CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)
Detailed Explanation
CAC represents the total cost spent to acquire a new customer. This includes all marketing and sales expenses. CAC is a critical metric for companies' growth and profitability strategies, and should always be compared with Customer Lifetime Value (CLV).
Example
Marketing spend €5,000 + Sales team €3,000 to acquire 50 new customers → CAC = €8,000 / 50 = €160 per customer.
Why CAC Matters
Understanding your CAC is essential for sustainable growth. A healthy SaaS business typically aims for a CLV:CAC ratio of 3:1 or higher. If your CAC is too high relative to CLV, you're losing money on each customer and need to optimize your acquisition strategy or increase customer lifetime value.
CAC in B2B outbound
For outbound, CAC includes the data and verification you buy, the sending tools and mailboxes, the people who write and answer, and the weeks before the first meeting. Track it per channel as cost per meeting and cost per qualified deal, so you can see whether email or LinkedIn is the one worth scaling. TechSales Reports calculates both from the workspace's own stack costs.