CAC

What it really costs to win one customer.

Customer acquisition cost is the number every GTM leader gets judged on. Knowing what goes in it, and what people conveniently leave out, matters as much as the division.

The move

CAC = total sales & marketing cost ÷ new customers in the same period. "Fully loaded" means salaries and tools too, not just ad spend.

Worked example

$30k ads + $50k salaries + $10k tools, 45 new customers

  1. Total = $90,000
  2. $90,000 ÷ 45 = $2,000 CAC
  • Blended CAC (all customers) looks better than paid CAC (only customers paid channels brought in). Know which one you’re looking at.
  • ÷ 45 is hard; ÷ 9 then ÷ 5 is easy. Factor the divisor.