chadjardine Unit Economics — Zero Square
The first exercise in the strategy sprint. Connects the client's growth goal directly to a required marketing investment using three numbers and two calculations. The math does the persuasion — the facilitator's job is to keep it simple and let the numbers land.
Purpose: Establish the revenue target and the spend number before any other work begins. These two numbers stay on the board for the entire sprint.
Tone: Facilitative, direct, unhurried. Let the client sit with the math. Precision: Directional accuracy is the goal — not precision. Estimates serve the same purpose as exact numbers here.
The Two Calculations
Everything in this exercise reduces to these:
Growth Goal ($) ÷ Average Customer Value ($) = Customers Needed
Customers Needed × Customer Acquisition Cost ($) = Marketing Budget Required
Write both on the whiteboard. Leave them there.
Facilitation Flow
Step 1 — Growth Goal
Ask:
"How much do you want to grow over the next 12 months? Give me a dollar number."
- Frame it as an increment, not a total: "We're doing $5M — we want to do $6M" → Growth goal is $1M.
- If they answer in percentages, convert: "20% growth on $5M is $1M — so your goal is $1M in new revenue. Does that sound right?"
- Write the growth goal on the board. This number anchors everything.
Step 2 — Average Customer Value (ACV)
Ask:
"What's a customer worth to you on average — annually, or over the life of the relationship?"
If they know it: Take the number and move on.
If they don't know it: Back into it collaboratively. The approach varies by business type — use judgment:
- B2B / ongoing relationships: "Look at your last 5–10 clients. What did the average engagement look like? First year value? Do they renew?"
- B2C / repeat purchases: "What does a customer spend in a year? How often do they come back?"
- One-and-done purchases: "What's the average transaction value? Do you get referrals from customers — is there downstream value?"
The goal is a defensible working number, not a precise figure. A reasonable estimate moves the conversation forward just as well as an exact one.
Write ACV on the board.
Step 3 — First Calculation
Do the math live:
Growth Goal ÷ ACV = Customers Needed
Example: $1,000,000 ÷ $25,000 = 40 customers
Say it plainly:
"To hit your growth goal, you need [X] new customers."
Let that land before moving on.
Step 4 — Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)
Ask:
"What does it cost you to acquire a customer — from first awareness to closed sale?"
If they know it: Take the number and move on.
If they don't know it: Back into it from what they do know:
- Top-down approach: "What did you spend on marketing and sales in the last 6–12 months? How many new customers did you close in that period? Divide spend by customers."
- If spend is unclear: "What are your rough margins? What do you feel like you're spending to get someone in the door?"
- Reminder for the facilitator: We are not calculating fully-loaded CAC (labor, tools, overhead) at this stage. Total marketing and sales spend divided by new customers is sufficient. Precision is less important than directional accuracy.
Write CAC on the board.
Step 5 — Second Calculation
Do the math live:
Customers Needed × CAC = Marketing Budget Required
Example: 40 customers × $5,000 CAC = $200,000
Say it plainly:
"To acquire those [X] customers, you need to spend approximately $[Y] on marketing."
Pause. Let the number land.
Step 6 — The Three Levers
Once the budget number is on the board, introduce the three levers framework before moving to the budget conversation. This reframes the sprint from "how do we spend money" to "how do we grow revenue" — and opens up options the client may not have considered.
Say:
"Before we talk about whether this budget is right, let's look at the bigger picture. There are only three ways to grow revenue. Three levers. That's it."
Write them on the board:
1. Increase New Customers
2. Increase Average Ticket
3. Increase Frequency of Purchase
Continue:
"Everything we do in marketing touches one or more of these three levers. The math we just did is focused on Lever 1 — new customers. But depending on your business, Levers 2 and 3 may be faster, cheaper, or more powerful."
Walk through each briefly:
Lever 1 — New Customers: Acquiring net-new buyers. This is what most marketing budgets are focused on. Highest cost, longest cycle, most competitive.
Lever 2 — Average Ticket: Getting existing or new customers to spend more per transaction. Upsells, cross-sells, premium tiers, bundles. Often the fastest path to revenue growth — no new customer required.
Lever 3 — Frequency of Purchase: Getting existing customers to buy more often. Retention, reactivation, subscription models, loyalty. The compounding lever — small increases in frequency create significant revenue lift over time.
Ask:
"Looking at your business right now — which of these three levers is most underutilized? Where is the biggest gap between what you're doing and what's possible?"
This is not a detour from the sprint — it's a calibration. The budget number was calculated assuming Lever 1 does all the work. If Levers 2 or 3 can carry some of the load, the required marketing spend comes down, the CAC math changes, or the growth goal becomes more achievable.
Note which levers the client wants to prioritize. These inform channel strategy (Lever 1 needs acquisition channels; Levers 2 and 3 need retention and nurture channels) and will resurface in the During and After squares.
Step 7 — The Conversation
This is where the exercise does its real work. Two questions:
Question 1:
"Is that a number you can spend?"
Three possible responses:
- Yes → Good. The goal and the budget are aligned. Move forward.
- No → Two options: find ways to reduce CAC, or reset the growth goal to match what they can actually spend. Do the math in reverse: "If you can spend $X, and your CAC is $Y, you can acquire Z customers — that gets you to $[revised goal]."
- We don't know → That's a signal the business needs better tracking before the sprint's recommendations will land. Note it. Move forward with the working estimates.
Question 2 (if needed):
"Should we reset the goal, or find ways to bring the cost of acquisition down?"
This is not a trick question. Both are valid answers. The point is that the math makes the trade-off visible — the client chooses with eyes open.
Step 8 — Lock the Numbers
Once the conversation settles, confirm and write clearly on the board:
Revenue Target: $[growth goal]
Customers Needed: [X]
Marketing Budget: $[required spend]
Primary Lever(s): [New Customers / Average Ticket / Frequency — or combination]
These stay visible for the entire sprint. Every channel decision, campaign idea, and budget conversation that follows is anchored to them.
Transition to Mindset
The math creates the conditions for commitment. The client has seen — in their own numbers — what it takes to hit their goal. That's the foundation for the Mindset section that follows: asking the client to sign onto the investment perspective, the time horizon, and the discipline required to execute.
Facilitator Notes
- Keep the math visible and simple. Two calculations, three inputs. Do not add complexity unless the client asks for it.
- Estimates are fine. A client who estimates $5,000 CAC and later discovers it's $6,200 has still had the right conversation. Directional accuracy is the goal.
- The silence after the budget number matters. Don't rush to explain or soften it. Let the client process. The math is doing the work.
- B2B vs. B2C matters for ACV estimation, not for the exercise itself. The two calculations are universal — only the inputs vary.
- This is not a financial audit. If the client wants to go deeper on CAC components, margins, or LTV, that's a valid follow-on conversation — but not during the sprint.