Calculating ROI on Marketing for Plumbers: A Step-by-Step Breakdown
Hi, I'm Tyler Williams, founder of Mammoth Marketing for Plumbers, and today, we’re diving deep into one of the most misunderstood—and most important—topics in the plumbing world: calculating your ROI on marketing.
If you’ve ever thrown money at ads and wondered, “Where did it go?” this one’s for you. We’re breaking out the spreadsheets, the simple math (I promise), and even a few jokes along the way. So let’s talk numbers—but plumber-style.
Why ROI Matters (Even If You Hate Math)
Let’s be real—most plumbers didn’t get into the trade because they love spreadsheets. But if you want to grow your business and stop feeling like your marketing is a mystery black hole, then understanding your return on investment (ROI) is essential.
Marketing isn't just about bringing in leads. It's about bringing in the right leads, booking them properly, closing the jobs, and making sure every dollar is doing hard work for your business.
The $5,000 Marketing Test Case: Breaking It Down
Let’s say you’re investing $5,000 into marketing this month. For some, that might seem high. For others, it’s small potatoes. But it’s a good place to start.
Budget: $5,000
Cost per Lead (CPL): $50
Qualified Lead Rate: 50%
Answer Rate: 70%
Booking Rate: 70%
Closing Rate: 80%
Average Ticket: $800
Sounds decent, right? Let's walk through what this really means.
What Is Cost Per Lead (and Why It’s Only Half the Story)
Your cost per lead is what you pay just to get a contact—someone who raises their hand and says “Hey, I might need a plumber.”
Let’s say you're paying $50 per lead. With a $5,000 budget, that gives you 100 leads. But here’s the kicker: not all leads are good leads.
Qualified Leads: The “Actually Worth It” Factor
Out of those 100 leads, how many are actually within your service area, speaking your language, and looking for services you actually offer? Maybe 50%.
That leaves you with 50 real, qualified leads. The rest? You politely pass.
Answer Rates: Don’t Let Leads Die in Voicemail
You’ve got 50 hot leads. But what happens if your team only answers 70% of the time?
Suddenly you’re only talking to 35 people. And trust me, I’ve seen answer rates as low as 50%. If you’re not picking up the phone, you’re literally flushing money down the drain.
Hot Tip: Consider an answering service to catch those after-hours or overflow calls. It pays for itself.
Booking Rates: Turning Conversations into Appointments
Out of those 35 answered calls, let’s say you’re booking 70% of them. Now you’re looking at 25 jobs on the calendar. Not too shabby.
But remember: getting someone to book isn’t just about being available. It’s about training your team to be friendly, helpful, and efficient.
Closing Rates: Seal the Deal Like a Pro
If your closing rate is 80%, congrats—you just closed 20 jobs from your $5,000 ad spend.
Now, before you start celebrating with champagne in the shop truck, let’s talk revenue.
Revenue vs ROI: What Are You Really Making?
20 jobs at an $800 average ticket equals $16,000 in revenue. Subtract your $5,000 ad spend, and you’ve made $11,000. Right?
Almost.
Real ROI: That’s $2.14 back for every dollar spent. Not bad. But not great either, especially once you factor in payroll, parts, gas, and the 3 coffees a day you need to survive call-backs.
How Better Operations Skyrocket ROI
Let’s play with the math.
If you keep your cost per lead and qualifying rates the same but improve:
Answer rate to 90%
Booking rate to 80%
Maintain 80% closing rate
You’d now be bringing in about $23,000 in revenue from the same $5,000 investment.
That’s $3.61 ROI per dollar. That’s where things get fun.
Your Average Ticket: The Unsung Hero
A lot of plumbers struggle here. They don’t charge enough.
$800 feels “fair,” but if your costs are rising, and you want to grow, it may not be enough.
Pro Benchmark: We love seeing clients around $1,200 per job. That gives your marketing room to breathe—and your wallet a chance to catch up.
Why This Isn’t Just About Marketing (It’s About Your Business)
At Mammoth, our job is to make your leads as good as possible—high quality, low cost.
But we can’t answer your phones. We can’t close jobs. We can’t train your team for you.
The biggest ROI wins happen inside your business:
Faster response times
Better CSR training
Higher-value jobs
Better follow-up
Benchmarks & Tools We Trust
We work with a company called SearchLight for some of our top clients. They plug directly into your CRM and track all these metrics automatically, benchmarking them against the best in the industry.
And hey, if you want to be average, sure—look at average numbers. But most plumbers I talk to want more than “just getting by.”
Want a Roadmap Built for Your Business?
If this all sounds great but you’re wondering where to start, we got you.
You can visit my site, tylerwilliams.net, and schedule a free consultation with my crew. We’ll take a look at your current marketing, systems, and give you a real strategy—not just fluff.
We’ll tell you what’s working, what’s not, and how to fix it—whether you work with us or not.
Thanks for sticking around! Whether you’re at the $3,000/month stage or you’re aiming for $30K, the numbers don’t lie—and neither do I. Take the time to measure your ROI, improve your processes, and let’s make marketing actually work for your plumbing business.
Let’s get growing.
