You keep paying more for leads, you feel like marketing is getting worse, and you start tightening the screws on your ad spend.
But the real problem is: you are measuring the wrong thing.
If you run a plumbing business (or any reactive trade), it’s easy to fall into the CPA (cost-per-acquisition) trap.
You watch cost per acquisition like a hawk, you judge campaigns month to month, and you make decisions based on what looks cheapest right now.
The catch is that this mindset can quietly kill your growth because plumbing is not a one-and-done industry.
It’s built for repeat work, emergency callouts, and referrals, which means the real game is not CPA; it’s LTV (lifetime value).
In Episode 490 of The Site Shed Podcast, Matt sits down with Scott Irwin from Network Plumbing in Sydney to break down why tradies who play the long game win more profit with less stress.
Scott has been building service businesses since 1987, and his perspective is blunt:
If you rely on churn and burn, you will always be dependent on marketing platforms, and your marketing spend creeps up until it hurts.
What CPA gets wrong in a plumbing business
CPA (cost per acquisition) tells you what it costs to get a new customer today. While this information is important, it does not provide a complete picture.
The best customers are usually more expensive to acquire in a reactive trade.
They are the ones who call you again next time, trust you enough to approve bigger work, refer their friends and family, and stick with you for years.
If you only look at CPA, you start making short-term decisions like turning ads off when leads rise, chasing bargain platforms, or discounting to win jobs.
The problem is those moves often attract price shoppers and train your business to win work you do not actually want.
Scott’s point is simple: plumbers should aim to create long-term customers, not one-time transactions.
When you do that, you reduce your dependence on constant lead acquisition, and you build a business that can handle market swings without panicking.
The churn and burn trap that keeps tradies stuck
When you treat every job like a one-off, you become addicted to new leads.
And when you become addicted to new leads, you end up living at the mercy of ad costs, competition, and whatever the algorithm decides this month.
That is why some trade businesses end up spending a scary percentage of revenue on marketing just to stay afloat.
Even if the phone rings, the profit can disappear because the business has no compounding effect from existing customers.
The alternative is building a system that turns your current customers into future revenue.
The LTV mindset shift that changes your marketing overnight
LTV (lifetime value) is what a customer is worth across the entire relationship.
For plumbers, LTV can be huge because problems come back. Pipes leak again. Hot water systems fail. Renovations happen. A customer moves house, their neighbour asks who they use.
That is why Scott pushes the long game.
When you build LTV properly, your marketing becomes less stressful because you are not constantly starting from zero.
You can afford to pay more to acquire the right customer, and you get steadier work without relying on one platform.
The simple follow-up system most plumbers skip
Scott talks about a straightforward practice that most businesses claim they do, but very few do consistently: the happy call.
A quick follow-up call after the job does a few powerful things:
- it shows the customer you care
- It helps identify issues before they escalate into complaints
- it reinforces that you are the kind of business worth calling again
- it sets you up for reviews and referrals without feeling pushy
Scott also talks about staying top of mind over time, not just right after the job. The idea is a simple cadence of touchpoints so customers do not forget you exist when the next issue hits.
This is not complicated marketing. It is consistency.
The service standards that create repeat work and referrals
Here is the part many tradies underestimate: people remember how you made them feel in their home.
Things like manners, appearance, cleanliness, and respect for property are important to Scott because they help people trust you quickly.
Not because it’s not important; it’s because it directly affects how likely customers are to come back and tell their friends about you.
This is why he intentionally trains soft skills, not as a mere afterthought.
Eye contact. Handshake.
How to explain the work.
How to collect payment properly.
How to handle a callback without drama.
These are all part of delivering a premium service experience.
And in reactive trades, Scott says urgency matters too. When someone has a problem, the standout is the business that treats it like it matters.
what to do instead of obsessing over CPA
- Track lifetime value, not just the first invoice, and make decisions based on what a customer is worth over years
- Follow up after every job, consistently, with a happy call or message to lock in trust
- Build a simple cadence to stay top of mind every few months so you are the first call next time
- Train the soft skills (manners, communication, payment process, reviews) like they are real skills, because they are
- Lead with urgency, especially in reactive work, because speed and responsiveness win the job and the relationship
your next move as a plumber
If you only chase cheap leads, you will keep building a business that needs cheap leads to survive.
If you build lifetime value, you create a business that gets stronger every month because customers come back and bring others with them.
You do not need a bigger ad budget.
You need a better customer value system, and the best part is you can start with what you already have.
Pick one follow-up action above, make it non-negotiable, and watch how quickly your marketing feels cheaper when customers start returning without you paying for them twice.
📚 Resources from this Episode
Get in touch with Scott Irwin:
Website: https://networkplumbing.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/networkplumbing
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/networktradies_/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/network-plumbing/
Scott’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/scott-irwin-5b413a31/
Related Episodes:
Episode 439 with Scott Irwin (Network Plumbing journey)
Episode 440 with Scott Irwin (Designing your ideal life)
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