that the problem isn't your ads—it's your website.
If 1,000 people visit your site and only 1 person calls, you don't need more visitors. You need a better website.
Step 3: Knowing Your Numbers (The Math That Matters)
To grow your business, you only need to know three numbers. Forget the rest.
1. Cost Per Lead (CPL)
How much did it cost to make the phone ring once? Example: You spent $1,000 on ads and got 20 calls. Your CPL is $50.2. Conversion Rate
Out of those 20 calls, how many turned into a paying customer? Example: Out of 20 calls, you booked 5 jobs. Your conversion rate is 25%.3. Average Job Value
How much is a customer worth to you on average? Example: Each job is worth $1,000.The Big Picture: You spent $1,000 to get 5 jobs worth $5,000. You made $4,000 profit (before your other costs).
Once you know these numbers, marketing isn't a "cost" anymore. It’s a vending machine. If you knew that every time you put $1,000 into the machine, it gave you $5,000 back, how much money would you put in? As much as you could find!
Real Case Study: The Morningside Electrician
We worked with a local sparky who was convinced his SEO (showing up naturally on Google) was his best source of work. He was paying a guy $1,500 a month to "do SEO."
We set up proper tracking to see exactly which ads make money and compared it to his SEO results.
What did we find? - The SEO was bringing in lots of traffic, but it was mostly people looking for "how to fix a light switch myself" (DIYers who don't want to pay). - His small Google Ads budget was bringing in people searching for "electrician near me now."
By looking at the data, we proved that his $1,500 SEO spend was returning almost zero profit, while his $500 ad spend was keeping his three trucks on the road. We killed the SEO, moved that money to the ads, and he had to hire two more staff within three months.
That's the power of knowing your numbers.
What's a Waste of Money?
I'll be blunt: most "monthly reports" you get from marketing agencies are garbage.
If your agency sends you a 20-page PDF full of charts about "impressions," "engagement," and "click-through rates," they are trying to confuse you. They are hiding the fact that they don't know if they're making you money.
A good report should fit on one page and answer three questions: 1. How much did we spend? 2. How many leads did we get? 3. What was the cost per lead?
If they can't tell you that, fire them. Seriously. You wouldn't keep a sales rep who couldn't tell you how many sales they made, so why keep a marketing agency that can't tell you how many customers they found?
How Long Until You See Results?
This isn't an overnight fix, but it's faster than you think.
- Week 1: Set up the tracking (calls and forms). - Month 1: Collect data. See what's actually happening. - Month 2: Cut the losers. Stop spending money on the keywords or platforms that aren't ringing the phone. - Month 3: Scale the winners. Put that saved money into the ads that work.
By the end of 90 days, you should have a much leaner, meaner marketing machine. You might not even be spending more money, but you'll be getting more for it.
Common Pitfalls for Brisbane Businesses
1. The "I ask everyone" Trap I've heard it a thousand times: "Oh, I just ask people how they found me." Here's why that fails: People have terrible memories. They might have seen your truck, then Googled you, then clicked an ad. When you ask, they just say "Google." You don't know if it was the $10 click or the free search. You need the data to be sure.
2. Counting "Leads" instead of "Sales" Not all leads are created equal. If you're a high-end builder in Ascot, you don't want 100 leads from people looking for a $5,000 deck. You want 5 leads from people looking for a $500,000 renovation. Your analytics should tell you which ads bring in the big fish.
3. Ignoring the Phone If you have a great website but your staff (or you!) are rude on the phone or let calls go to voicemail, your marketing will fail. Analytics can even record calls (with permission) so you can hear how your team is handling enquiries. Sometimes the "marketing problem" is actually a "receptionist problem."
What Should You Do First?
If you're feeling overwhelmed, just do this one thing: Install Call Tracking.
Even if you do nothing else, knowing which ads make your phone ring is the single biggest advantage you can have over your competitors. Most of them are still guessing. If you know, you win.
Marketing doesn't have to be a dark art. It’s just math. And once you have the right numbers on your scoreboard, you can finally stop worrying about your marketing and get back to running your business.
Want to stop guessing and start growing? At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in helping Brisbane businesses see exactly where their money is going and ensuring every dollar works to bring in more customers.
Contact us today and let's get your scoreboard sorted.