Is a CPL of 18,761 rubles normal? How to calculate lead cost in B2B construction

In the Zemtsov Group case, our CPL is 18,761 rubles per lead. When I show this figure to other marketers in the construction niche, 9 times out of 10 the reaction is the same: “That’s expensive.”

It is not expensive. It can be perfectly normal.

And below I will show why the question “is CPL expensive” is the wrong question. The correct one is “does it pay off?” What’s even more correct is to stop looking only at CPL altogether and start counting other metrics that can be used to make decisions.

Why is everyone asking about CPL, and why is it a trap?

CPL - cost per lead - is the most popular metric in B2B marketing. It is easy to calculate, easy to put in a report, and everyone understands it.

That is also why it is so misleading.

What CPL is and how to calculate it correctly

Basic formula: CPL = channel budget / number of leads from that channel.

Simple. Clear. You can calculate it in Excel in 30 seconds.

But the devil is in the details:

• →What should be considered a budget - only Direct, or plus the marketer’s salary, or plus indirect expenses?
• →What counts as a lead - any request, or only qualified ones?
• →What period should be considered - a month, a quarter or with a lag taking into account a long cycle?
• →Which attribution channel to use - last click, first click, multi-channel?

Different companies count it differently. Comparing CPL between companies is like comparing height in centimeters and inches without saying which unit you use. So “competitors have a CPL of 5 thousand, and we have 18” usually means little: the methodology may be different.

Why doesn't CPL say anything on its own?

CPL is a process metric, not a result metric. It shows how much you spend on acquisition, but does not show:

• →What is the quality of these leads?
• →How many of them reach the deal?
• →How much money do these deals bring in?
• →Do customers come back again?

For 100 rubles you can bring 100 non-targeted leads whose conversion into a deal is 0%. CPL will be 100 rubles - an excellent figure. Business is dead.

For 100 thousand you can bring one target lead who will buy for 5 million and then return 4 more times. CPL will be 100 thousand - a catastrophic figure. Business is great.

How does CPL in B2B construction differ from CPL in e-commerce?

In e-commerce, CPL is close to acquisition cost. The cycle is short, average order value is small, and conversion is high. A CPL of 500 rubles with an average order value of 3,000 can be normal. You can make decisions quickly.

In B2B construction, CPL and acquisition cost are different things. The cycle is 3-12 months, average order value is measured in millions, and lead-to-deal conversion is often 5-15%. A CPL of 18 thousand can be excellent if the average order value is 5 million and conversion is 10%.

In construction, you can’t look at CPL as a decision metric. This is the raw material from which other, more important numbers need to be collected.

4 factors that shape CPL in the construction business

CPL does not exist in a vacuum. It is shaped by four key factors.

Factor 1. Customer segment

In the same niche—for example, façade materials—a lead from a private self-builder and a lead from a federal developer cost radically differently.

• →Private owner - 300-1,500 rubles per lead. Competition for this segment is high, and many companies target it
• →Small business, individual contractors - 1500-5000 rubles
• →Regional developer or dealer - 5,000-15,000 rubles
• →Federal developer with projects for hundreds of apartments - 15,000-50,000 rubles

If you target large clients with a long cycle, a high CPL is normal. If you target private owners, CPL is lower. Comparing “our CPL is 18 thousand, and theirs is 500” is incorrect: these are different segments.

Factor 2. Channel and demand warmth

Each channel gives its own CPL and its own quality.

• →Avito - low CPL (300-2,000 ₽), but mostly cold private buyers
• →Yandex.Search, targeted queries - average CPL (3,000-15,000 ₽), good quality
• →YAN - low-medium CPL (1500-8000 ₽), lower quality, needs to be filtered
• →Target in VK / Telegram Ads - medium-high CPL (5,000-20,000 ₽), targeted audience
• →Trade shows and conferences - high CPL (20,000-100,000 ₽ per lead), but the strongest quality
• →Content marketing and PR - high CPL at the start, low after a year of work

The CPL structure by channel is a normal pyramid. Cheap at the top of the funnel (YAN, Avito), expensive at the bottom (trade shows, direct referrals). If all channels are expensive, you have a problem in the upper funnel. If everything is cheap, you are probably not reaching larger segments.

Factor 3. Product and average order value

Polymer concrete facade decor and paving slabs work in different economies, although both niches are construction.

Polymer concrete is a narrow niche segment, average order value is 500 thousand - 5 million, and the audience is small. Attracting one client is expensive because competition for the attention of a limited group is high.

Paving slabs are a mass-market product, average order value is 50 thousand - 500 thousand, and the audience is wider. CPL is lower, but margin is lower too.

The narrower the niche and the higher the average order value, the higher the CPL. This is normal.

