Unit economics for SMEs: 5 metrics revealing real health

Unit economics tells if your business is truly profitable or subsidising every customer. Most SMEs don't calculate them and find out at year-end the numbers don't add up. Here are the 5 essential metrics.

1. CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost)

Marketing+sales spend / new customers in period. Example: €5,000 spent in March, 10 new customers = CAC €500. Target: depends on LTV (see below).

2. LTV (Lifetime Value)

How much a customer is worth over their lifecycle. Base formula: AOV × frequency × lifespan. See dedicated article.

3. LTV/CAC ratio

The most important metric. Healthy target: 3:1 min, 5:1+ great. Below 1:1 you're losing money on every customer.

4. Payback period

How many months to recover CAC. Target: <12 months B2B, <6 months B2C. Above 18 months: cash flow problem.

5. Gross margin

(Revenue - direct costs) / revenue. Sector targets: SaaS 70-85%, services 50-70%, e-commerce 30-50%. Below sector = structural problem.

Calculate these 5 every quarter. Identify trends (growing, dropping?). Decisions based on unit economics, not "feelings". See free audit including unit economics analysis.

Want to apply this to your SME?

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