Can I afford Ads?

Who it's for: owners who want more enquiries and wonder if paid ads are the answer.
Time needed: 10 minutes.
You'll need: your average job value, your rough profit margin and our free.
Our view: check the maths before you spend a cent. For many local businesses, reviews and a fresh Google profile do more than a first ad.

Our Affordability Guide

Step 2. Enter your number

Leave out GST.

• Average job value: what that kind of job is usually invoiced at

• Profit margin: what's left after materials, wages and job costs (your accountant will know)

• New jobs wanted each month: only work you could actually take on

• Win rate (optional): of every 10 enquiries, how many become jobs

Step 3. Read the 3 key numbers

1. Most you can spend to win one job. Spend this and the job earns you nothing.

2. Most you can pay per enquiry. This is the number to compare with what ads really cost.

3. A suggested test budget for 4 weeks. Small on purpose.

The calculator also shows a Buzz safe limit: half your profit, so the job is still worth doing.

Step 1. Pick one service

Open the Ads affordability calculator. Choose the one service you'd advertise. Use that job's numbers, not your whole business.

Step 5. Follow the verdict

• Not yet: ads don't add up for this job. Use free and cheap local channels first, or try your most profitable job type.

• Fix the basics first: sort your Google profile or website before paying for clicks.

• Track first: find your win rate, then test.

• Small test or Ads make sense: test one service in one suburb for 4 weeks, within the budget shown.

Step 4. Track who sent who

Leave it blank and the calculator assumes a cautious 1 in 4. Then spend a month tracking every enquiry with guide P2, Track where every job comes from, and come back with your real figure.

Watch out for

• Using the job price, not the profit. A $2,000 job with a 20% margin leaves $400 to play with, not $2,000.

• Treating the calculator as a promise. It's a rough guide, not financial advice. It can't promise results.

• Paying for clicks to a weak profile. People check you out before they call, so fix the basics first.

How to check it's working

• Re-run the calculator when your prices or margins change.

• If you test ads, compare the real cost per job with the calculator's safe limit after 4 weeks. Keep, fix or stop.

Further reading: Advertising to customers (business.govt.nz)

Want us to do it for you?

Our Clarity Report includes an ads and spend review, so we check the calculator's numbers against what you're really spending. $595 +GST.

Part of the Local Trust Score guides from Buzz Marketing.
Check your score: Local Trust Score quiz

Example: Pita's call-outs

Pita is a plumber. His typical call-out is $450 with a 35% margin, and he wins about 6 in 10 enquiries. The calculator says he can safely pay about $47 per enquiry. That gives a "Not yet" verdict, so he puts his effort into reviews and his Google profile instead.

The rule: Profit, Proof, Small

1. Profit: work from what a job leaves you, not what it's invoiced at.

2. Proof: know your win rate before you spend.

3. Small: if you test, one service, one suburb, 4 weeks.

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