CAC means customer acquisition cost: the cost of acquiring new customers over a defined period. A common calculation divides acquisition-related sales and marketing costs for a period by the number of new customers acquired in that period; state which costs are included.
ReviewedEvidence1 sourceSectionWriting & Style
Quick answer
CAC means “customer acquisition cost.”
Key details
Core IssueCAC means customer acquisition cost: the cost of acquiring new customers over a defined period.
Phrase Rolecustomer-acquisition metric
Registerbusiness, finance, analytics, reporting, and professional writing
Important caveats
Usage Boundary
A common calculation divides acquisition-related sales and marketing costs for a period by the number of new customers acquired in that period; state which costs are included.
Further guidance
Meaning
CAC means “customer acquisition cost.”
Sources and evidence
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The LTV:CAC ratio compares customer lifetime value with customer acquisition cost and is commonly expressed as a multiple such as 3:1. Define how LTV and CAC are calculated for the same customer population and period before interpreting the ratio; benchmarks are contextual, not universal laws.
ABM means account-based marketing: a growth strategy in which marketing and sales coordinate personalized buying experiences for selected high-value companies or accounts. Keep ABM distinct from a single advertising tactic: it is a broader account-focused strategy that can coordinate marketing and sales across multiple channels.
ACV means annual contract value and expresses a contract’s value on an annualized basis. Organizations can handle one-time fees, discounts, and contract changes differently, so define the local calculation convention when precision matters.
AOV means average order value, a commerce metric for the average value of orders over a defined set or period. State the platform and formula when precision matters. Shopify, for example, calculates AOV as gross sales minus discounts divided by orders and excludes specified post-order adjustments; other systems may define the inputs differently.
ARPU means average revenue per user and expresses the average revenue generated per user or customer during a specified period. Always pair ARPU with a defined period and user population; businesses may use “user,” “account,” or “customer” differently.
ARR means annual recurring revenue in recurring-revenue business reporting, representing recurring revenue on an annualized basis. Define the calculation policy used by your organization, because inclusion/exclusion rules can differ; do not present ARR as a universal accounting standard.
BANT is a sales qualification framework built around Budget, Authority, Need, and Timeline. Treat BANT as a qualification framework rather than a universal scoring system; teams can adapt how the criteria are gathered and weighted.
COB abbreviates “close of business” and refers to the end of a working or business day. It is common deadline shorthand, but the exact end time depends on the working context rather than being encoded in the abbreviation itself.
