How a Marketing Agency Melbourne Businesses Trust Found Out How Local Companies Are Really Tracking With Their Marketing
Part of the SAAR Media’s 2025 Business Research Insights Series
Many owners feel busy with their marketing. Yet once we look underneath, we find a very different story. As part of SAAR Media’s 2025 business research, we reviewed more than 40 scorecard responses to see how local businesses are really tracking. The goal was simple. We wanted to understand strengths, weak spots, and the real habits that shape results across Melbourne and the rest of Victoria.
Our findings offer a clear snapshot of digital marketing performance in 2025. The scorecard used 26 short questions across three areas. These areas covered the sales pipeline, automation and AI, and retargeting. Although every business is unique, the responses revealed patterns that are hard to ignore.
What the Scorecard Measured
The scorecard measured the steps that support growth. It focused on how leads come in, how often data is checked, and how warm audiences are followed up. We wanted to see if owners were tracking numbers, nurturing leads, and using tools that help them run smoother campaigns.
The questions were simple. They were written in plain English. Since most owners are busy, they finished it in under three minutes. You can still take the current version here.
The Average Marketing Score for Melbourne
The average overall score landed at 2.55 out of 10. The median score was 2.14. These results were consistent across many industries. The strongest area was Automation and AI, with a mean score of 2.85 out of 10. The weakest area was Retargeting, with a mean score of 2.11.
This low average tells us something important. Most Melbourne businesses are active online, but very few have a complete system. They run ads, post content, and handle enquiries, yet key parts of the funnel are missing.
Although this may seem concerning, it is also helpful. It shows how fast a business can grow once the missing parts are fixed.
Strongest Pillar: Automation and AI
The Automation and AI pillar scored slightly higher than the others. Many respondents use some automation or simple tools to assist with tasks. They have email platforms, scheduling tools, or basic AI use. However, most are still early in the process.
Even so, this slight lead shows that owners are open to new technology. They just need more structure. This aligns with external research from McKinsey, which explains how AI improves speed and consistency in business operations.
Still, most owners use AI without a proper plan. Some write content with it. Others test it for admin. Very few bring it into reporting or offer delivery. This creates a gap between effort and outcome.
Weakest Pillar: Retargeting
Retargeting was the lowest-scoring pillar by far. In fact, 70% of respondents do not use retargeting at all. Only 10% run retargeting in a structured way across Google or Meta.
This is a major missed step. Warm audiences convert at much higher rates than cold ones. They have already visited your site, checked your services, or seen your ads. Yet most businesses do not follow up. This gap leads to higher ad costs and lower returns.
External research supports this. WordStream notes that retargeting can raise conversions for returning visitors.
When businesses ignore this part, they leave money on the table.
Other Key Findings From Melbourne Respondents
Lead Flow Is Unsteady
More than half of the respondents rely on referrals or unpredictable leads. Their demand rises and falls without a pattern. This causes stress and makes planning difficult.
This matches global findings from Gartner, which states that inconsistent lead volume is one of the main concerns for small business marketers.
Tracking Needs More Attention
Around a third do not track performance. Some look only at top-line numbers like impressions or clicks. Others check traffic but avoid deeper metrics. HubSpot research shows that many businesses do not track lead-to-close rates either.
Melbourne Businesses Are Interested in AI
Interest in AI is rising. Many want to use it. However, most are not yet using it in a way that improves results. They need guidance to apply it in reporting, follow-up, and decision-making.
Statista shows that widespread adoption of marketing automation remains low, even among larger companies.
What Surprised Us
We expected weak retargeting. Yet the scale of the gap surprised us. Since retargeting is low-cost and high-impact, it is unusual to see it missing in so many businesses.
Another surprise was how many owners work hard without strong tracking. They invest in paid ads, but they do not measure the steps between a click and a sale. This makes it harder to improve results and easier to waste budget.
Finally, we saw strong interest in automation and AI but low practical use. Owners want better systems. They just lack a starting point.
What This Says About the Local Market
Melbourne has a strong small business sector. Many operators are determined, skilled, and active. They care about quality and want to grow. Yet the data shows that they often carry the weight of too many manual tasks. They juggle sales, service, admin, and marketing without enough structure underneath.
The findings suggest that Melbourne businesses are doing their best with what they know. However, they need better systems to support long-term growth. With clearer tracking, more automation, and proper retargeting, their current ad spend and pipeline can work much harder.
This also explains why many feel stuck. They are busy, yet results do not move as expected. It is not due to lack of effort. It is due to missing building blocks.
How a Marketing Agency Melbourne Businesses Trust Can Help
If you want support from a marketing agency Melbourne owners rely on for clear, steady, and ethical growth, SAAR Media can help. We work with small and medium businesses across Victoria to fix tracking, improve automation, and set up retargeting paths that lift results without raising ad spend.
We also help you understand your numbers. Once you know where your leads come from and what your funnel is doing each week, you can make decisions with confidence. You can take the free scorecard to see how your setup compares, and you can reach out to our team for help applying the insights.
Conclusion
The scorecard showed the three biggest gaps in Melbourne for 2025: tracking, automation, and retargeting. These gaps hold back growth and create unpredictable results. Once fixed, businesses see steady improvement without raising ad spend. If you need help from the best advertising agency Melbourne to fix these gaps and build a strong foundation, SAAR Media can walk you through each step.