An Essential Guide to Marketing Tips for Small Local Service Business (2026)

Understanding Your Target Market and Building Buyer Personas

Marketing success for local service businesses begins with precise audience identification. Unlike national brands reaching millions, local service companies generate revenue by deeply understanding specific geographic neighborhoods and customer demographics within service radius boundaries. This foundational step determines every subsequent marketing decision, from advertising budget allocation to content creation focus.

According to HubSpot research, 72% of people searching for local business services actually visit locations within five miles of their search location. This statistic reveals that geographic precision trumps national-scale thinking for HVAC companies, plumbers, cleaners, electricians, and similar service providers. Your marketing efforts should concentrate resources on neighborhoods where your service delivery footprint operates most efficiently.

Creating Detailed Buyer Personas for Local Services

Buyer personas are semi-fictional representations of your ideal customers based on market research and actual customer data. For local service businesses, effective personas include specific geographic, demographic, and psychographic details that influence service purchasing decisions.

A window replacement company targeting suburban Denver might develop personas like “Homeowner Helen” (age 45-55, household income $120k-$180k, values home aesthetics and energy efficiency, researches online but prefers local recommendations) and “Investment Ian” (age 35-50, rental property investor, cost-conscious, makes decisions quickly). These personas guide marketing message development, channel selection, and promotional timing.

To develop effective personas, follow this structured approach:

1. Gather quantitative data: Analyze your existing customer database for patterns in age, location, income, property type, and service frequency. Use Google Analytics to identify geographic clusters visiting your website.
2. Conduct qualitative research: Interview 10-15 recent customers about their decision-making process, pain points, how they found your business, and what alternatives they considered.
3. Identify behavioral patterns: Document which neighborhoods generate highest customer lifetime value, which services convert most frequently, and what seasonal demand patterns emerge.
4. Develop detailed profiles: Create 3-5 primary personas including name, age, family status, income, homeownership details, primary concerns, preferred communication channels, and typical service timeline.
5. Validate against actual customers: Test persona assumptions by reviewing recent customer intake forms and comparing actual customer characteristics against your persona descriptions.

HubSpot reports that companies using documented buyer personas achieve 124% greater revenue growth than businesses without personas. For local service companies, this translates to more efficient marketing spend and higher conversion rates from advertising campaigns.

Mapping the Customer Journey for Service Purchases

The customer journey for local services differs significantly from retail or e-commerce purchases. Service buyers typically follow a longer evaluation period, especially for higher-ticket items like HVAC replacement or foundation repair. Understanding this journey allows you to deliver appropriate messaging at each stage.

Service business customer journeys typically progress through four distinct stages:

• Awareness/Problem Recognition: Customer recognizes they have a service need (furnace isn’t heating, plumbing backs up, home needs exterior painting). They begin searching for solutions using terms like “emergency plumber near me” or “why is my AC not cooling.”
• Consideration/Research: Customer compares service providers, reading reviews on Google and Yelp, visiting websites, and requesting estimates. They evaluate price, reputation, warranty offerings, and response time availability.
• Decision/Purchase: Customer selects a provider and schedules service. For emergency services, this happens quickly. For planned services like replacements, this might follow weeks of consideration.
• Retention/Advocacy: After service completion, customer evaluates satisfaction and decides whether to use provider again and refer friends. This stage determines long-term customer lifetime value and referral generation.

To optimize for each journey stage, develop targeted content and messaging. During awareness, focus on educational content addressing common problems. In consideration, emphasize social proof through reviews and detailed service explanations. At decision point, streamline booking processes and highlight guarantees. Post-purchase, implement follow-up communication requesting reviews and offering maintenance plans.

Defining Your Geographic Service Area

Unlike online retailers, local service businesses have natural geographic boundaries determined by operational logistics. Defining your service area precisely prevents wasted marketing spend on locations you cannot serve efficiently.

Analyze your existing customer base to identify distance patterns. Most HVAC and plumbing companies find that 80% of revenue comes from locations within 15-20 minute drive time from their dispatch center. Marketing research shows local businesses spending on neighborhoods beyond 25-minute radius typically achieve poor ROI due to longer travel times reducing profitability and limiting same-day service availability.

