Why Most Brisbane Business Owners are Flying Blind
I’ve sat down with hundreds of business owners from Chermside to Logan, and almost all of them tell me the same thing: "I’m spending money on Facebook, I’m paying for Google, and I think it’s working... but I don't actually know for sure."
If you are running a plumbing business, a law firm, or a local shop, you don't care about "data points" or "sessions." You care about the phone ringing. You care about the contact form in your inbox. Most importantly, you care about whether that person actually hands over their credit card.
Most marketing reports you get from agencies are full of fluff. They show you big numbers like "impressions" or "reach." These are what I call "ego numbers." They make you feel good, but you can't pay your staff with impressions.
This guide isn't about becoming a math whiz. It’s about setting up a simple system so you can look at a dashboard for five minutes a week and know: "I spent $1,000 on this ad, and it turned into $5,000 in booked jobs."
The Only Three Numbers That Actually Matter
Forget everything else. If you want to grow your business without wasting a cent, you only need to track three things:
1. Where did they come from? (Google Search, a Facebook ad, or a flyer?) 2. Did they contact you? (Did they call or email?) 3. Did they buy? (Did they actually pay you money?)
If you can link these three things together, you have won the game. You'll stop measuring ROI based on guesses and start making decisions based on cold, hard cash.
Step 1: Tracking the Phone Calls
For most local Brisbane businesses—especially tradies and service providers—the phone is your lifeline. If someone clicks your ad and then calls you, but you aren't tracking that call, your marketing looks like a failure on paper even if it’s making you rich.
How it works (The non-tech version)
We use something called "Call Tracking." Essentially, when someone clicks an ad and lands on your site, the phone number they see changes slightly. If they call that specific number, the system records it and tells Google: "Hey, that $5 click just turned into a phone call."It costs about $50 to $100 a month to set this up properly. Compared to the thousands of dollars you might be wasting on ads that don't work, it’s the best money you’ll ever spend.
Step 2: Tracking the Forms
Every time someone fills out a "Get a Quote" or "Contact Us" form on your site, you need to know exactly which ad brought them there. Most people just check their email and think, "Oh, another lead."
But if you have five different ads running, you need to know which one sent that email. You might find that your "Emergency Plumber" ad gets 10 leads for $20 each, while your "Bathroom Renovation" ad gets 1 lead for $200. Without tracking, you’d never know to put more money into the cheaper, high-performing ad.
Step 3: Connecting the Dots to Your Bank Account
This is where most businesses fail. They get a lead, they do the job, but they never look back to see where that customer came from.
I recently worked with a mechanic in Coorparoo. He thought his Facebook ads were great because he got heaps of messages. When we actually looked at the numbers, the Facebook people were all looking for cheap $99 services and never came back. His Google Search customers, however, were booking in for major repairs and becoming long-term clients.
By learning to see exactly where sales are coming from, he stopped wasting $500 a week on Facebook and doubled his Google budget. His profit went up instantly because he stopped chasing the wrong type of customer.
Stop Wasting Money on "Brand Awareness"
Unless you are Coca-Cola or Bunnings, "brand awareness" is a luxury you can't afford. Every dollar you spend on marketing should have one goal: getting a new customer.
If an agency tells you that you need to spend months "building your brand" before you see a result, they are usually just buying time because they don't know how to get your phone to ring. Real marketing for small businesses should start producing leads within weeks, not years.
How to Get Started This Week
You don't need a degree to fix this. Here is your checklist:
Ask every new caller: "How did you hear about us?" It’s not perfect, but it’s better than nothing. Install a tracking tool: Ask your web person to set up "Event Tracking" for your phone number and contact forms.
- Use a simple spreadsheet: Record every lead and where they said they found you. At the end of the month, see which source actually led to the most money.
The Blunt Truth About Marketing Data
Most of the data you see in your Google or Facebook accounts is slightly wrong. Privacy settings on iPhones and modern browsers make it harder to track everything perfectly.
Don't let that stop you. You don't need 100% accuracy; you need a clear direction. If your data shows that 80% of your leads are coming from one place, focus there. Don't get bogged down in the technical minutiae that marketing nerds love to talk about.
Summary: Will This Make Me Money?
Yes. Tracking your leads is the difference between gambling and investing. When you know that every $1 you spend brings back $5, you aren't "spending" money on marketing anymore—you're just buying more customers.
If you're tired of guessing and want to see real results from your marketing budget, we can help. At Local Marketing Group, we specialise in making the phone ring for Brisbane businesses. No jargon, just more customers.
Ready to see what's actually working? Contact Local Marketing Group today.