How a Marketing Campaign Achieved 8:1 ROI and Took Home a Gold Award

A return on investment is never guaranteed, and the long sales cycle typical of B2B products can complicate matters. Learn how Goldstein Group Communications (GGC) achieved an $8:$1 ROI on a marketing campaign designed to help launch a new product for a client with a business focus on property identification solutions. The campaign also struck gold, winning an award from a local PRSA chapter.

Fighting the Extended Sales Cycle Common with Introducing a New Product

When companies with a long history in a dedicated industry sector introduce a new brand and product line, it represents a significant investment in time, testing, and technology. Marketing efforts can stretch for months before making an impact.

The primary goal for a new product launch involves generating enough qualified leads to help cover research and development costs for the new product and to continue moving prospects into the sales funnel. Therefore, a new product rollout requires careful planning to nurture contacts and prospects through the sales funnel to sales-qualified lead (SQL) status.

GGC rolled out a campaign that achieved an 8:1 ROI while also garnering landing page leads that surpassed initial program goals by 30%. This launch campaign and its results impressed the judges at the PRSA Cleveland Rocks Awards, receiving gold in the “Campaigns” category. Read further to find out if program strategies and tactics could work the same marketing magic for your company.

B2B Companies Need Strategies to Help Manage Long Sales Cycles

Metalcraft needed a partner to help them name its new custom inlay brand, Inlay Innovation, for property identification tags, announce the new product, highlight its unique benefits, and generate leads. The company hoped the product launch would generate enough interest and sales to recoup its investment.

This product launch involved a sales cycle longer than usual compared to its traditional product line, requiring quick lead generation and assistance to nurture leads down the sales funnel.

GGC developed goals and measurable objectives, along with a strategy that would best utilize Metalcraft’s resources to respond well to the target audience. The campaign set its initial targets for a desired number of leads overall, narrowing it to sales-qualified leads (SQLs) over a six-month period and setting a cap on cost-per-lead based on the client budget.

Multi-Channel Digital Campaign Developed to Deliver Message

GGC created a 360° multi-touch, multi-channel digital campaign for its targeted audience to create awareness, drive conversions, and incrementally increase leads. It combined paid, owned, shared, and earned media to acquire contacts, nurture them, and drive SQLs.

In a multi-pronged approach, an important program component involved the development of supportive, explanatory content, including technical guides, webinars, and other cohesive pieces designed to address technical questions about an unproven, newer technology. This was designed as a bottom-of-the-funnel approach to pull prospects through to SQL as quickly as possible.

The program combined brand impact visuals, including a new logo, trade media outreach, paid search, marketing automation, social media, and extensive content marketing. In total, the program incorporated:

• Content marketing
  • Core content: white paper 
  • Blogs on customization 
  • Case study 
  • Videos on customization 
  • New webinar 
    
• Web landing pages with immediate key messaging and CTAs (calls to action) 
• A news release with links for more information going to the product landing page  
• Social media with posts to technical content and sales rep cross-promotion  
• Nurture campaign   
• Paid media, including PPC (pay per click) and advertising     

Striking ROI Gold

Leads generated since the launch were 30% above the initial goal. The $8:$1 ROI meant that for every dollar in marketing spend, the company realized $8 in revenue. Further, the campaign influenced revenue of $177:1 for every dollar spent.

Since the Inlay Innovation campaign launch, Metalcraft has generated an impressive amount in closed-won revenue. Due to the strength and depth of the existing content pillar, the program should continue to generate leads among new and existing customers.

Launching a new product, rebranding, or simply trying to navigate the long sales cycle typical in B2B? Contact us, and we’ll be happy to examine your current efforts, develop a plan, and follow through with a winning program tailored to your company and your target audience. When you go prospecting with Goldstein Group Communications, you just might strike gold, too.