The Coyne Labs pricing framework — how retainer tiers actually work

Most agencies hide their pricing until a discovery call is deep enough that you have invested time and emotion. Coyne Labs publishes tier pricing openly because opacity here is a tell. If an agency cannot tell you what they charge without a sales gate, their pricing is probably determined by how much they think they can extract.

Here is how Coyne Labs retainer tiers actually work.

The three retainer tiers

Foundation — the entry retainer. Appropriate for businesses $1M-$3M in revenue. Includes the baseline infrastructure: website management, 2 blog posts per week, GBP management, review automation, basic local SEO, monthly Growth Report.

Elite — the middle retainer. Appropriate for businesses $3M-$7M in revenue. Adds: 3-4 blog posts per week, paid ad management up to a specific budget tier, advanced conversion optimization, retargeting campaigns, quarterly strategic reviews.

Dominance — the top retainer. Appropriate for businesses $7M+ in revenue or complex multi-location operations. Adds: 4-5 blog posts per week, full-funnel paid campaigns, advanced analytics and attribution, multi-location local SEO, client portal access, custom reporting.

What the tiers cost

The tiers are published on the pricing page. Specific numbers move over time as market conditions change. The Growth tier currently starts at $499/mo, flat and month-to-month. The Ownership tier currently runs at $3,999/mo and includes a quarterly valuation strategy session for operators preparing for an exit.

These are retainer fees separate from ad spend. Ad spend is passed through at cost to the client's ad accounts.

How the tier is chosen

1. Revenue and capacity fit. We pick the tier that makes economic sense at the client's current revenue and growth targets. Over-tiering creates margin pressure. Under-tiering starves the program.

2. Build scope. Clients starting with an existing functional website need less initial build work than clients starting from scratch. Scope of initial work influences which tier we recommend.

3. Vertical competitive intensity. Highly competitive verticals (personal injury law, cosmetic surgery, major home services markets) typically require the Elite or Dominance tier to move the needle. Less competitive markets can win at Foundation.

4. Growth target. A client targeting 2x lead growth in 12 months and a client targeting 10x lead growth in 12 months need different tier levels.

What moves a client between tiers

Upgrades happen naturally as clients grow. A Foundation client who hits $3M revenue and wants to push into paid ad growth moves to Elite. An Elite client opening a second location often moves to Dominance. Downgrades happen occasionally — usually because a client has achieved a plateau they are happy with and wants to reduce scope.

Both are fine. Tier movement should reflect the client's actual needs, not the agency's revenue goals.

What is not in the tiers

• —Ad spend — passed through at cost
• —Specialty third-party tools (advanced SEO software, call tracking, specialty CRM integrations) — the client pays for these directly, on their own accounts
• —One-off work outside the retainer scope — we do not take this (see why Coyne Labs does not take one-off projects)
• —Rebuilds triggered by the client wanting a redesign mid-engagement — these are negotiated separately

What the tier buys you beyond services

Every tier includes:

• —Founder involvement at defined levels (monthly for founder beta, quarterly for standard)
• —The full ownership guarantee at month 12
• —The 90-day and 12-month outcome guarantees
• —Full visibility into all work through the monthly Growth Report

How we decide not to take a client

If a prospect's situation does not fit any of the four tiers cleanly, we say so. We do not invent custom tiers to close a client who is not a fit. Either the Growth tier makes sense as an on-ramp, or we refer out. This discipline is why the tier structure works.

Why we price this way

The tiers reflect the actual cost of delivering the scope at our quality level. They are not priced to maximize margin per client. They are priced to sustain a small, profitable firm while making economic sense for the client.

Done well, a retainer should return 3-10x the retainer cost in additional qualified lead value within 12-18 months. If it does not, the tier is wrong.

Why Coyne Labs

Transparent pricing is part of the operating model. For more on the engagement structure, read the Coyne Labs guarantee, in plain English. Or book a call to discuss which tier fits your business.