Define your primary service area (where you actively market), secondary area (available but not actively promoted), and excluded areas (beyond operational capacity). Use geographic targeting in all paid advertising campaigns to concentrate budget on profitable zones. Google Ads and Facebook Ads both offer precise radius targeting around your business address or specific zip codes.

Building and Optimizing Your Online Presence

For local service businesses, your online presence functions as your primary marketing asset. Most customers now research service providers online before making contact, reading reviews, examining service descriptions, and comparing pricing. A weak online presence means losing customers to competitors before direct contact ever occurs.

Building this presence involves three interconnected components: a high-performing website optimized for local searches, a complete and optimized Google Business Profile, and active management of third-party review platforms.

Creating a Website Optimized for Local Search

Your website serves as the digital headquarters for your business, functioning as a lead generation tool and credibility builder. For local service businesses, website optimization focuses on local search engine visibility, mobile usability, and conversion rate optimization for service inquiries.

Start with technical SEO fundamentals. Your website must load in under 2.5 seconds on mobile connections, include properly formatted mobile design, use HTTPS encryption, and employ semantic HTML markup. Google’s Core Web Vitals now directly impact search rankings, making page speed critical. Use Google PageSpeed Insights to identify performance issues and prioritize fixes based on real-world user experience metrics.

Implement local keyword strategy throughout your website. Rather than targeting generic keywords like “plumber,” target “licensed plumber in Denver” or “24-hour emergency plumbing services near Downtown Denver.” Include your city name, service area neighborhoods, and specific services throughout page titles, headers, body content, and metadata. Create dedicated landing pages for each major service area or service category you offer. A plumbing company might develop separate pages for “drain cleaning,” “water heater repair,” “emergency service,” and “commercial plumbing” rather than trying to rank one generic plumbing page.

Optimize your Google Business Profile with accuracy and completeness. Claim your profile immediately if you haven’t already. Complete every available field: business name (including relevant keywords only if naturally part of your name), address, phone number, website URL, service areas served, business hours including holiday hours, photos of your business and completed work, service categories, pricing information where applicable, and detailed service descriptions. Upload at least 10-15 high-quality photos showing your business, team, vehicles, completed projects, and before/after service examples. Google gives search ranking preference to profiles with substantial photo content.

Create dedicated service area pages for neighborhoods within your territory. Even if you operate citywide, creating location-specific content helps you rank for “plumber in [neighborhood]” searches. These pages should include neighborhood-specific details, local project examples, and testimonials from customers in that area. Include proper schema markup identifying your business type, address, phone number, reviews, and service areas. Use JSON-LD structured data format to help Google understand your business information and display rich results in search.

Optimize for mobile-first indexing, as Google crawls and ranks the mobile version of your website as the primary version. Ensure your mobile website displays all critical information, buttons load properly, text is readable without zooming, and forms function smoothly. Test your website across multiple devices and browsers to catch display issues.

Leveraging Social Media for Community Connection

While social media rarely generates direct leads for service businesses compared to search and local listings, it serves essential functions for community visibility, reputation management, and customer relationship building. The platforms you prioritize should match where your target audience actively engages.

For most local service businesses, Facebook and Instagram drive greater ROI than other platforms. Facebook enables highly targeted local advertising with geographic radius targeting, age ranges, and household income filters. Facebook also hosts your business reviews and customer recommendations, which influence purchasing decisions. Instagram works well for service businesses with visual components like landscaping, cleaning, painting, or construction, where before/after photos and project showcases build credibility and attract local customers browsing hashtags.

Develop a content strategy publishing 3-4 times per week on primary platforms. Content types effective for service businesses include:

• Educational posts addressing common problems (“5 signs your furnace needs repair,” “How to prevent frozen pipes”)
• Before/after project photos demonstrating quality and workmanship
• Customer testimonials and success stories from local clients
• Behind-the-scenes team content humanizing your business
• Local community news and event participation
• Seasonal promotions and limited-time offers
• FAQ responses addressing common customer questions
• Staff spotlight features introducing team members

Engagement matters more than follower count. Respond to comments within 2-4 hours during business hours. Reply to direct messages promptly and professionally. Like, comment on, and share content from local community pages, complementary businesses, and local organizations. Use location-specific hashtags like #DenverPlumbing or #AtlantaHVAC to increase discoverability among local audiences.

