Stop Tracking Cost Per Lead (Track This Instead)

What's in this episode

Most home service companies think they're tracking marketing. They're actually tracking the wrong metrics. In this episode of Owned and Operated, John Wilson and Jack Carr break down how to measure marketing ROI the right way. They explain why cost per lead is often a misleading metric, how to build a marketing scorecard that actually helps you make better decisions, and the attribution systems they use to understand what's driving revenue across a growing home service business. They also discuss why blended marketing ROI matters more than individual lead costs, how to separate new customer revenue from recurring customers, the importance of clean CRM data, and why every owner—not their agency—is ultimately responsible for marketing performance. In This Episode: • Why cost per lead can lead you to the wrong decisions • The marketing KPIs every home service business should track • How to measure true ROI across every marketing channel • Building an attribution system that actually works • Why clean CRM data is the foundation of good marketing • How to separate new customer revenue from repeat business • The pitfalls of using lifetime value (LTV) to justify marketing spend • Why ever