Is advertising with Mail Storm right for me and my business?

When investing in advertising, the most important question isn’t just “How much does it cost?” but “How much will it return?” Smart advertising should generate 5x to 10x what you spend—meaning that for every $100 spent, you should aim for $500 to $1,000 in PROFIT (not revenue) over time.

One of the best ways to measure this is by calculating your Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)—the total profit a customer brings to your business over their lifetime.

How to Use the CLV Calculator Below

The formula takes into account four key factors:

  • Average Order Value (AOV) – How much does a customer spend per visit?

  • Purchase Frequency (per month) – How often does a customer return?

  • Customer Lifespan (in months) – How long does a typical customer stay loyal?

  • Profit Margin (%) – What percentage of each sale is profit?

By knowing your CLV, you can make data-driven decisions about where to advertise and how much you can afford to spend to acquire a new customer.

Use the calculator below to estimate your CLV and see how direct mail marketing can work for your business!

No data is saved. As soon as you refresh the page or close it your numbers disappear. Go ahead and play around with it to see how you can increase your CLV.

If you want to do the calculations on your own here is the formula:

Customer Lifetime Value = (Average Order Value × Purchase Frequency × Customer Lifespan) x Profit Margin

Where:

Profit Margin = (Revenue - Costs) ÷ Revenue (as a decimal, e.g., 40% = 0.4)

Customer Lifetime Value Calculator

Estimated CLV: $0.00

How many NEW customers do I need for my Mail Storm Campaign to be a success?

This is calculated by (5 x cost of ad) / Customer Lifetime Value

Community Connection (5k Cards)

Standard Ad (300 x 5 = 1500): 0 customers

Large Ad (450 x 5 = 2250): 0 customers

Premium Ad (800 x 5 = 4000): 0 customers

Community Connection & Foodie Passport

(10k Cards)

Standard Ad (350 x 5 = 1750): 0 customers

Large Ad (600 x 5 = 3000): 0 customers

Premium Ad (1000 x 5 = 5000): 0 customers

New Mover Card

Standard Ad (100 x 5 = 500): 0 customers

Premium Ad (150 x 5 = 750): 0 customers

That’s it? I only need to pull in however many customers that calculator says and my campaign is considered a success?

Yes and No.

That number is the number of paying customers you would need. If you are a restaurant or food truck you are pretty much done and have your number of people you need to walk through the door or approach your food truck, if you are in the home service industry or give quotes before getting a job we still need to do a little more math to figure out how many responses you need to generate the number of paying customers listed above. You need to know how many responses (phone calls, texts, emails) turn into quotes. Then how many quotes turn into jobs.

This portion is really on you. Big ticket purchases (like remodeling a kitchen) will have much lower response rates than a Pizza Restaurant. How fast you respond to inquiries, your reputation, and a ton of other factors play into this. We will help make your ad easy to respond to and get it out to the community.

Additionally, once you start mailing we then KNOW what your response rate is and can make simple adjustments to help make it as high as possible.

Response-to-Customer Calculator

Estimated Responses Required

To achieve 0 customers, you need:

Quotes: 0

Total Responses: 0

What’s the Right Return On Investment (ROI) for Your Business?

Not all businesses have the same advertising goals. While a 5x ROI is a great general target, some industries can thrive with a lower return, while others should aim even higher. Remember the calculator that you used was based off PROFIT not revenue. If we calculated off just revenue you would need even less customers to hit 5x ROI.

5x ROI – The Sweet Spot for Most Local Businesses

This is the standard target for direct response advertising like direct mail, digital ads, and local promotions. A 5x return ensures that after covering costs, you’re making strong profits.

Examples of businesses that thrive at 5x ROI:

  • Home service businesses (lawn care, cleaning, pest control)

  • Restaurants & food trucks (repeat customers increase CLV)

  • Local retail shops (boutiques, specialty stores)

  • Gyms & fitness studios (memberships & recurring revenue)

3x-4x ROI – Acceptable for Repeat-Customer Businesses & Brand Building

Some businesses can afford a lower ROI if they have high customer retention, large profit margins, or need long-term brand awareness.

Examples of businesses that can work with 3x-4x ROI:

  • Dentists & chiropractors (high-value patients, recurring visits)

  • High-ticket home services (roofing, remodeling, HVAC)

  • Car dealerships (fewer transactions, but large commissions)

  • Law firms & real estate agents (brand awareness + high-value clients)

7x-10x+ ROI – Ideal for Low-Margin or Highly Scalable Businesses

Businesses with lower margins or high scalability should push for higher ROI to justify ad spend.

Examples of businesses that should target 7x+ ROI:

  • E-commerce brands (low margins, need high volume)

  • Subscription services (small initial sale, long-term value)

  • High-competition industries (if ad costs are high, you need more return)

  • Consultants & coaches (scalable, digital services with low overhead)