Why should industrial marketing experts keep a close eye on trends in their cost per lead?

In what has become a highly competitive business environment, content marketing has taken hold as an essential communication strategy for any company wishing to highlight and showcase its brand. Nevertheless, putting such a strategy into practice may prove to be a complicated process. For instance, 61% of B2B marketers believe that generating qualified leads represents their greatest challenge, according to ION Interactive.

Similarly, according to the Content Marketing Institute website, 65% of B2B marketers still run into difficulties when determining which content will truly be effective and capable of attracting potential customers. The resources and strategies generally used (specialized trade shows, email campaigns and advertising banners) incur considerable costs. But are they really the most efficient solution? What if there were other methods that could secure your company a fast return on investment?

 

Cost per lead: a key indicator

 

What is the cost per lead?

The cost per lead constitutes a major part of the marketing strategy and therefore deserves special attention. It takes account of all the resources that the company incurs in converting a qualified lead. Generally speaking, it encompasses all the costs associated with digital marketing, traditional marketing and the different sales actions. In other words, it is simply the amount that a company invests in order to recruit a new contact.

 

Calculate your CPL and measure your efficiency and profitability

The main advantage with CPL is that it gives a clear insight into the company’s marketing efficiency and profitability. Are the converted leads (in terms of quantity and quality) worth the amount invested? The aim is to obviously reduce the CPL to a minimum. However, in case of high average order values, a higher CPL is normal. Everything is a question of relativity between the effort put in by the company and the potential gains.

 

Do traditional marketing solutions generate a good return on investment?

Measuring the ROI is not always a walk in the park. Although several methods are available to help you out, the most frequently used ones are not necessarily the most profitable.

 

Trade shows are mistakenly believed to be a good idea

According to inbound marketing agency Nile, 16% of companies exhibiting at industrial trade shows do not generate any revenue after the event. But taking part is a highly expensive endeavor.

All it takes is a specific example to illustrate how this investment can be a waste of money. Imagine that it costs about $10,000 to rent a stand. Then include the travel, sustenance and accommodation costs for your employees, bearing in mind that they will not be producing anything directly for three days. You also need to factor in the cost of transporting and setting up the stand. The final cost can escalate to $50,000 for a three-day show. Even if the company manages to obtain 100 new qualified leads, each lead will have cost $500!

 

Google Ads, SEO and email campaigns: strategies that deserve a closer look

In addition to taking part in a trade show, other marketing methods (digital) are available. Even so, these other methods may also cost significant money without actually procuring an immediate ROI.

For example, SEO is highly profitable in the long term, but it requires patience before it starts paying dividends. It also represents a major investment. As far as Google Ads campaigns are concerned, you can choose between a do-it-yourself approach or appoint a specialized agency to deal with the process. Both options come at a cost. Similarly, you need to take account of the cost of your keywords (cost per click), which varies depending on their popularity and level of competition between companies. Unlike SEO which will be harder to calculate, Google Ads will have an instantly measurable ROI.

As for email campaigns, significant preparation is required to be truly effective. Sending a business email to the wrong recipients is one of the mistakes most frequently made by companies. Therefore, care must be taken to accurately define the target market. Then comes the cost of producing the graphics, writing the editorial content and creating the HTML code, without forgetting the cost of sending or routing emails. To successfully carry out these many tasks and achieve a certain level of profitability, it is better to enlist support and guidance from a specialized company so that the strategy has every chance of being truly effective.

With this fact in mind, radical changes are sweeping the marketing sector. The current idea is to serve relevant content to web users searching for information, so that they can be converted into leads, qualified and empowered to play a proactive part in their path to purchase. To give prospects a leading role in the marketing process, they will need guidance in the run-up to their decision. They are no longer given the hard sale. Instead they see a real interest in the information made available.

 

Upload your product catalog for free: an innovative marketing channel

To help you generate even more leads, TraceParts lets you publish your catalog directly on its website. Your products will then be viewed by engineers and designers. This strategy offers excellent opportunities. 88% of people who download a part end up buying it. Short-term profitability can easily be measured!

With over 3.5 million users registered on its CAD content platform, TraceParts provides parts suppliers with considerable exposure. We are focused on our objective of enabling you to attract even more leads and boost your visibility on the web through high-quality content. As shown by the Item testimonial, the ROI can be both quick and highly effective. In addition to publishing their catalog on our website, Item also uses the digital marketing services proposed by TraceParts, especially email campaigns.

For Christian Thiel, Product Marketing Team Leader at Item, what ultimately prompted his company to use TraceParts’ marketing services was the “targeting strategy and fine-grained customer data segmentation”.

“These campaigns are generally designed and carried out in only a few weeks. We are and have always been highly satisfied with TraceParts’ services. They are an excellent multiplier with a large international reach. Every year, they allow us to generate leads according to specific guidelines, which also results in actionable projects.”

 

So why wouldn’t you opt for such a growth driver too?

 

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关于作者

Yang Guo

Digital Marketing Coordinator, TraceParts

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