At
HubSpot
, we’re always debating which marketing tactics get us the best leads – the leads that eventually convert to sales. Looking at this data from the
2010 Lead Generation Marketing ROI Study
by the
Lenskold Group
, I notice many familiar tactics – webinars, free trials, whitepaper and e-books, e-newsletters, discounts etc. All of them take different levels of time and effort. You don’t create a webinar in just one hour (if you want it to have good content). A decent presentation takes weeks to promote and develop. White papers take research and thought to produce something of lasting value.
Source: The Lenskold Group
What this chart tells me is that if you choose the right topic and market to the right audience, your webinars will be effective. If you can get your prospects to try your product and spend the time educating them about its benefits, you have a good chance of converting that sale. But all of this takes time and effort, which brings me to what I’ve been thinking about a lot lately – what is the return on effort (ROE) of these marketing tactics?
For example, it takes a lot more time to create a webinar than to offer limited time discounts. But according to the chart, webinars are almost twice as effective as discounts. My guess is that it takes at least more than twice as long to create a webinar as it does to offer a discount. So is the ROE on discounts better or worse than a webinar?
We wanted like to find out what marketers thought about their best returns on their efforts. That’s why we commissioned Econsultancy, a publisher of best practice online marketing guides, to conduct the
Return-on-Effort Marketing Survey
, which was completed at the end of July by over 500 respondents. And, we'll be sharing the results of that survey during a
webinar
on Thursday, August 19 at 2pm EDT.
Do you think about your
return-on-effort
when deciding upon marketing tactics?
Free Download: Marketing Data: 50+ Marketing Charts and Graphs
|
HubSpot has compiled over 50 original marketing charts and graphs on topics including Lead Generation, Blogging and Social Media, Marketing Budgets, Twitter and Facebook Download the ebook now! to have access to these charts for use in your own presentations |
Inbound Marketing Blog Feed
ManPuppy Men 9:41 AM on August 13, 2010
These suggestions, of course, do not apply to all industries. A webinar on pet supplies, for example, is not going to be as effective as a discount, no matter how you slice it. Sweeping generalizations should be taken with a grain of salt.
Jeanne Hopkins 9:50 AM on August 13, 2010
Thanks @ ManPuppy Men. You bring up a good point. The chart is based on a survey, and - depending on who responded - can skew results.
Maciej 11:22 AM on August 13, 2010
I think in a perfect world all the above efforts should be executed but I think it depends on where your company is in its life cycle with some of the above mentioned.
stan devaughn 1:40 PM on August 13, 2010
Here's secret to eternal youth:
KNOW PRECISELY WHICH OF YOUR PRODUCT'S (OR SERVICE'S)BENEFITS IS CONSIDERED MOST VALUABLE BY YOUR BUYERS. Not your CEO, or VP sales, or product managers. Once you nail this one, a lot of other stuff falls into place. Like what tactics you use to generate qualified leads! Caution: Make no assumptions about which benefit is most valuable. You must get out there and talk to people, do rigorous research and stay current. It's not easy, but it's the most useful datapoint of all. Think about it.
Michel Hoetmer 7:44 AM on August 14, 2010
Interesting! I think there is a correlation between the time and effort the marketer invests and the investment of time and effort on behalf of the prospect. Attending a webinar is quite a substantial effort. These prospects might be more engaged. On the other hand subscribing to a newsletter or downloading a white paper is somewhat more casual.