Monitor your online reputation actively across platforms. Set up notifications for brand mentions using Google Alerts and Hootsuite. Respond to reviews across Google, Yelp, Facebook, and industry-specific platforms. Address negative feedback with professionalism, empathy, and solutions offered to resolve issues. Positive reputation management across social platforms directly influences customer purchasing decisions and search visibility.

Implementing Effective Review and Reputation Management

Online reviews function as the most influential marketing asset for local service businesses. Research from BrightLocal shows 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations. More critically, 97% of consumers read business responses to reviews, meaning your review management approach directly impacts conversion rates from potential customers reading your profile.

Unlike product-based businesses with steady review flow, service businesses must systematically request reviews from satisfied customers. Without systematic processes, most customers never think to leave reviews even when satisfied.

Systematizing Review Generation

Implement multi-touch review request systems rather than relying on single touchpoints. During service completion, train service technicians to verbally request reviews from satisfied customers. Provide them with simple cards displaying QR codes linking directly to review platforms, making the process frictionless.

Automate follow-up review requests through email and SMS. Send review requests 24-48 hours after service completion when satisfaction levels remain highest. Services like Birdeye, Trustpilot, and platform-specific review management tools integrate with your calendar or CRM to automatically send requests to customers who received services. These platforms allow customization of request messaging and track which customers have already left reviews.

Focus review generation on your highest-impact platforms. Prioritize Google reviews first, followed by industry-specific platforms (Yelp for most service businesses, Angie’s List for home services, Trustpilot for software/B2B services). Then address Facebook reviews and any specialized review sites relevant to your industry.

Comply with platform policies while requesting reviews. Never offer incentives for leaving positive reviews, as this violates policies on all major platforms and damages credibility if discovered. Instead, incentivize the review request itself by offering discounts for simply leaving feedback, regardless of sentiment. Most customers leave honest reviews when given opportunity to share experiences.

Responding to Reviews and Building Trust

Your response strategy to reviews significantly impacts brand reputation and conversion rates. Research shows potential customers trust businesses that respond to negative reviews more than businesses without any negative reviews, indicating that transparent communication and willingness to address problems builds trust.

Respond to every review within 24 hours when possible. For positive reviews, thank the customer specifically, mention particular service elements they praised, and invite them to contact you with any future needs. Example response: “Thank you, Sarah! We’re thrilled the furnace repair exceeded your expectations. We appreciated working on your 1950s home and take pride in preserving vintage systems. Please contact us anytime for maintenance or if issues arise.”

For negative reviews, respond with empathy, take responsibility when appropriate, and offer solutions. Avoid defensive language or blaming customers. Move detailed problem-solving offline by requesting contact information and offering direct communication. Example response: “We’re disappointed your experience didn’t meet expectations. We pride ourselves on quality work and customer satisfaction. Please call us directly at [number] so we can make this right. John Smith, Owner.”

Monitor responses from customers to your review replies. If a customer responds to your reply, address their feedback again. This ongoing dialogue demonstrates commitment to customer satisfaction and shows potential customers that you take feedback seriously.

Track review metrics in your business dashboard. Monitor monthly review volume, average ratings across platforms, response time to reviews, and sentiment trends. Declining review volume or ratings might indicate service quality issues requiring attention. Platforms like Google Business Profile provide native analytics showing review trends.

Implementing Paid Advertising for Rapid Local Growth

While organic strategies like SEO and referrals build sustainable long-term visibility, paid advertising generates immediate leads while organic efforts mature. For service businesses, paid advertising becomes essential when you want to accelerate growth, fill service capacity, or compete in saturated markets.

The most effective paid strategies for local services concentrate budget on high-intent keywords and tight geographic targeting where customer acquisition cost remains sustainable relative to service pricing.

Google Ads for Local Service Businesses

Google Search Ads display your business at the very top of search results when potential customers search for services you provide. This high-intent traffic converts at much higher rates than untargeted advertising channels.

Google Ads pricing operates on a cost-per-click (CPC) model where you pay only when someone clicks your ad. Average CPC varies dramatically by service type and location. Emergency plumbing in major cities might cost $40-$80 per click, while general home inspection services might cost $5-$15 per click. Competitiveness of keywords, your ad quality score, and your geographic market all influence CPC.

