Industries · 9 industries, 74 case studies
Marketing audits, by industry.
Where budgets leak differs by business model. Pick yours to see its published audits, the case lower median and the scope of an audit in your sector.
- 9industries
- 74published cases
- $47k to $83kcase lower median a year, by industry
- 5 to 7working days to findings
Source: the 74 published case studies, one highlight figure each.
Pick your industry
Counts and lower medians are computed from the published cases. Your pick is remembered in this browser only.
- 10 published cases
DTC / Ecommerce
Separate acquisition from contribution after product costs, shipping, returns and discounts.
$53kcase lower median a yearRead the DTC / Ecommerce audits → - 8 published cases
B2B SaaS
Separate pipeline attribution, closed won acquisition, billing and retention.
$52kcase lower median a yearRead the B2B SaaS audits → - 7 published cases
Marketplace
Separate buyer and seller acquisition, incentives and take rate contribution.
$66kcase lower median a yearRead the Marketplace audits → - 7 published cases
Subscription
Separate voluntary churn, failed payments, billing and acquisition.
$51kcase lower median a yearRead the Subscription audits → - 8 published cases
Retail
Reconcile online and store demand before crediting campaigns.
$54kcase lower median a yearRead the Retail audits → - 8 published cases
Services
Follow acquisition through intake, booked work and delivery contribution.
$47kcase lower median a yearRead the Services audits → - 7 published cases
Fintech
Separate acquisition from risk adjusted contribution, fraud, servicing and retention.
$83kcase lower median a yearRead the Fintech audits → - 9 published cases
Pharma
Prescription products, diagnostics, consumer health and devices have different demand paths and constraints.
$64kcase lower median a yearRead the Pharma audits → - 10 published cases
Manufacturing
Reconcile channel conflict, distributor rebates, contract pricing and cost pass through.
$64kcase lower median a yearRead the Manufacturing audits →
Compare industry evidence
The estimator uses a model reference per industry; the published cases give a lower median. They are different statistics, shown side by side.
Scroll horizontally to compare all columns on a narrow screen.
| Industry | Published cases | Model reference / year | Case lower median / year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DTC / Ecommerce | 10 | $54k | $53,000 |
| B2B SaaS | 8 | $60k | $52,000 |
| Marketplace | 7 | $66k | $66,000 |
| Subscription | 7 | $51k | $51,000 |
| Retail | 8 | $56k | $54,000 |
| Services | 8 | $47k | $47,000 |
| Fintech | 7 | $83k | $83,000 |
| Pharma | 9 | $64k | $64,000 |
| Manufacturing | 10 | $67k | $64,000 |
The population is the 74 published case studies, with one selected highlight figure per case. It is not a representative sample of all SMBs or a total of every finding in each audit. A lower median is the middle value after sorting, using the lower of the two middle values for an even count. Published annual figures include different outcome types; they are not all collected cash, profit or recurring savings. Case publication dates do not establish common observation, implementation or recovery periods; use each case for its supported timing and outcome.
The lower median annual highlight figure by industry runs from $47k (Services) to $83k (Fintech) across 74 published MarginFix audits.MarginFix, marginfix.ai/industries/
In their words
What clients said after the readout. Every statement sits on a published case; open the case for the audited figure.
“Short version, we were about to cut the wrong thing. Glad we got this done first.”
$134k a year, read a year after a 6 day audit
Contribution margin on the two top campaigns: −7% → +9%
“Revenue grew and cash didn't. Victoria rebuilt margin per order after shipping, returns and payment fees, and our two biggest prospecting campaigns were losing money on every sale. We stopped scaling them.”
Victoria MillerLead auditor on this audit“Founder was on the kickoff call, the auditor who did the work ran the readout. Small thing but I've never had that with a consultancy before. You actually talk to the people who know the answers.”
$118k a year of wasted spend cut in 7 days
Rebates paid on volume never actually earned: 19% → 1%
“Rebate expense outran distributor volume and we could not see why. Cristian reconciled rebates paid against volume actually shipped and paid for, tier by tier: accruals had run off gross purchase orders. Quarterly true ups now catch it.”
Cristian BragauSenior Auditor · signed this audit off“The thing that won me over was a line in the report that basically said "we can't prove this one, so we're not counting it". Nobody does that. Made me trust everything else in there.”
$96k a year of wasted spend cut in 7 days
App installs that funded a real account: 24% → 63%
“Installs looked great and funded accounts stagnated. David followed sign ups through to funding, and the bonus was buying registrations from people who claimed it and never transacted. Incentives now pay on activation, not the download.”
