Local Business Marketing Playbook: Set Up Your Customer Acquisition Baseline

What “Customer Acquisition Baseline” Means (and Why It Matters)

A customer acquisition baseline is your starting scoreboard: the specific actions you want local customers to take (calls, bookings, direction requests, form leads) and the numbers you record every week to see whether marketing is improving. Without a baseline, you can’t tell if a new ad, profile update, or promotion is working—you only have opinions. With a baseline, you can make small changes and measure impact.

In local marketing, “growth” usually means more qualified contacts and more completed appointments/visits. Your baseline connects business goals (revenue) to measurable actions (calls, bookings, direction requests, form submissions) so you can manage performance with simple weekly checks.

1) Identify Primary Services and Service Area Boundaries

Step 1: List your primary services (the ones you want more of)

Write 3–7 services that drive the most profit or best customers. Keep them specific enough that a customer would search for them.

• Examples (home services): “water heater replacement,” “drain cleaning,” “AC tune-up,” “furnace repair.”
• Examples (health/beauty): “deep tissue massage,” “hair color correction,” “teeth whitening,” “sports physical therapy.”
• Examples (professional services): “estate planning consultation,” “tax prep for small business,” “immigration consult.”

Step 2: Define your service area boundaries (where you will and won’t serve)

Local marketing performs best when you’re clear about geography. Define boundaries you can operationally support (travel time, staffing, scheduling, delivery radius).

• Service-area businesses: define a radius (e.g., 10 miles) or a list of cities/ZIP codes you actually serve.
• Storefront businesses: define your realistic draw area (e.g., 3–5 miles urban, 10–20 miles suburban/rural) and note any “destination” factors (specialty, unique inventory).

Step 3: Create a simple “Service x Area” clarity sheet

Make a one-page internal reference so your marketing and your team stay aligned.

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This sheet prevents wasted leads (calls from outside your area) and helps you choose the right conversion path in the next step.

2) Choose One Main Conversion Path and One Secondary Path

A conversion path is the primary way a customer becomes a lead. Local businesses often offer too many options at once (call, text, email, multiple forms, multiple booking links), which splits attention and makes tracking messy. Choose one main path to optimize and measure, and one secondary path for customers who prefer a different method.

Pick your main conversion path

• Main path: Phone call (best for urgent services, high-ticket quotes, complex questions).
• Main path: Online booking (best for standardized services, appointment-based businesses).
• Main path: In-person visit (best for retail, restaurants, walk-in services; measured via direction requests and visit intent).

Pick your secondary conversion path

Your secondary path catches customers who won’t use the main one.

• If your main path is calls, your secondary might be website form or booking.
• If your main path is booking, your secondary might be calls (for questions) or form (for special requests).
• If your main path is visit, your secondary might be calls (inventory checks) or booking (reservations).

Decision checklist (keep it simple)

• Speed matters? Choose calls as main.
• Customers compare options and need reassurance? Calls as main, form as secondary.
• High volume, repeatable service? Booking as main.
• Walk-in heavy? Visit as main, calls as secondary.

Write your “Conversion Policy” in one sentence

Examples:

• Plumber: “Main conversion is phone calls; secondary is website form for non-urgent requests.”
• Massage clinic: “Main conversion is online booking; secondary is phone calls for questions and same-day availability.”
• Retail store: “Main conversion is in-store visits; secondary is phone calls for inventory checks.”

3) Set Up Basic Tracking (So You Know What’s Working)

Tracking should be accurate, lightweight, and consistent. The goal is not perfect attribution; it’s reliable trend data you can act on weekly.

3.1 Call tracking number policy (when to use vs. not)

Call tracking uses a dedicated phone number to measure which channel generated the call. The key is to use it in a way that doesn’t confuse customers or damage consistency.

When to use a call tracking number

• Paid ads (search ads, local service ads, social ads) where you want clear lead counts.
• Website using dynamic number insertion (DNI) so the number changes based on traffic source.
• Specific campaigns (postcards, flyers, sponsorships) where you need a clean read on response.

When NOT to use a call tracking number

• Your core business identity number that customers already know and that appears on signage, vehicles, invoices, and long-term assets.
• Places where consistency is critical for customer recognition and operational simplicity (e.g., staff scripts, voicemail, long-standing listings you can’t control).

Practical policy you can adopt

• One “main” business number stays constant everywhere operational.
• One tracking number per major channel (e.g., Ads, Website) that forwards to the main number.
• Always forward tracking numbers to the main line so staff answer normally.
• Record the source at the tracking provider level and in your lead log (see below).

3.2 UTM parameters for profile links and ads

UTM parameters are tags added to URLs so analytics tools can identify where clicks came from. Use UTMs for any link you control, especially profile links and ads.

UTM naming rules (keep consistent)

• utm_source: platform (e.g., google, facebook, yelp)
• utm_medium: type (e.g., organic, cpc, profile, referral)
• utm_campaign: initiative (e.g., spring_special, brand, water_heater)
• utm_content (optional): button or creative (e.g., call_button, appointment_button)

Example UTM links

Use a spreadsheet to generate and store these so you don’t reinvent them.

https://example.com/contact?utm_source=google&utm_medium=profile&utm_campaign=gbp_contact

https://example.com/book?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=water_heater&utm_content=search_ad_1

Where to apply UTMs

• Business profile website link (so you can separate profile traffic from other organic traffic).
• Appointment/booking link (so bookings can be tied back to the source).
• Ad final URLs (every campaign/ad group should have a consistent UTM pattern).

