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.”
Practical Application
Define CAC as customer acquisition cost, then state the period, the acquisition-related sales/marketing costs included in the numerator, and the number of new customers counted in the denominator. Keep the cost scope stable when comparing periods or teams.
Reader Check
Could another analyst reproduce the reported CAC from the stated cost categories, customer count, and reporting period?
Worked Example
Write “Q3 CAC was $120 per new customer, using paid-media and sales acquisition costs divided by 2,000 newly acquired customers” rather than reporting “CAC = $120” with no scope or denominator definition.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
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.
