Work out what a website enquiry is worth

Key takeaways

The value of a website enquiry is the average revenue or profit it produces. Calculate it as enquiry-to-sale rate x average job value, and multiply by gross margin for profit. Knowing this single number turns website decisions into sums: whether a £2,000 improvement is worth it, and what you can afford to pay per enquiry.

• Enquiry value = close rate x average job value.
• Profit per enquiry = enquiry value x gross margin.
• £500 per enquiry: a 25% close rate on an average £2,000 job.
• Include repeat business for services customers buy again.

Why should you know what an enquiry is worth?

Without an enquiry value, website decisions are made on taste and hope. With one, every change can be priced. If an enquiry is worth £500 and a page change adds five enquiries a month, it is worth £2,500 a month in revenue. That is the language that separates a good website from a high-converting one: pounds, not opinions.

• The difference between a good website and a high-converting website

How do you calculate enquiry value?

Use the last 6 to 12 months of data. Count website enquiries, count how many became customers, and work out the average first-job value.

• Enquiries from the website: 240.
• Became customers: 60 (25% close rate).
• Average first job: £2,000.
• Enquiry value: 25% x £2,000 = £500.
• Gross margin 40%: profit per enquiry = £200.

• Enquiry-to-sale rate: where the website hands over

Should you include lifetime value?

Include it if customers typically come back. An accountancy client paying £1,800 a year for five years is worth far more than the first year's fee. Use a realistic average customer lifetime, based on your records, rather than hopeful estimates. For one-off purchases, the first job value is enough.

How do you use enquiry value?

Use it to price website improvements, set maximum cost per enquiry for ads, compare channels and prioritise fixes.

• Price a change: extra enquiries x enquiry value.
• Set an ad ceiling: never pay more per enquiry than profit per enquiry.
• Prioritise: fix pages with the most enquiries lost x value first.
• Justify spend: compare the cost of work with months of extra value.

• Cost per enquiry: what your website leads really cost
• What a 1% conversion lift is worth to your business

When is enquiry value misleading?

An average hides variety. Enquiries for different services, or from different channels, can be worth very different amounts. Calculate value by service and channel if you can. The figure also depends on sales follow-up: a slow reply lowers the close rate and therefore the value of every enquiry.

• Losing leads to slow follow-up? When to outsource it

What does this look like in practice?

A UK kitchen installer thought website enquiries were worth little because many were tyre-kickers. The numbers showed a 20% close rate and an average job of £14,000, making each enquiry worth £2,800 in revenue. A proposed £4,000 conversion project needed only two extra sales a year to pay for itself, and the decision took five minutes.

• See client work
• Website Design & Development for UK businesses

Enquiry value checklist

• Count website enquiries for the last 6 to 12 months.
• Count how many became customers.
• Calculate average first-job value.
• Multiply for revenue per enquiry, then by margin for profit.
• Add lifetime value if customers return.
• Split by service and channel where possible.

Next step

Once you know what an enquiry is worth, every decision about your website becomes a business case. We can help you work it out from your own records.