Factor 4. Competition in the niche

The more players in your segment run ads, the higher the CPL. The auction in Direct works to increase the cost of a click, which means the lead.

Competition in facade materials is high, CPL is growing. In narrow niches such as polymer concrete it is lower, but there is no scale.

This means that if you enter an overheated segment, you either pay a high CPL or change strategy: move into a narrower, warmer segment, or build demand through content and SEO.

The correct formula is not CPL, but PnL per channel

Instead of asking “we have a CPL of 18 thousand, is it normal?”, you need metrics that can support an actual decision.

What to count instead of CPL

• →CR per deal - what percentage of leads reach the agreement
• →Average order value by channel - leads from different channels have different economics
• →LTV of the client - how much money the client brings during the entire period of cooperation
• →ROMI - Return on Marketing Investment, payback taking into account margin
• →Lead payback period - how many months it takes for a lead to pay back its acquisition cost

Specific calculation table

This is one of the most useful things you can do in construction analytics. Instead of a “CPL by channel” report, build this table:

Channel → Leads → CPL → CR → Deals → Average order value → Margin → ROMI

This shows what matters: which channels bring quality demand, where low CPL hides weak conversion, and where high CPL still produces a million-ruble margin.

Calculation example using Zemtsov Group figures

Let's take our case:

• →CPL — 18 761 ₽
• →Segment - regional developers and large contractors
• →Lead-to-deal conversion is about 10%
• →Average order value - 4-6 million rubles
• →Margin per transaction is about 25%

We count:

• →Cost of one deal = 18,761 × 10 = 187,610 ₽ (this is how much we pay marketing to get one buyer)
• →Margin from one transaction = 5,000,000 × 25% = 1,250,000 ₽
• →Profit from one transaction minus marketing = 1,250,000 − 187,610 = 1,062,390 ₽
• →ROMI = 1 062 390 / 187 610 = 5,7x

That is, for every ruble of marketing we receive 5.7 rubles of marginal profit. And that is with a 4-6 month deal cycle. It does not even include repeat business and LTV.

CPL 18,761 ₽? Expensive? Yes. Does it pay off? 5.7 times. This is the answer to the right question.

When is “expensive CPL” the norm, and when is it a disaster?

A high CPL by itself means nothing. What matters is the economics behind it.

Expensive CPL is the norm if:

• →Deals are really happening - sales conversion is 5%+
• →Average order value justifies the CPL - margin on the deal is many times higher
• →ROMI is positive taking into account the cycle
• →The business has cashflow to survive the cycle period (3-12 months between lead and payment)

In this case, a high CPL is the price of reaching the right segment. Do not try to reduce it at any cost; optimize conversion further down the funnel.

Expensive CPL is a disaster if:

• →CR per deal is low - this means the leads are not targeted, and you are paying in vain
• →You don’t have data on channel revenue - it’s impossible to calculate ROMI, which means decisions are made blindly
• →No cashflow for 6 months - may run out of money before the deals start earning
• →ROMI is negative or near zero even taking into account the cycle

In this case, an expensive CPL is a symptom of deeper problems: with positioning, segmentation, funnel or business economics.

How a marketer should show numbers to the owner

This is a separate pain point. Most marketers report to the owner in terms that mean nothing to the owner.

Not “we have a CPL of 18 thousand”

This figure does not tell the owner anything. It only raises the question: “Is it a lot or a little?” And a discussion begins about the norm, benchmarks and something that has nothing to do with his business.

And “we have 5 rubles of margin for 1 ruble of marketing”

This is the language the owner speaks. Money in, money out. Ratio. Payback.

Template for a monthly report to the owner in a B2B construction project:

• →Marketing budget for this period: X
• →Leads received: Y, of which qualified: Z
• →Deals closed (taking into account the cycle): N
• →Revenue from these transactions: M
• →Margin: K
• →ROMI = K / X
• →Forecast for deals currently in the funnel: another Q million in 3-6 months

No CPL, CTR, CPM. Only what the owner needs to see to make decisions.

Why we work on a percentage of incremental revenue

Since CPL is a deceptive metric, and the owner needs revenue, we tied our model to revenue.

For the first 2 months, we clean up the system. We implement CRM, install analytics, and build the funnel. We charge a fixed fee for this phase to cover the setup work.

After that, we take a percentage of incremental revenue that comes through marketing. Not leads, not traffic, not CTR. Revenue.

This works because:

• →The motivation of the contractor and the owner coincides - both are interested in revenue growth
• →The owner does not need to understand CPL, CTR and other metrics
• →The owner pays only when there is a result
• →The contractor plays for the long haul and does not try to “optimize the CPL” to the detriment of real transactions

More details about the model can be found in a separate article.