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Paid Ads

Prospecting

Prospecting targets new audiences to acquire new customers. It typically has lower short-term ROAS but drives incremental growth.

Updated 2026-01-23

Definition

Prospecting targets new audiences to acquire new customers. It typically has lower short-term ROAS but drives incremental growth.

How to use it

  • Judge prospecting with longer windows and cohort outcomes (LTV, retention), not just short-window ROAS.
  • Use creative testing to find message-market fit before scaling spend.

Why this matters

This term matters because it affects how you interpret performance and make budget decisions. If you use inconsistent definitions or windows, ROAS/CPA can look "better" while profit gets worse.

Practical checklist

  • Write a 1-line definition for "Prospecting" that your team will use consistently.
  • Keep the time window consistent (weekly/monthly/quarterly) when comparing trends.
  • Segment results (channel/plan/cohort) before drawing big conclusions from blended averages.
  • Sanity-check with a related calculator from the same category on MetricKit.
  • Read the related guide (e.g., Paid ads measurement hub: ROAS, MER, marginal ROAS, and incrementality) for context and common pitfalls.

Where to use this on MetricKit

Calculators

  • Marginal ROAS Calculator: Estimate diminishing returns and find the profit-maximizing ad spend from a simple response curve.
  • Target CPA from LTV Calculator: Translate LTV and contribution margin into a target CPA (and break-even CPA) for paid acquisition.
  • MER Calculator: Calculate MER (Marketing Efficiency Ratio / blended ROAS) and estimate break-even and target MER from margin assumptions.
  • Max CPC Calculator: Compute break-even and target CPC (and optional CPM) from CVR, AOV, and contribution margin assumptions.
  • Break-even CPM Calculator: Compute break-even and target CPM from CTR, CVR, AOV, and contribution margin assumptions.

Guides