Marketing Calculators
Five quick calculators: what standing still is costing you, what your marketing should be returning, what a customer is really worth, and what you should be budgeting for marketing and leadership.
Pop in a few figures and get an instant, jargon-free read — the cost of inaction, the return your marketing should be delivering, and the lifetime value and acquisition cost of a customer.
How It's Calculated
Here's exactly how the calculator below works out your numbers — read this first, then try it.
Your current monthly revenue, your monthly marketing spend, and a realistic revenue uplift you believe is achievable.
Monthly revenue × the uplift % = the extra revenue a lift of that size would add every month.
That monthly figure × 3, 6 and 12 months — because each month you don't capture it, it's gone for good.
The formula
Monthly revenue × uplift % = revenue gained each month × 12 = a year of inaction.
The multiplier against your marketing spend simply shows how many times over that monthly upside would cover what you're already spending.
It's deliberately simple — a straight-line estimate to size the opportunity, not model it precisely.
It doesn't compound, and it doesn't account for delivery cost or ramp-up time.
A tailored, defensible projection comes from a Strategy Session or a free audit.
Cost of Inaction
See what standing still is costing you — and what your marketing should really be returning.
Put in a couple of numbers and see the revenue you're leaving on the table each month growth stays stuck — and what that adds up to over a year. Move the sliders to see the picture.
Your numbers
A {{ upliftLabel }} lift is well within range when marketing, sales and the numbers are run as one accountable engine — but move the slider to whatever feels realistic to you.
The cost of inaction
Revenue left on the table over 12 months
Every month growth stays stuck is about {{ perMonth }} in revenue you're not capturing.
That upside is roughly {{ ratio }}× your current monthly marketing spend.
Indicative estimate only. A guide to size the opportunity — not a guarantee of results.
Illustrative only — based on the numbers you enter and the uplift you select. It's a way to size the opportunity, not a guarantee of results.
Why It Adds Up
The growth you don't capture this month doesn't roll over — it's simply gone, every month you wait.
Budget keeps going out on activity nobody's tying back to revenue — cost without the return.
While you hold, the competitors who are moving take the customers, rankings and share you didn't.
The longer it's left, the more it costs to catch up — momentum is cheaper to build than to rebuild.
What Your Spend Should Return
Enter your monthly marketing spend and compare it against the industry-average return for digital marketing.
Digital marketing averages around 5:1 across channels — often higher for email and SEO, lower for early brand-building. Set it to the benchmark for your mix.
Based on widely-cited industry benchmarks (e.g. HubSpot and WordStream marketing reports; the DMA/Litmus cite email ROI at roughly $36 per $1). A guide only — always validate against your own data.
Expected return
What that spend should bring back each month
At {{ roiLabel }}, every $1 you invest should come back as about ${{ roi }}. If your spend isn't returning that, the gap is exactly what we're built to close.
Indicative only. An industry benchmark — not a guaranteed return.
Pressure-test my spendROI benchmarks vary widely by channel, offer and maturity — use this to sense-check your spend, not as a guaranteed return.
Know Your Customer Economics
Two quick calculators — what a customer is worth over their lifetime, and what one costs you to win. The gap between them is your room to grow.
Calculator 1
Lifetime value
{{ ltvWorking }}
Calculator 2
Cost to acquire one
{{ cacWorking }}
Value vs cost · {{ ltvcac }}
Each customer is worth about {{ ltv }}, so you can comfortably invest up to {{ maxCac }} to win one. That headroom is what funds growth.
Indicative only — a simple model to know your numbers, not a guarantee.
Marketing & Leadership Budget
Enter your annual revenue and pick your stage — against Australian benchmarks, not global averages.
Australian benchmarks — see the full breakdown and sourcing on our Marketing Benchmarks page.
Recommended marketing budget
Per month, at {{ pctLow }}–{{ pctHigh }} of revenue
This is estimated to be the appropriate spend on digital marketing services, as well as execution and strategic oversight.
Australian benchmarks only — don't rely on this alone. These ranges are drawn from published Australian marketing-spend research, not your business. They're a starting point for a conversation, not a quote or a guarantee — every engagement is scoped to your actual numbers, margin and goals.
Industry Benchmarks
The most commonly cited benchmark for digital marketing is $5 returned for every $1 spent. But that average hides enormous variation between channels — so here is what the published research actually says, channel by channel, with sources.
| Channel | Typical return per $1 | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Email & automation | $36–$42 | The highest-returning channel in every major study, because you already own the audience. Requires a list and something worth sending. |
| SEO & organic search | $8–$12 | Compounds over 18 months or more, and keeps returning after you stop paying. Slow to start, hardest to take away from you. |
| Google Ads & paid search | $2–$8 | Fast and predictable, but it stops the moment you pause spend. The spread is almost entirely account quality. |
| Paid social | $2–$5 | Strong for demand creation and retargeting; creative quality moves the number more than budget does. |
| Blended digital marketing | ≈ $5 | The figure most often quoted as "good". A sensible planning assumption for a mixed programme. |
Email figures are the widely-reported Litmus State of Email range. Paid search and social ranges are drawn from published 2025–2026 industry benchmark reports, including Google's own advertiser analysis at the upper end. SEO ranges reflect multi-year compounding studies.
A well-run Google Ads account at 8:1 and a poorly run one at 1:1 are both "Google Ads". Execution quality, margin, offer and customer lifetime value move the result far more than channel choice does.
We set your target against the benchmark for your mix, baseline where you are today, then report against it monthly. If we're below benchmark, you'll hear it from us first.
Important: these are third-party industry averages, not a promise of your result. We don't guarantee a return, because too much of it depends on your margin, your offer, your market and your sales follow-up. What we do guarantee is that everything is measured, baselined and reported honestly — so you always know what your money is doing. Your own numbers, once we have them, always beat an industry average.
Book a call and we'll show you exactly where that revenue is leaking — and the plan to capture it.
Book a Strategy Call