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Free audit
Marketing Audit & Gap Analysis for Contractors
Before you spend another dollar, find out where your current spend is going, and where it should go. We audit everything and show you exactly what’s broken, what’s working, and what’s missing.
The data
The numbers
Source: Capstone client audits and home-services industry benchmarks.
If you’re guessing, you’re wasting money. An audit replaces guessing with knowing.
The Problem
You Don’t Know What You Don’t Know
Most contractors are spending money on marketing. Few can prove it’s working. Answer these without guessing:
Question 01
Cost per Lead by Channel
What’s your cost per lead by channel?
Question 02
Cost per Booked Job by Channel
What’s your cost per booked job by channel?
Question 03
Double Down or Cut
Which activities should you double down on, and which should you cut?
Question 04
Vendor Delivery
Are your vendors actually delivering what they promised?
Question 05
Missed Opportunities
Where are the biggest opportunities you’re walking past?
What We Examine
Every Angle of Your Marketing Operation
A real audit looks past the dashboards your vendors hand you. We evaluate strategy, channels, vendors, intake, tracking, and competitive position: the whole operation.
Angle 01
Channel Performance
Cost per lead and cost per booked job by channel: which deserve more budget, less, or none.
Angle 02
Vendor Effectiveness
Are your agencies hitting clear KPIs, or just sending reports? You’ll see who earns their retainer.
Angle 03
Intake & Conversion
Speed to lead, booking rate, and exactly where the leads you paid for are leaking out.
Angle 04
Tracking & Attribution
Can you trace a lead from source to closed job? If not, every decision is built on bad data.
Angle 05
Competitive Position
How you stack up against the top three to five competitors, and the gaps you can take.
Angle 06
Strategy & Positioning
Whether you have a real strategy or a pile of tactics, and whether you’re aiming at the right customers.
You can’t fix what you haven’t measured, and most contractors have never measured this.
Service Register
A Deep Audit, Not a Surface Review
Eight deliverables that dig into every part of your marketing and tell you what to do about each.
Spec 01
Lead Source Audit
We trace every lead back to its true source and calculate real cost per lead by channel: what the data shows, not what vendors claim.
Spec 02
Intake Audit
We mystery-shop your phones, test web-form response time, and review call recordings to find where leads slip away. Pairs with intake & lead conversion.
Spec 03
Vendor Scorecard
Every marketing vendor graded against clear KPIs. You see who’s delivering, who’s underperforming, and who should be replaced.
Spec 04
Channel ROI Analysis
Cost per booked job by channel, the metric that actually matters, so you know where to invest and where to cut.
Spec 05
Tracking & Attribution Review
We audit your analytics, call tracking, and CRM so you’re capturing data correctly and deciding on truth, not hunches.
Spec 06
Competitive Gap Analysis
A breakdown of your top three to five competitors: positioning, channels, share of voice, and the openings you can exploit.
Spec 07
Website & SEO Snapshot
Technical health, local SEO foundation, and conversion potential. Quick wins often hide here. Tied to technical SEO.
Spec 08
Prioritized Action Plan
Not just what’s wrong, but what to do first. Every recommendation ranked by impact and effort so you know exactly where to start.
Investment
What the audit costs
The audit is free. It is how we scope an engagement and work out what to prioritise, and you keep the findings whether or not you hire us.
Everything it feeds into is priced in the open. Fractional CMO pricing is published in full, one number per tier.
The Process
How the Audit Works
A systematic look at your marketing from every angle: two to three weeks from kickoff to recommendations.
01 · Week 1 · Discovery & Data Collection
Kickoff on goals and history, then access to analytics, ad accounts, your CRM, vendor contracts, call recordings, and spend-vs-revenue numbers.
02 · Week 2 · Analysis & Evaluation
Lead-source audit, channel ROI, mystery-shop intake testing, vendor review, attribution check, competitive analysis, and a technical site review.
03 · Week 3 · Report & Recommendations
A 90-minute working session to walk the findings, the budget reallocation, keep/improve/replace calls on vendors, and clear next steps, whether you work with us or not.
What Clients Do With It
An Audit in Action, Six Months Later
Cut Underperforming Direct Mail
Action taken · saved
Reallocated Budget to Local Services Ads
Action taken · more booked jobs, same spend
Fixed Intake Response Time
Booking rate 52% before · booking rate after
Replaced Underperforming PPC Agency
Action taken · cost per lead down
Added 8 Service-Area Pages
Action taken · organic leads up
Net result: same marketing budget, 45% more booked jobs, cost per job down 22%. Outcomes vary by trade and market. This is one illustrative engagement, not a guarantee.
The Fit
Is a Marketing Audit Right for You?
Perfect for
- Contractors spending $10K+/month on marketing who aren’t sure what’s working.
- Businesses grown on referrals that want to build a real marketing engine.
- Owners who feel like they’re “doing marketing” but can’t connect it to revenue.
- Companies about to increase spend who want to invest wisely.
- Teams frustrated with vendors but unsure if it’s the vendor or the strategy.
Not right for
- Startups with no marketing history or spend. There’s nothing yet to audit.
- Owners who want someone to just “run it” without a diagnosis first.
- Contractors unwilling to share financials or account access.
- Anyone who wants validation instead of the truth. We’ll tell you what’s broken.
Questions
Questions Contractors Ask
What do I need to provide for the audit?
Access to Google Analytics and Search Console, your ad accounts, CRM or lead tracking, call tracking if you have it, vendor contracts and recent reports, and basic financials: spend by channel and revenue. Plus two to three hours of interviews with you and key team members.
Will you tell me things I don’t want to hear?
Probably, and that’s the point. We’re not here to validate your current approach, we’re here to find the truth. If something’s working, we’ll say so. If something’s wasting money, we’ll say that too. The audit is only valuable if it’s honest.
Do I have to hire you after the audit?
No. The audit is a standalone deliverable. Many clients take the findings and execute with their own team or existing vendors. Others continue with us for ongoing support. There’s no obligation either way.
How is this different from a free “marketing assessment”?
Most free assessments are surface-level reviews built to sell you something. This one is 40 to 60 hours of senior-level work with specific findings and a prioritized plan. It is free because it is how we decide whether we can help you, and you keep it either way.
Can you audit if I’m already working with agencies?
Yes, and that’s common. We evaluate your agencies’ performance objectively against real KPIs. If they’re doing great, you’ll know. If they’re underperforming, you’ll see the data. Either way you get clarity.
What if the audit shows I don’t need much help?
Then you’ll have confidence in your current approach and a short list of things to monitor. Not every audit uncovers major problems. Some clients are doing better than they thought. That peace of mind is valuable too.
Start Here
Request Your Marketing Audit
Tell us where things stand. Austin reads every one of these personally and replies within one business day with next steps and a scope.
Written by Austin Rohleder, founder of Capstone Marketing Group.
Find Out What’s Really Going On
Get a comprehensive audit of your marketing: what’s working, what’s wasting money, and where the opportunities are hiding. No fluff. No sales pitch in disguise. Just the truth about your marketing, and what to do about it.
Or call (419) 575-9023