When preparing a business for growth, and for the possibility of a future sale, many owners overlook a powerful lever hiding in plain sight: optimizing for their best-performing service lines. Not all services are created equal, and marketing only at the brand level or uniformly across all offerings can dilute results. Instead, focusing your strategy on the most profitable service lines can accelerate growth, improve margins, and even boost valuation multiples.
We sat down with Kaitlyn Study, CEO of South Street & Co., a digital marketing agency that helps home services and law firms grow through strategic, data-driven campaigns. With over a decade of experience building her firm and guiding clients toward smarter marketing decisions, Kaitlyn shared actionable advice for identifying your most profitable services and aligning marketing accordingly.
Profitability and Valuation Go Hand-in-Hand
Kaitlyn emphasizes a simple truth: when it comes time for a valuation, recurring revenue and high-margin service lines are what buyers are really looking for. “If you want to increase the value of your business, figure out what drives the most profit – not just revenue – and then double down,” she says. That could mean emphasizing full re-piping jobs over quick drain cleanings for a plumbing business, or focusing your legal firm’s marketing around high-retainer work (e.g., trusts) instead of consultations and one-off services (like wills). You don’t have to pare down the services you offer, you just need to focus your marketing dollars on the most profitable ones.
Start with Actionable Data
South Street & Co. provides comprehensive monthly reports to every client, combining Google Analytics, lead tracking, conversion rates, and campaign data. But Kaitlyn is quick to point out that more data isn’t always better. “We design our reports to be digestible. If you overwhelm people, they won’t use the data to take action.”
That’s key when identifying what services are bringing in the most leads, and which of those are actually converting into revenue. By tracking the entire customer journey from first click to closed deal, you can determine which services deserve the bulk of your marketing budget.
Marketing Systems = Higher Valuation
Systems and repeatability matter just as much as strategy. Kaitlyn noted how important it was to have predictable marketing performance, not just ad hoc wins. “Buyers don’t just want good margins. They want to know you have a system in place that will keep delivering them,” she explains.
That’s especially relevant for business owners who are still heavily involved in day-to-day sales. Kaitlyn encourages leaders to shift from owner-driven sales to scalable marketing processes. That includes having follow-up systems in place, making sure the right employees are answering calls, and automating wherever possible.
Use AI to Scale Smarter
South Street & Co. has also started leveraging AI tools to support both internal operations and client success. Kaitlyn shared how she uses AI to analyze financials, create marketing insights, and even build custom GPTs to handle team questions, freeing her up to focus on strategy.
“AI is great for entry-level marketing tasks or digging into data,” Kaitlyn says. “It helps us spot opportunities faster and scale smarter.” For businesses looking to prepare for an eventual exit, these tools can also identify inefficiencies or opportunities within your service lines that may otherwise be missed.
Final Takeaway: Focused Marketing Builds Real Equity
When Align works with business owners preparing for a sale, we often find that the businesses that have focused their strategic marketing around core service lines are rewarded with a tangible difference in both growth and valuation. Kaitlyn’s approach reinforces that insight: by knowing your numbers, testing and measuring what works, and building systems that scale, you’re not just building a business; you’re building an asset.
Whether you’re looking to grow or exit in the near future, the first step is clarity. Identify your most profitable service lines. Then market like your business depends on it – because it does. To learn more about how Kaitlyn and her team help businesses identify their most profitable service lines, check out South Street & Co. And if you’re ready to take the next step with growing or selling your business, Align is here to help.