Case Study 02 · OurBus Charters
Group & corporate coach hire · United States
A charter business is not fixed by selling more. It is fixed by costing less.
OurBus Charters shares an ad account with the Lines business, and looked like one operation until the two were split. Charters was buying conversions at 6.5× the cost of a Lines seat, so every extra dollar of demand made the loss bigger.
- Cost per conversion vs Lines
- 6.5×
- Contribution-positive after ad spend
- Q3 2026
- Closed-basis win rate
- 17.7%
- De-duplicated leads per week
- ~520
The problem, stated in one number
For the first time
Measurable for the first time
From a CRM that now reports honestly
Cost ratio computed from the client's weekly Google Ads scorecard; funnel figures from the client's PostHog project, de-duplicated. Margin shown as state, not amount, at the client's discretion.
01 — The Situation
Two businesses shared an ad account. They did not share economics.
A charter booking is worth many multiples of a single seat, so a higher acquisition cost is structurally correct. The failure was not knowing the ratio—and therefore managing both businesses against one blended target.
Where it started
- Charters consumed roughly a third of paid budget and returned under a tenth of conversions.
- Quote events double-firing in the CRM and a backfill duplicating leads, so nobody could state a true win rate.
- One undifferentiated search campaign for a business where a coach in Newark and a coach in Denver have different fill economics.
- 44% of prospects abandoning the quote form.
Where it is now
- Six campaigns by geography and intent, each with its own cost target.
- A clean event taxonomy in PostHog; two live data bugs found and fixed.
- A fortnightly cost-per-lead and cost-per-booking pulse, with a 180-day glide path stepping the CPA target down 38%.
- Weekly funnel and route-demand digests for the CEO.
02 — What I Did
Every link in the quote chain had to improve at the same time.
The mismatch
Charters inside the shared account
- Share of paid budget
- 33%
- Share of conversions
- 10%
The leak
Quote form
- Prospects abandoning
- 44%
- Prospects completing
- 56%
- Demand
Six-cluster campaign rebuild
Eastern, Central, Mountain and Pacific clusters plus point-to-point and a broad growth campaign, with every keyword classified on intent and relevance.
- Measurement
CRM and funnel instrumentation
Rebuilt the event taxonomy, de-duplicated leads, and made win rate a number the business could defend.
- Discipline
Cost-per-lead programme
A standing fortnightly pulse. Charter costs drift upward quietly; the only defence is measuring them on a schedule someone keeps.
- Sales
Millionaire Club rep training
A sales-skills programme for charter reps, built with the charter sales lead, so cheaper leads also close.
03 — The Result
Cheaper leads, an honest win rate, and a line that pays for its own marketing.
Margin in a quote-based business is a chain, not a lever. A cheaper lead that never quotes is worthless; a great win rate on twelve leads a week does not cover overhead.
Cost per conversion, Charters against Lines
A charter booking is worth many multiples of a seat, so a higher cost is correct. Not knowing the ratio was the failure.
- Charters
- 6.5×
- Lines
- 1×
Contribution after ad spend
NegativeQ3 2026
180-day cost-per-acquisition target
Today−38%
Funnel, measurable for the first time
A 17.7% closed-basis win rate on roughly 520 de-duplicated leads a week, from a CRM that now reports honestly.
- Contribution-positive after ad spend from Q3 2026, from a line that was loss-making on every incremental dollar.
- 17.7% closed-basis win rate on ~520 de-duplicated leads a week, the first defensible funnel numbers the business has had.
- Cost per lead now tracked fortnightly; the cost-per-booking glide path continues, with the 180-day target still being worked.
- SEO audit and content plan in place so charter demand is not only bought.
“Once you know a charter conversion costs 6.5× a seat, 'spend more' stops being a growth plan and starts being a way to lose money faster.”
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