{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"Success Beyond The Brush","title":"SBTB Ep. 16 | How Much Should Contractors Really Spend on Marketing?","html":"<iframe width=\"100%\" height=\"180\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" seamless src=\"https://share.transistor.fm/e/57599f22\"></iframe>","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2137,"description":"Spring brings more than warmer weather for painting contractors — it also brings a flood of marketing pitches, lead generation promises, and pressure to spend money fast.In this episode of Success Beyond The Brush, Mark Black and Scott Lawler break down how contractors should think about marketing spend, where most owners go wrong, and how to actually measure whether marketing is producing results.Scott explains why mature companies often spend far less on marketing than newer businesses, how past customers and referral databases can become your most profitable lead source, and why many contractors are making emotional marketing decisions instead of data-driven ones.They also unpack the difference between cost per lead and cost per acquisition, why that distinction matters, and how contractors can build a marketing plan that supports growth without burning cash.If you’ve ever thrown money at Google, Facebook, magazines, billboards, or a marketing company and hoped it would solve your pipeline problems, this episode will help you approach marketing with much more clarity and control.In this episode, Mark and Scott discuss: Why contractors need a real marketing budget instead of guessing  A practical marketing spend range for most painting companies  Why many mature companies spend far less because they mine their database well  How newsletters and client databases can become high-ROI marketing assets  Why Google and Facebook leads are not created equal  The difference between branding and true lead generation  Why cost per acquisition matters more than clicks, impressions, or vague reports  How to hold marketing agencies accountable without treating them like adversaries  Why consistency in marketing activity matters more than dabbling in everything  The key reports and metrics owners should review every month Key takeawayMarketing should never be treated like a vending machine. Contractors need to know how many leads they actually need, what those leads are...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/pdEIPdN9aIYAPyzyMbtjCAiKcSsD7VyQq1yYVVylzns/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS85YzFh/YTc4MTAyNWY2NzFl/NWUzZjc2MGNjYjc4/ZjEzMi5wbmc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}