Anna Anderson of A-Squared Marketing says contractors need greater marketing transparency to understand what every dollar produces in leads and revenue. Tracking lead sources, cost per lead and return on investment can help contractors identify underperforming channels and make smarter marketing decisions.

Anderson said many contractors have a marketing plan, are spending money across several channels and may even receive regular reports from their marketing partners. What they often lack is a clear connection between that activity and actual leads and revenue.

“They don't have true clarity and they're running blind,” Anderson said.

That becomes particularly concerning when business slows, leads become more expensive or contractors begin looking for ways to make their marketing dollars work harder.

Every Marketing Dollar Has a Job

Contractors may be investing in Google, their Google Business Profile, directories, Facebook, Instagram and other digital channels. Anderson's point is that they should know what those investments produce.

“Every dollar has a name,” she said.

At the end of the month, contractors should be able to identify where leads originated and what return those channels generated. That information becomes particularly important when a company is trying to expand or responding to a slower market.

The problem, Anderson said, is that marketing reports can emphasize what she calls “vanity metrics,” including impressions, clicks and follower counts. Those numbers can have value, but they don't necessarily tell a contractor whether a qualified lead came in, a project resulted from it or revenue was generated. 

Instead, contractors should be able to connect marketing activity to leads, jobs and ultimately revenue.

“This isn't just noise,” Anderson said. “This is traction with our marketing.”

And those dollars can add up quickly. Anderson said companies she is seeing are investing between 5 percent and 10 percent of annual revenue into marketing. With that level of investment, contractors should have a strategy behind their spending and understand what they're getting in return.

Don't Get Stuck

Anderson said she's heard contractors point to familiar challenges when marketing results aren't meeting expectations: the market is down, business is flat or other outside conditions have changed.

Those challenges may be real, but contractors still have payroll, overhead and other expenses to cover.

“How long can you bleed money into marketing and not see traction?” Anderson asked.

Her recommendation is to stop accepting a lack of visibility and start demanding the information necessary to make strategic decisions.

She offered the example of a contractor she began speaking with in 2025. The contractor had multiple marketing partners working independently and was receiving plenty of data but wasn't seeing the results he expected.

The strategy changed by focusing first on revenue, lead sources, conversions and profit margins. Underperforming lead sources were trimmed and the marketing effort became more coordinated.

According to Anderson, the contractor later told her his business had grown four times more than he had anticipated. There wasn't one major project that transformed the company. Instead, he attributed the improvement to having a plan and knowing where to invest based on where his leads were coming from.

Three Questions Contractors Should Ask

How can wall and ceiling contractors determine whether their marketing partners are providing enough transparency?

Anderson recommends starting with three questions:

1. Can you show me what my marketing spend produced this month?
2. What is my cost per lead, and how is it trending?
3. What is your plan to improve next month?

The questions are straightforward, but Anderson said the answers can tell contractors a great deal about whether their marketing strategy is producing measurable results.

Cost per lead deserves particular attention. Anderson said she is seeing Google cost-per-lead increases of 30 percent to 35 percent based on a national average. That makes it increasingly important for contractors to understand where their marketing dollars are going and what they're getting in return.

Contractors also shouldn't be afraid to press their marketing agencies or internal teams for answers.

Anderson recalled that the contractor in her earlier example asked those same questions of his previous agency. The agency struggled to provide answers and suggested results could require another 18 months.

The contractor couldn't wait that long. He needed traction within three to six months.

What Contractors Can Do Now

Anderson's advice doesn't require buying new software or immediately rebuilding an entire marketing strategy.

Start by asking the three questions.

Then write down the answers.

Contractors should determine whether those answers give them confidence in their current strategy and provide a clear path forward. That means understanding what's working, what's not and what changes will be made next.

“If you feel like it's uncomfortable to ask those questions,” Anderson said, “the reality is it's even more uncomfortable to have those challenging conversations when you don't have revenue coming in.”

For wall and ceiling contractors dealing with tight margins, labor costs and an increasingly competitive construction market, marketing transparency ultimately comes down to knowing what you're paying for and what it's producing.