Step 1 — Your business targets
Use Allowable CAC calc if unknown
Leave 0 if unknown — we'll compute possible
If you sell direct (DTC/ecom), set to 100
% of media spend
Concepting, video production, editing
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- Industry routing. Each industry has a different priority order for which channels work best at each funnel stage. DTC starts with Meta and TikTok. B2B starts with LinkedIn.
- Funnel allocation. Default budget split is based on industry-typical TOF/MOF/BOF percentages, weighted toward bottom-funnel for high-intent industries.
- Benchmark application. Each channel × stage uses published CPM, CTR, and CVR ranges. The low end of the range produces "worst case," the high end produces "best case," and the midpoint produces "average."
- Layer the costs. Media spend, agency fees, and creative production are added together for total cash outlay.
- Forecast vs target. The output shows whether your plan will hit your stated CAC, customer, and revenue targets — and what to change if it won't.
Important caveat: Benchmarks are ranges, not guarantees. Your actual performance will depend on creative quality, targeting precision, landing-page conversion, and account maturity. Treat this as a starting estimate, not a contract.
Benchmark sources
- Tinuiti — quarterly benchmark reports
- WordStream — Google Ads benchmarks by industry
- Common Thread Collective — DTC benchmark publications
- Wpromote — paid-media quarterly benchmark reports
- Pacific Crest / KeyBanc — SaaS metrics surveys
- Meta and Google published platform benchmarks
- RGM operator notes — aggregated client engagements 2023-2026