Tree service
Tree Service Customer Acquisition Cost Calculator
Works what a customer costs to win, where most tree work is a one-off.
Result
Sales time is included because it is a real cost of winning work even though it never appears on an advertising invoice. Recovering under 100% on the first job is normal in the trades, provided customers come back.
Get a Free Business AuditHow the calculation works
Marketing spend plus the sales time and tools, divided by the customers won, gives the cost to acquire one. The tree care specific point is on the other side of the comparison: unlike a service business with recurring visits, much tree work is a single transaction, so the first job frequently has to carry the whole acquisition cost rather than being repaid over a relationship.
What moves the number
- Marketing spend across channels.
- Estimating time, which in this trade is substantial and unpaid.
- Close rate, which determines how many estimates each win consumes.
- Whether the customer is likely to return or refer.
Where this one goes wrong
Estimating time is the acquisition cost people leave out. Driving to look at a tree, assessing it and writing a quote takes an hour or more, and at a typical close rate several of those are consumed for each job won, which is a real cost that never appears on a marketing invoice. Counting it changes the picture substantially and argues for qualifying enquiries by phone before driving out. On the recurring side, trees do need ongoing attention even if customers do not think of it that way, so converting a removal into a maintenance relationship is the main way acquisition cost gets repaid more than once.
Before you quote
- Include estimating time as an acquisition cost.
- Qualify enquiries before driving out to quote.
- Look for the maintenance relationship behind a one-off job.
Questions
About this calculator
What does it cost to win a tree care customer?
More than the marketing spend, because estimating time belongs in it. Driving out, assessing a tree and writing a quote takes an hour or more, and several are consumed per job won. That cost never appears on a marketing invoice and it is frequently larger than the advertising.
Should every enquiry get a site visit?
Not necessarily. Qualifying by phone on location, tree size, access and what the customer wants filters the enquiries that were never going to proceed, which is where estimating time is wasted. Photographs help. The visits that remain are the ones worth making.
How is acquisition cost repaid on one-off work?
Mostly it has to be covered by the first job, which is why the cost matters more here than in a recurring trade. The way to improve it is converting removals into maintenance relationships, since trees do need ongoing attention even where owners do not think of it that way.
The formula
acquisition cost = (marketing + sales cost) / customers won
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How to use this calculator
- Marketing spend per month ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $3,200.
- Sales time and tools ($). Quoting time, CRM, call answering.
- Leads per month. Enter your own figure; the page starts at 70.
- Share that become customers (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 32%.
- First job value ($). Enter your own figure; the page starts at $1,250.
- Gross margin (%). Enter your own figure; the page starts at 46%.
The result updates as you type, so you can try a figure, see what it does to cost to win one customer, and change it back. Nothing you enter is sent anywhere or saved.
A worked example
These are the figures the calculator opens with. Every number in the results column below is produced by the same calculation the page runs, so you can follow it through before putting your own figures in.
What goes in
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Marketing spend per month | $3,200 |
| Sales time and tools | $900 |
| Leads per month | 70 |
| Share that become customers | 32% |
| First job value | $1,250 |
| Gross margin | 46% |
What comes out
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost to win one customer main result | $183.04 |
| Cost per lead | $58.57 |
| Customers per month | 22 |
| Gross profit on the first job | $575 |
| Recovered on the first job | 314% |
Each customer costs $183.04 to win, and the first job returns $575 of gross profit, 314% of the acquisition cost. The rest has to come from repeat work.
How sensitive the answer is
Holding everything else steady and changing only marketing spend per month, this is what happens to cost to win one customer. It is worth knowing which of your inputs the answer actually hinges on, and which barely move it.
| Marketing spend per month ($) | Cost to win one customer |
|---|---|
| $1,600 | $111.61 |
| $2,400 | $147.32 |
| $3,200 example above | $183.04 |
| $4,800 | $254.46 |
| $6,400 | $325.89 |
Every other input is held at the example value while this one changes, which is not how a real job behaves. Treat it as a guide to which number matters most, not as five separate quotes.
What each figure means
- Marketing spend per month ($)
- A money amount, starting at $3,200.
- Sales time and tools ($)
- Quoting time, CRM, call answering.
- Leads per month
- A number, between 0 and 20000, starting at 70.
- Share that become customers (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 100, starting at 32%.
- First job value ($)
- A money amount, starting at $1,250.
- Gross margin (%)
- A percentage, between 0 and 95, starting at 46%.
What the results tell you
| Result | What it is |
|---|---|
| Cost to win one customer | The headline result. A money figure. |
| Cost per lead | A money figure. |
| Customers per month | A number. |
| Gross profit on the first job | A money figure. |
| Recovered on the first job | A percentage. |
Estimating is the easy part
The jobs you never hear about cost more than the ones you mis-measure. BDEVY builds the marketing, systems and automation that bring them in.