Set up campaign structure organizing ads by service type and geographic area. Create separate campaigns for distinct services (HVAC repair vs. replacement vs. maintenance) and geographic zones within your service area. This structure allows precise budget allocation and performance tracking.

Optimize ad copy emphasizing local presence, response time guarantees, and unique value propositions. Effective ad headlines include: “Licensed Denver Plumber, 24/7 Emergency Service, Same-Day Appointments” rather than generic “Plumbing Services.” Include extensions like call buttons, location information, and customer ratings to increase ad visibility and click-through rates.

Google Local Services Ads represent a specialized ad type specifically for service businesses. These ads appear separately from standard search ads with prominent “Google Guaranteed” badges, showing your business prominently when customers search for your services locally. Qualification requirements vary by service type but typically require business licensing, insurance, and background checks. Pricing operates on a cost-per-lead model (typically $25-$100 per qualified lead depending on service) rather than cost-per-click, meaning you pay for actual customer inquiries rather than website clicks.

Target campaigns to high-intent keywords indicating immediate service needs: “emergency plumber near me,” “furnace repair tonight,” “water heater installation.” Avoid wasting budget on low-intent research keywords like “how to fix a leaky faucet” unless your goal is brand awareness and content marketing.

Facebook and Instagram Advertising

Facebook and Instagram enable targeting by geographic location (radius targeting), demographics, household income, home ownership, and interests. This precision helps reach your ideal customer avatar within defined service areas.

Facebook ads operate on a bidding system where costs vary based on competition and auction dynamics. Home service advertising in major metropolitan areas typically costs $1-$5 per click for lead generation campaigns. Costs fluctuate seasonally, with HVAC advertising costing more during seasonal peaks (summer cooling, winter heating).

Create visually-driven ad creative showing service quality and completed projects. Video content consistently outperforms static images on Facebook. Effective videos show transformation (before/after project footage), testimonials from satisfied customers, or educational content addressing common service problems. Keep videos under 30 seconds for optimal engagement.

Use lead form campaigns allowing customers to request quotes without leaving Facebook. These lower-friction forms increase conversion rates compared to directing traffic to websites where users must fill out forms. Facebook’s lead form automatically populates known customer information, requiring only a few additional fields for service details.

Retargeting campaigns show ads to users who visited your website previously but didn’t convert. These campaigns convert at higher rates than cold traffic campaigns since users already demonstrated interest. Budget 20-30% of your Facebook advertising budget toward retargeting efforts.

Bing Ads and Yahoo Ads

While Google dominates search with 92% market share, Bing/Yahoo combined capture 5-6% of searches with significantly lower competition and cost-per-click rates. Bing skews toward older demographics with higher household income, making it valuable for certain home service businesses.

CPC on Bing typically runs 20-40% lower than Google Ads for comparable keywords. Bing audience includes more business decision-makers and higher household income segments, potentially improving lead quality for premium services.

Setting up Bing Ads campaigns uses similar structure to Google Ads. You can import Google Ads campaigns directly into Bing, saving setup time. Because Bing’s volume is lower, allocate 10-20% of search advertising budget here while prioritizing Google, then expand if performance proves strong.

Building Community Relationships and Local Partnerships

Community engagement generates sustainable competitive advantages that national competitors cannot replicate. Local service businesses thrive when deeply woven into community fabric through sponsorships, partnerships, and genuine relationship-building.

Strategic Local Business Partnerships

Identify businesses serving your target customer without directly competing. A plumber might partner with HVAC companies, electricians, general contractors, and home inspectors. These partnerships create win-win referral relationships where both businesses benefit from customer introductions.

Formalize partnerships through written agreement specifying referral commission (typically 10-15% of referred job value), expected volume, and communication procedures. Some partnerships work best without financial incentives, relying on reciprocal referrals where both parties benefit equally. Evaluate which approach suits your market and relationships.

Cross-promote through each business’s marketing channels. Share social media posts about partner businesses, include partner information in email newsletters, and display partner promotional materials in your office. A bathroom remodeler might promote licensed plumbers and electricians they work with regularly, providing mutual visibility to customers.

Create integrated service packages combining complementary offerings. An electrician and HVAC company might offer “whole-home efficiency audits” bundling electrical and HVAC evaluations with renovation recommendations. This integrated offering has higher perceived value than separate services and generates larger projects than either business could create independently.

