Demand Capture vs. Demand Generation

We don’t have enough leads to stay busy. I hear it all the time.

Then I look at their marketing budget: $5K a month to billboards, church bulletins, and “brand awareness.”

And nothing that actually drives leads.

This is the demand capture vs demand generation problem.

What’s the Difference?

Demand generation is when you try to create interest:

• TV and radio
• Billboards and bus stops
• Facebook ads and sponsored mailers

You’re hoping someone sees it and thinks, “Maybe I should call a plumber.”

Demand capture is when someone already wants what you offer—and you show up first:

• Google Local Services Ads (LSA)
• Pay-Per-Click (PPC) / Google Ads
• Google My Business (GMB) optimization

It’s like catching a customer mid-search, wallet already out.

You Can’t Brand Your Way Out of an Empty Schedule

The service business owner with a full board isn’t investing in park bench ads.

He’s doing one thing really well:

Capturing the demand that’s already there.

You don’t need leads nine months from now. You need them today, tomorrow, and the next day.

And until that need is covered, every dollar should go toward that goal.

Most Owners Spend Wrong

Let’s break down a real example:

One owner had:

• $2,000/month to Google Ads
• $2,000/month to LSA

My advice? Combine the budget. Pick the one with the better cost per lead and go all-in.

Spreading spend too thin across channels means nothing works well.

Instead:

• Pick one channel.
• Dial it in.
• Scale it until it caps out.

Then, and only then, move on to the next.

The $20M+ Playbook: Go Deep, Not Wide

You don’t need five channels to scale.

One contractor in Chicago built a $20M business off PPC alone.

Another? Grew to $20M+ using just LSA, PPC, and SEO. No radio. No mailers. No billboards.

Why?

Because when you focus on one channel:

• You get better data
• You give better feedback
• Your CPL drops
• Your team builds muscle in that system

Service business marketing isn’t about being everywhere—it’s about being right where your customers are when they’re ready to buy.

That’s what lead generation for contractors really comes down to.

GMB Is a Cheat Code (But Most Ignore It)

Google My Business is the s***. It’s simple. It’s not glamorous. But it drives leads.

The biggest companies in the trades invest heavily in their GMB listings.

Most small shops? Post once and forget about it.

If you want to win locally:

• Get to 100+ reviews fast
• Keep posting photos and updates
• Track how many calls and clicks come from GMB

It’s free, high-intent traffic. You just have to show up.

You could easily bring in 10–20 new calls per week just by optimizing GMB—and that’s without spending a dime on ads.

Yet most contractors treat it like a chore instead of a service business marketing asset.

Don’t Add New Channels Because You’re Bored

The temptation is real: throw $2K at Facebook, $1K at SEO, another $3K at lead partners… and suddenly you’ve got five underperforming channels instead of one dialed-in machine.

You’re not ready to spend on branding until your lead generation for contractors channel is maxed out—and your board is full every day.

The mistake most owners make?

They start thinking like a CMO when they should still be acting like a sales manager.

Marketing is not about looking busy. It’s about getting the phone to ring.

Bonus: What to Look For When Choosing a Channel

If you're not sure whether to pick Google Ads, LSA, or GMB first, start with the one that:

• Delivers the lowest cost per lead
• Connects you directly to customer intent
• Gives you clear performance data
• Allows rapid budget scaling without performance drop-off

In most cases, that’s Google Local Services Ads.

It's simple, it's easy to track, and when done right, it produces results within days—not months.

Final Word

You don’t scale a service business by playing marketing whack-a-mole.

You scale by solving one problem: getting leads today, tomorrow, and the next day.

Here’s the move:

• Go deep on your best-performing channel (GMB, LSA, or Google Ads)
• Scale spend aggressively until it caps out
• Give your team clear feedback and track CPL
• Don’t touch branding until lead flow is bulletproof

This is how $5M shops become $15M shops—and how $15M shops become $30M.

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