Customer acquisition cost (CAC) is a metric that business leaders hold in high regard, and rightly so. The problem is, hitting your ideal CAC isn’t getting any easier to achieve in an economic slump.

CAC is calculated by dividing the total sales and marketing costs that it takes to acquire customers by the total number of customers acquired over a given time. Essentially, it tells you how much your business has to spend to get a new customer.

While this calculation is vital for planning and enabling business growth, it’s a number that is steadily going up across all industries and verticals. Both B2B and B2C businesses have seen CAC rise by roughly 60% over the last five years, and this trend shows no sign of slowing down.

So, what can businesses do to weather uncertain times and make the most of their marketing efforts? The answer is simple: Double down on the strategies that are proven to get the most ROI. And nothing performs better than reengagement campaigns.