Sponsoring Local Events and Community Organizations

Event sponsorships build brand visibility within geographic communities while demonstrating commitment to local betterment. Align sponsorships with your target customer base and service capabilities.

Effective sponsorship opportunities for service businesses include youth sports teams, school fundraisers, local charity runs, community festivals, neighborhood clean-up events, and service organization meetings. HVAC companies might sponsor little league teams (reaching parents who need home services). Plumbers could sponsor community theater (reaching affluent neighborhood patrons). Landscapers naturally fit with environmental and beautification organizations.

Sponsorship levels typically range from $250-$2000+ annually depending on event prominence and benefits received. Basic sponsorship includes logo placement on event materials and website mentions. Premium sponsorship might include booth space, speaking opportunities, or exclusive visibility to attendees. Calculate sponsorship ROI by tracking customers mentioning specific events when requesting quotes.

Activate sponsorships beyond passive logo placement. Send team members to staffed booth presence at events, speak at relevant community meetings about your expertise, and create exclusive sponsorship promotions (discount codes for attendees). This active engagement multiplies visibility compared to passive sponsorship.

Developing Referral Programs

Referral programs systematize word-of-mouth marketing, the most cost-effective customer acquisition channel. Customers referred by existing customers show 25% higher retention rates and similar lifetime value to direct customers, making referral program investment highly profitable.

Structure referral incentives offering value to both existing customers and new customers referred. Examples include: “$50 off service for both you and referred friend,” “free service call ($150 value) for each referral accepted,” or “accumulate referral credits toward future services.” Some businesses offer tiered incentives: $50 off for first referral, $75 off for second, $100 off for third, creating momentum for higher-volume referrers.

Promote referral programs consistently through multiple channels. Include information in monthly statements or invoices. Email existing customers quarterly with referral program reminders. Display signage in your office and vehicles. Include referral information in employee conversations during service completion. Many customers don’t refer simply from forgetfulness rather than disinclination, so constant visibility drives utilization.

Simplify the referral process removing friction. Provide referral cards with unique codes, simple online referral forms, or QR codes allowing one-click sharing. Text referral links to customers making mobile sharing effortless. The easier you make referrals, the higher participation rates.

Track referral program performance separately from other customer acquisition sources. Monitor monthly referral count, conversion rate (what percentage of referred inquiries become customers), and average customer value. Compare referral customer acquisition cost (zero paid marketing spend) against paid advertising costs to quantify program value.

Email Marketing and Direct Customer Communication

Email marketing remains the highest ROI marketing channel for local service businesses, generating $42 return for every dollar spent according to Direct Marketing Association research. Unlike social media algorithms limiting organic reach, email places your message directly in customer inboxes.

Building Email Lists and Segmentation

Start email list building during service interactions. Collect email addresses during intake process, include email signup on your website, and request emails when customers request quotes. Offer incentives for signup like “$50 off your first service” or exclusive maintenance tips newsletter.

Segment your email list by service type received, geographic area served, customer lifecycle stage (new customer, established customer, lapsed customer), and engagement level (active openers, inactive unengaged subscribers). Segmentation allows targeted messaging improving relevance and conversion rates.

Typical service business email segments might include: seasonal HVAC customers (sending heating reminders in fall, cooling reminders in spring), established maintenance customers (offering exclusive maintenance plans), and one-time emergency service customers (promoting maintenance plans and referral programs).

Email Content Strategy for Service Businesses

Effective email content balances educational value with promotional messages. Research shows promotional emails generate higher open rates when established customers already receive valuable non-promotional content. Target 70% valuable content (tips, seasonal advice, safety information) and 30% promotional content.

Email types effective for service businesses include:

• Seasonal maintenance reminders: “Spring HVAC maintenance prevents summer breakdowns” emails sent in April and May to customers in cooling climates
• Educational tips: “How to maintain your plumbing system” guides providing value while establishing expertise
• Promotional announcements: Limited-time service offers, referral program promotions, or seasonal discounts
• Maintenance plan upsells: Offering recurring service plans to customers receiving one-time repairs
• Reactivation campaigns: Targeted messaging to lapsed customers inviting return business
• Seasonal service packages: Bundled services offered at discount (furnace and AC tune-up combo in spring)
• Birthday/anniversary offers: Customer appreciation emails on service anniversaries or birthdays

Email frequency matters for engagement. Research shows 1-2 emails per week maintains engagement without causing unsubscribes. Seasonal businesses might email weekly during busy seasons and monthly during slow seasons. Monitor unsubscribe rates and adjust frequency if exceeding 0.5% per send.

