Advertising sales are down in every medium today, except digital. Online giants like Facebook, Youtube and Google have sucked the revenue out of traditional TV and print. As a B2B technology reseller you had better play in that space, and if you can’t answer the question, how much are you paying per lead, then you need to hire a new marketing agency.
MPSToolbox has long beat the drum on the need for all resellers to adopt e-commerce. Our approach has always been that your key to revenue and profit growth has been to broaden your appeal to existing customers. While I still believe that is true, when you combine e-commerce and digital marketing, the results are astounding.
Take a look at the following table.
The above table is based on an actual customer that spent real money with Google on search engine marketing (SEM). In simple terms, when people entered search terms into Google, we paid to have the customer's ad appear. Focus on the progression and efficiency here:
- With each month, we got more clicks.
- As we got more clicks, Google presented us to more people (remember in most cases they get paid only when people click, so they show successful ads more).
- We also continued to refine the ad so it was more appealing. We removed words that got low responses, and those that got lower conversions.
- As the ad efficiency improved we got more leads at a lower cost.
The great thing about using mechanisms like Google or Facebook is that they can give you instant results, and you can refine/improve what you do.
The beautiful thing about this process with Google or Facebook is that you can target based on geographical area and demographics. What does that mean? In this example we can specify:
- ZIP codes we want the ad to appear in
- Demographics of the customer (gender, age, interests, etc.)
You don’t have to pay for ads in Los Angeles, if your business is in Chicago. You don’t have to pay to advertise to a 90 year old grandma. You can also decide that businesses don’t typically look for printers after midnight on a Saturday.
So, based on the chart here, if we managed your lead generation systems, you could expect to pay around $50 per lead. One important item here is that conversions can be either actual sales, or forms people fill out. In our experience, not having an ability to buy products, drastically reduces the leads you get, and costs increase. This is also an important consideration—we know the print and imaging business. We know B2B. We know e-commerce and IT. Many resellers we talk to are using generalized marketing companies that lack industry know-how. With our base of customers throughout North America, we can apply things we learn from one partner in one geography, to another.
What experience does your marketing partner have to get you leads? How much are you paying? A better question than how much are you paying, is how much is it costing you?
Is $50 a good price for a lead? No, it's a GREAT price for a lead. As long as your company views customer acquisition as the goal. If you view a customer and a printer or a supply sale as a one time event, it's a terrible price to pay. The distinction? Strategy.
For resellers that acquire the customer then target them with more products and categories through email marketing, and other tactics, well then, that is a business with a bright future.
Contact us today to see how we can turn your marketing spend into a lead generation gold mine.