3.3 Form tracking (website leads)

If your secondary path includes a form, you need two things: (1) a reliable way to count submissions, and (2) a way to contact the lead quickly.

Minimum form tracking setup

• One primary form (avoid multiple “contact us” forms that fragment tracking).
• Thank-you page or success event so submissions can be counted.
• Auto-email notification to your team plus a copy to the customer (sets expectations).
• Required fields: name, phone, service needed, city/ZIP, preferred time.

Lead quality guardrails

• Add a service area field (ZIP/city) to filter out-of-area leads.
• Add a service selection dropdown aligned to your primary services list.

3.4 Booking platform tracking

If your main or secondary path is booking, treat the booking link like a conversion endpoint and tag it with UTMs wherever possible.

Practical steps

• Use one canonical booking URL (one link you standardize across channels).
• Add UTMs to booking links placed on profiles and ads (if the platform preserves query parameters).
• Create booking “types” that map to your primary services (so you can see what’s being booked).
• Export weekly counts by service type if the platform supports it.

Fallback if UTMs don’t carry through

• Use separate booking links per channel (e.g., /book-google, /book-ads) that redirect to the booking platform, preserving a channel identifier.
• Or add a “How did you hear about us?” field (keep it optional and short) and validate with your lead log.

3.5 A simple lead log (the glue that makes tracking usable)

Even with tools, you need a human-readable record of leads and outcomes. A lead log can be a spreadsheet. The goal is to connect marketing actions to real business results (booked, showed, sold).

Lead log columns (minimum viable)

• Date
• Lead name
• Phone/email
• Service requested
• City/ZIP
• Source (Profile, Ads, Website organic, Referral, Other)
• Conversion path (Call, Booking, Form, Visit)
• Status (New, Contacted, Booked, Completed, Not a fit, No show)
• Notes (price range, urgency, competitor mentioned)

Example row

This log becomes your reality check when platforms disagree or when you need to know whether “more calls” actually meant “more booked jobs.”

4) Establish Baseline Metrics to Record Weekly

Choose a consistent day and time each week to record metrics. You’re looking for trends, not perfection. Record the same metrics the same way every week.

Weekly baseline metrics (core)

• Impressions: how often your listing/ad was shown.
• Actions: total interactions (if your platform reports it).
• Calls: calls from profile, ads, and tracked numbers.
• Website clicks: clicks to your site from profiles and ads.
• Direction requests: intent to visit (especially for storefronts).
• Bookings: completed bookings (not just clicks).
• Review count and rating: total reviews and average rating.

Recommended “one-sheet” weekly tracker

How to interpret early baseline data

• If impressions rise but actions don’t: your visibility improved but your offer, photos, reviews, or conversion path may be weak.
• If actions rise but bookings don’t: you may have a follow-up/scheduling bottleneck or the traffic is unqualified (service/area mismatch).
• If calls rise but quality drops: tighten service area messaging, add service qualifiers, and use the lead log to identify patterns.

5) Create a 30-Minute Weekly Routine (Update + Check Performance)

This routine is designed to be sustainable. The goal is to keep your baseline current and catch issues early (tracking breaks, sudden drops, lead quality changes).

Minute 0–5: Update your weekly tracker

• Open your weekly tracker sheet.
• Record the core metrics: impressions, actions, calls, website clicks, direction requests, bookings, review count, rating.
• Note any unusual events in a “Notes” cell (holiday hours, staff out, promo launched, website issue).

Minute 5–12: Check conversion path health

• Main path: verify it’s frictionless (phone answered, booking page loads, hours correct).
• Secondary path: submit a test form or test booking flow (once per month minimum; weekly if you’ve had issues).
• Confirm tracking numbers forward correctly and voicemail is appropriate.

Minute 12–20: Review lead log outcomes

• Count leads by source and by conversion path.
• Count how many became Booked and how many became Completed.
• Skim notes for patterns: out-of-area, wrong service, price shoppers, repeat questions.

Minute 20–27: Compare week-over-week and spot one priority

• Compare this week vs last week for calls, bookings, and direction requests.
• Pick one priority based on the biggest constraint (example: “calls up, bookings flat” → improve follow-up speed and booking availability).
• Write a single action item you can complete this week.

Minute 27–30: Set a micro-experiment for the next 7 days

Keep experiments small and measurable. Tie them to your chosen conversion paths.

• Call-focused business: update call handling script, add “answer within 3 rings” goal, or adjust ad schedule to staffed hours.
• Booking-focused business: simplify booking options to top 3 services, add more availability blocks, or shorten intake form.
• Visit-focused business: add a weekend promo, adjust hours, or improve directions/parking info on your site.

Log the experiment in your tracker notes so you can correlate changes with next week’s baseline numbers.