The formula
CAC = (total marketing spend + sales labor) ÷ new customers closed
For a permanent lighting business, the inputs are typically:
- Marketing spend: mailed design quote costs, ad spend, listing fees, lead-source software costs.
- Sales labor: the cost of any time spent quoting, calling back, or running estimates (yours or staff's).
- New customers closed: deposit-paid installs that resulted from the spend in that period.
Why CAC matters more than ROI
Most installers track ROI on their marketing — a headline percentage like "Facebook ads return 4:1" or "mailed design quotes return $32 per $1." ROI is a useful summary but it hides operational details. CAC tells you the actual operational cost per customer, which lets you:
- Forecast hiring. If CAC is $300 and average install gross profit is $3,000, each install can support real crew hiring.
- Predict cash flow. 50 closes/month × $300 CAC = $15K monthly marketing spend. Real budget numbers, not vibes.
- Decide channel scaling. A channel with a $300 CAC at small volume might have a $600 CAC when you 4x the spend. CAC at scale is the metric that determines whether to scale.
Typical CAC ranges by channel for permanent lighting
| Channel | Typical CAC | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Mailed design quotes (Light Launch) | $200–$400 | Industry-leading CAC; deposit-paid leads |
| Door-knocking (cold) | $300–$600 | Caps quickly with crew time |
| Google ads (bottom-funnel) | $200–$400 | Low volume in most markets |
| Facebook ads (retargeting only) | $50–$150 | Only works on warm audiences |
| Facebook ads (cold) | $500–$1,200 | Channel-product mismatch |
| Referrals | $0 direct cost | Compounds over years; not predictable in year 1 |
The CAC-to-revenue rule of thumb
For high-ticket home services, a sustainable CAC is typically 5–10% of average install revenue. On a $7,000 average install, a healthy CAC is $350–$700.
Mailed design quotes through Light Launch consistently come in under that range, which is why installers running the channel see net margins meaningfully higher than installers running Facebook ads for cold acquisition.
How to lower your CAC
- Switch from cold ads to mailed design quotes. The single largest CAC lever for permanent lighting installers.
- Pre-collect deposits at quote stage. Eliminates no-shows that effectively triple CAC on lost deals.
- Cluster installs geographically. Same-block neighbor follow-ups have 2–4× conversion vs cold neighborhood mailings — lower CAC per closed install.
- Compound on referrals. Every install is a future referral seed; review collection makes the seed germinate.
The channel that brings CAC under $400.
Free account, free rendering, $1 per mailed design quote. Average return: $32 per $1 spent.
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