David JacksonSenior Auditor · signed this audit off“I've paid for a few of these "audits" over the years and they usually end with a pitch. This one ended with a list of what to fix and which parts we could do ourselves. Some of it was not what I wanted to hear. All of it was right.”
$92k a year found in 7 days
Enterprise deal margin lost to quarter end: 5 pts lost → 0 pts lost
“Bookings hit target while margin slipped. Cristian split our discounting by timing and rep: concessions spiked in the last days of every quarter because buyers had learned to wait. Approval thresholds fixed it without losing deals.”
Cristian BragauSenior Auditor · signed this audit off“Solid work. Lost a star only because the first week dragged, mostly getting them access on our end so partly our fault. After that it moved fast and the readout was really clear.”
$88k a year of wasted spend cut in 7 days
Paid social proven to lift store visits: ~1 in 3 → 9 in 10
“Our CFO doubted that online ads drove store visits. David's matched market geo lift test proved the doubt right: footfall barely changed where the ads were off. The budget moved to markets and channels that passed the test.”
David JacksonSenior Auditor · signed this audit off$88k annual budget redirection identified in 7 days
Congress spend with a tracked return: 8% → 88%
“Six figures a year in congresses and KOL sponsorships, renewed on habit. Leslie tried to connect it to share of voice, engagement or prescribing and found no instrumentation at all. The unmeasurable part now funds engagement we can track.”
Leslie MartinSenior Auditor · signed this audit off$74k a year of wasted spend cut in 7 days
Courier bonuses paid into already full zones: 22% → 3%
“Incentive spend rose while service levels stayed flat. Alex matched bonus payouts against real time courier availability by zone: in dense areas we paid couriers who would have worked anyway. Bonuses now fire only where coverage is short.”
Alex PopSenior Auditor · signed this audit off$63k a year found in 6 days
Active users actually being billed: 93% → 99%
“Expansion lagged what we saw inside accounts. Victoria reconciled active users against billed seats: many customers used more seats than they paid for. Automated true ups now capture it, and nobody pushed back.”
Victoria MillerSenior Auditor · signed this audit off$62k a year found in 6 days
Qualified inbound calls that became bookings: 2 in 3 → 9 in 10
“Marketing hit every target and revenue stalled. Leslie followed our qualified calls into intake and about a third were dropped at busy times or never followed up. Fixing staffing and call handling converted demand we had already paid for.”
Leslie MartinSenior Auditor · signed this audit offIndustry questions
Three questions owners ask before they book.
Does an audit work for a business like mine?
Every audit works the same way: read only access to your ad, analytics and revenue data, and every finding tied to your own numbers. The 74 published cases span nine industries, with 7 to 10 in each; the card for your industry above links to its cases and states the case lower median. Outcome definitions and periods differ by case, so read the linked case evidence.
We spend under $10k a month. Is it worth it?
We generally work with teams spending $10k to $250k a month on marketing, and the Diagnostic Check ($1,450) is best suited to $15k to $25k. Under $10k, we check fit before proposing a tier: the 15 minute fit call comes before any payment, and if we are not the right fit, we say so before you pay. Every tier carries its findings guarantee; the Diagnostic Check's floor is $10,000 of identified margin, or a full refund.
Our category is not listed.
The nine industries are how the 74 published cases are grouped, not a limit on who we audit. The method does not change: read only access, every finding quantified against your own numbers, the same fixed fee tiers and guarantee. Tell us on the 15 minute fit call what you sell and how you acquire customers; if we are not the right fit, we say so before you pay.
Your industry, your numbers.
Audit your own margin in 5 to 7 working days, fixed fee. $10k to $50k of findings, or your money back.
Fixed fee. No retainer. NDA first.
Go deeper
Read on from the industry pages
- All 74 findingsRanked by annual value, $58k lower median, each one a real case.→
- The benchmarkWhere 74 SMB marketing budgets leaked, by share of spend and by industry.→
- The estimatorA modeled range for your own spend and revenue, in about a minute.→
- Client statements60 statements, filtered to your industry first.→
- Margin leaksThe five leak patterns in depth: what each one is and how an audit finds it.→
- CompareAn audit against a consultant, your agency or your own team, side by side.→
- What good looks like by spend bandLeak share, attribution gap and the median finding at $10k to $250k a month, from the audit base.→