What is the difference between cost per lead and cost to acquire a customer?
Cost per lead describes what it costs to generate inquiries; customer acquisition cost describes what it costs to win new customers. Strata Modus would examine both alongside job fit and available capacity, because inexpensive inquiries can still consume estimating time or arrive when you cannot take the work.
Use each measure for a different decision
| Measure | What belongs in the review |
|---|---|
| Media cost per lead | Platform spend divided by attributable inquiries, with duplicate contacts removed |
| Cost per qualified opportunity | Defined acquisition costs divided by requests meeting the agreed qualification criteria |
| Customer acquisition cost | Defined marketing and sales costs divided by new customers won under the attribution method |
| Contribution after acquisition | Job contribution considered alongside the cost of winning and fulfilling that work |
Explain why suitable inquiries did not become customers
A good request may be lost because your lead time is too long, the estimator never sent a quote or the scope is a poor fit for your crew. Combining those cases into one conversion rate hides the decision you need to make. Costs also need a consistent boundary: a media-only figure and a figure including management and sales time answer different questions.
We would connect available source and sales records so campaign reviews can distinguish demand quality from a capacity or follow-up problem. Sales cycles crossing reporting periods and unknown sources should remain visible.
Keep overflow separate
A customer-approved introduction to an independent partner is a referral outcome, not a new customer acquired by your business. Any compensation and handling costs need their own agreement and records. That separation helps decide whether to reduce paid demand, improve the sales process or fund backup capacity without disguising referrals as booked revenue.