Optimize email deliverability by using reputable email service providers (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, Klaviyo). Authenticate your domain with SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Monitor sender reputation scores. Maintain clean lists removing bounced addresses. Test emails across devices before sending.

Optimizing Customer Experience and Retention

Customer acquisition costs have risen while customer retention drives sustainable profit growth. Retaining existing customers costs 5-25% the expense of acquiring new customers while generating higher lifetime value. Service businesses should balance aggressive new customer acquisition with retention-focused strategies.

Creating Maintenance Plans and Recurring Revenue

Transform one-time service customers into recurring revenue through maintenance plans. HVAC maintenance plans, plumbing inspections, landscaping seasonal service, and cleaning subscriptions provide predictable revenue reducing seasonal volatility.

Structure maintenance plans by frequency and price point. Basic plans might include semi-annual HVAC maintenance (spring cooling check, fall heating check). Premium plans add priority service, extended warranty, seasonal cleaning, and discounted repair rates. Price plans at 20-40% discount versus separately purchased services to incentivize enrollment while generating recurring revenue.

Promote maintenance plans aggressively. Include information with every service invoice. Email existing customers about plan benefits. Train service technicians to explain plans during service calls. Offer first-month discounts encouraging signup. Research shows customers on maintenance plans spend 2-3x more annually than one-time service customers while showing higher satisfaction.

Implementing Customer Feedback Systems

Systematic feedback collection identifies service issues before customers leave negative reviews. Net Promoter Score (NPS) surveys asking “How likely would you recommend us to friends?” on 0-10 scale identify promoters (9-10 scores) versus detractors (0-6 scores). Detractors represent at-risk customers requiring service recovery before they leave negative reviews online.

Send NPS surveys via email 24 hours post-service while satisfaction remains high. Include follow-up questions for detractors asking what dissatisfied them and what would improve the experience. This information guides service quality improvements.

Monitor Net Promoter Score trends monthly. Improving scores indicate quality improvements and customer satisfaction growth. Declining scores suggest operational or service quality issues requiring attention. Industry benchmark varies by service type, but average NPS for home services ranges 45-60.

Comparing Marketing Channels and Budget Allocation

Service businesses rarely succeed through single marketing channel dependence. Most sustainable growth comes from diversified channel mix allowing redundancy if individual channels perform below expectations.

Marketing Channel	Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC)	Lead Quality	Time to Results	Best For
Google Local Services Ads	$50-$150 per qualified lead	Very High (immediate intent)	Immediate (days)	Emergency services, quick scaling
Google Search Ads	$25-$100 per click (varies by service)	Very High (search intent)	Immediate (days)	Competitive markets, peak season urgency
Facebook/Instagram Ads	$15-$50 per lead (typically lower than search)	High (targeted demographic)	Immediate (days)	Budget-conscious scaling, visual services
SEO and Organic Search	$300-$1000 monthly (agency) for eventual leads	Very High (earned trust)	6-12 months to meaningful volume	Long-term sustainable growth
Referral Programs	$50-$100 per referred customer acquired	Very High (trusted source)	Ongoing (requires customer base)	Retention, high lifetime value customers
Email Marketing	$5-$15 per customer (platform costs)	High (existing customers)	Immediate to ongoing	Retention, upsells, seasonal promotions
Community Sponsorships	$300-$2000 annually (varies)	Medium (brand awareness)	3-12 months to measurable leads	Brand visibility, community authority
Direct Mail	$1-$3 per piece (response dependent)	Medium (broad targeting)	2-4 weeks	Geographic saturation, older demographics

Recommended budget allocation for established service businesses targets 60-70% toward paid advertising generating immediate leads while building foundation, 20-25% toward organic/content strategies building long-term sustainability, and 10-15% toward community engagement and retention activities. Newer businesses with minimal customer base might emphasize paid channels heavier (70-80%) until customer base reaches critical mass for referral programs and retention initiatives.

Measuring Performance and Optimization

Marketing effectiveness requires measurement against clear key performance indicators (KPIs). Without measurement