Talk at the Hutt Valley Chamber on the 21 October 2026 at 14:00 to 15:00
Before deciding how much to spend on marketing, it helps to know what you’re trying to achieve.
We’ll look at how to work backwards from your business goals to estimate how many additional customers you need, how many enquiries that might require and what your marketing needs to deliver.
Because there’s a difference between wanting more business and knowing how much additional business would make a meaningful difference.
A customer who spends $5,000 isn’t necessarily worth $5,000 to your business.
You have costs to cover. You have overheads. And you need to make a profit.
We’ll look at the difference between revenue and gross profit, why some customers are worth considerably more than others, and how to think about the value of repeat business.
Once you understand what a customer is worth, you can start making more informed decisions about how much you’re prepared to spend to win one.
How much should you spend on Google Ads?
How much is too much to pay for a lead?
There isn’t one answer that works for every business.
The right amount depends on your margins, the value of the work you win, how many enquiries become customers and what you need to retain as profit.
We’ll work through practical examples to show how you can use your own numbers to establish what makes commercial sense.
When someone needs your product or service, what do they type into Google?
Are they researching a problem? Comparing providers? Looking for someone nearby? Or are they ready to request a quote?
Understanding what potential customers search for helps you identify opportunities to get in front of the right people at the right time.
We’ll look at why search intent matters and how it can influence where you invest your marketing effort.
You might have a website. You might be investing in marketing. But are potential customers finding your business when they’re actively looking for what you offer?
We’ll look at the different ways businesses appear on Google, including paid advertising, organic search results and local business listings.
We’ll explore the difference between Google Ads and SEO, what each can offer, and why the best approach depends on your business, your competition and how quickly you need results.
Getting people to your website is only part of the job.
What happens when they arrive?
Can they quickly understand what you do, who you help and where you operate? Can they see why they should trust you? Is it obvious how to contact you or request a quote?
We’ll look at the role your website plays in turning interest into enquiries — and the common places where potential customers can be lost.
Sometimes the problem isn’t that you’re not getting enough traffic.
It might be that the wrong people are visiting your website.
It might be that visitors aren’t enquiring.
It might be that enquiries aren’t turning into sales.
Or you might be winning work that doesn’t generate enough profit.
We’ll look at how to identify the weak points in your customer acquisition process so you can focus on the improvements most likely to make a difference.
Google Ads? SEO? Your website? Something else?
Rather than recommending one solution for every business, we’ll bring the ideas together and look at how to make a more informed decision.
The objective is to understand where your biggest opportunity lies, what needs fixing first and how to judge whether your next marketing investment is delivering a worthwhile return.
You won’t be learning how to build Google Ads campaigns.
You won’t be learning technical SEO.
And you won’t be expected to become a website developer.
This session takes a step back from the tools and tactics to focus on the bigger commercial picture.
It’s about understanding how customers find your business, what happens when they do, and whether your marketing investment is helping you acquire customers profitably.
You don’t need to be a marketing expert to make better marketing decisions.
You need to understand the numbers, know what you’re trying to achieve and have a way to judge whether your investment is working.
By the end of the session, you’ll have a clearer understanding of:
How to estimate how many new customers your business needs.
What a customer is really worth beyond the initial sale.
How to think about an affordable customer acquisition cost.
What potential customers are searching for on Google.
The differences between Google Ads, SEO and local search visibility.
Why website traffic alone isn’t a reliable measure of marketing success.
How your website can help turn visitors into enquiries.
Where potential customers may be dropping out of the process.
How to decide which marketing opportunity deserves your attention first.
The aim is not to leave with a longer list of marketing activities.
It’s to leave with a better way of deciding which activities are worth investing in.
This session is designed for established businesses that want more of the right customers and want their marketing investment to produce a worthwhile commercial return.
It’s particularly relevant for business owners who:
Have a proven product or service and capacity to take on more work.
Want more profitable customers, not just more website traffic.
Are considering investing in Google Ads, SEO or a better website.
Are already spending money on marketing and want to know whether it’s working.
Receive enquiries but aren’t sure how effectively they’re converting into sales.
Want to make marketing decisions based on numbers rather than guesswork.
It’s relevant across a range of industries, including trades, professional services, construction, home services and other established businesses that rely on enquiries to generate new work.
Whether you’re managing your marketing yourself or paying someone else to do it, understanding the commercial outcome is essential.
You don’t need to spend more on marketing simply because you want more customers.
First, understand what a customer is worth.
Then work out how many customers you need, what you can afford to spend to acquire them, and where the best opportunities are likely to come from.
From there, you can make a more informed decision about whether your next dollar should go into Google Ads, SEO, your website or improving the way you turn enquiries into paying customers.
More Customers, Better Returns
A practical 60-minute session at the Hutt Valley Chamber of Commerce.
