Why Repeat & Referral Customers Are the Key to Reducing Your Marketing Spend (and Scaling Faster)

As a moving company owner, it’s easy to believe that the only way to grow is by spending more money on ads. But the truth is, your marketing budget shouldn’t exceed 7% of your total revenue—and the only way to make that work sustainably is by building a strong repeat and referral customer base.

In this post, we’ll walk through how repeat and referral customers dramatically reduce your marketing spend, increase your total revenue, and ultimately help you outpace your competitors. We’ll also break down the real numbers behind it, using a $3 million per year moving company as an example.

Why Repeat & Referral Customers Matter More Than You Think

Let’s start with a moving company doing $3 million in annual revenue and earning a 7:1 ROAS (Return on Ad Spend). That means for every $1 spent on ads, the company brings in $7 in revenue—already a pretty decent performance.

But here’s the catch: A healthy moving company shouldn’t be buying all of its leads.If you have zero repeat and referral customers, you’ll be forced to overspend on ads just to keep revenue steady.

Most companies rely on repeat and referral customers to generate “free” revenue—revenue that doesn’t require any paid marketing to acquire. Without it, your marketing budget explodes.

How Much Repeat & Referral Business Do You Actually Need?

As a general rule, we want to see moving companies grow their repeat/referral rate by 10% each year for the first 4–5 years. Ideally, you’ll land somewhere around 45% of total revenue coming from repeat and referral customers.

That level of brand loyalty drastically reduces the amount you need to spend on ads—and it keeps your acquisition costs low as your company grows.

The Real Numbers: How Repeat & Referral Impacts Your Revenue

Let’s break it down using the $3 million revenue example.

Every 10% of repeat & referral customers equals $300,000 in revenue that you don’t have to pay to acquire.

Here’s what that looks like:

At 50%, half your annual revenue is coming in for free because of your brand, your service quality, and your customer loyalty.

What Happens If You Have No Repeat & Referral Customers?

If your repeat/referral percentage is 0%, that means you’re buying every single lead.
And at a 7:1 ROAS:

• You’d spend $428,000 per year in marketing
• That equals 14.29% of your total revenue

That’s more than double the ideal marketing spend of 7%.

This is why so many moving companies feel stuck, cash-poor, and unable to scale—they’re overpaying for growth that could be coming in organically.

How Repeat & Referral Cuts Your Marketing Spend in Half

If you build your repeat/referral engine to 50%, you’re essentially getting $1.5 million in free revenue each year. Because of that, your marketing spend naturally falls right around the target 7% of revenue—without shrinking your customer base or slowing your growth.

That’s the power of organic brand recognition.

The Cost Savings Are Even Bigger Than You Think

Every 10% increase in repeat/referral saves you $42,000 per year in marketing spend (based on a $3M revenue company at 7:1 ROAS).

That means growing from:

• 10% → 20%: saves $42,000/year
• 20% → 30%: saves another $42,000/year
• 10% → 50%: saves a massive $168,000/year

This is why high-performing moving companies can outspend and outcompete everyone else—they don’t have to overpay for leads.

The Bottom Line

A strong repeat and referral customer base does far more than help you “look good” on paper. It:

• Reduces your need for paid ads
• Lowers your customer acquisition cost
• Speeds up growth
• Improves brand loyalty
• Allows you to afford higher-quality leads when you do spend on marketing

If you want to scale sustainably—and avoid overspending on ad campaigns—the best investment you can make is in your customer experience. Build the brand, earn the referrals, and watch your marketing budget shrink while your revenue grows.

If you'd like to strengthen your repeat & referral engine (and get your marketing spend back under 7%), our team can walk you through the exact numbers for your business. Book a strategy session with us today.