Alex Barca
Director of Demand Generation
As a career B2B marketer, I am all too familiar with the digital advertising space.
Whether it’s display ads, Google ads, LinkedIn ads, or paid social, I’ve tried it all across my various demand generation roles over the years.
At times, it feels like a necessary evil. With certain ads (cough, display), you’re not likely to see any conversions at all, continuing to spend marketing dollars with the hope that brand impressions are doing their job, without any true evidence that it’s producing quality opportunities.
Alternatively, other types of PPC ads (pay-per-click advertisements) often cost a decent amount of money for a single click, and furthermore provide inquiries from small companies or not-so-serious buyers.
$15 per click for a not-so-serious buyer? Not-so-fun.
As I’ve continued to research and develop enterprise marketing strategies, I knew there had to be a better, more efficient way to spend my ever-dwindling marketing budget.
Enter what we call Offline Engagement - or what you may know as gifting, direct mail, branded swag, or any offline interaction with a brand. After starting at Postal nearly two years ago, our CEO, Erik Kostelnik, has continually challenged us to invest more money in the channel that we all believe in for our customers. In doing so, I’ve not only been able to create more memorable impressions, but also spend my budget in a more efficient manner (and get more money to expand the strategy – a marketer’s dream!).
If you are looking for marketing gift ideas discover our latest blog article.
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Here’s the breakdown:
I used to spend tens of thousands of dollars on advertising every month, only to see a less than stellar ROI (return on investment) on my spend. Sometimes, less than 1x.
It felt like I was throwing money away.
I recently shifted those dollars to a holistic ABM offline gifting campaign, making custom gift packs, ranging in value from $15-$80, depending on the size of the prospect and average deal value of the account we were targeting.
Each campaign spans a quarter, and when reflecting on the offline spend of Q42022, ($15k) and the pipeline and eventual ROI that came from these items being delivered to target accounts ($300K in pipeline, $65k in closed-won revenue), it stacks up to around a 4.3x return.
How am I able to easily stack up the channel ROI against each other? We use a tool called Planful, a Postal integration partner that easily allows us to compare channel spend, revenue, and ROI.
With Planful, you can:
- Connect Postal campaigns to Planful via Salesforce to see pipeline, revenue, and ROI on your spend
- Easily compare Postal results to other campaigns and channels to best optimize your dollars in the future and build your budget
- Group Postal sends together to see larger campaign efficacy or look at sends on an individual basis to better plan your tactics
So as you're heading into the 2024 planning season, I dare you to run an A/B test: carve out some of next month’s advertising budget and allocate it towards thoughtfully timed gifts to target accounts.
Would you rather spend $15 on an ad click or $15 on a custom coffee kit delivered to a CFO’s doorstep. Even if that coffee delivery doesn’t immediately convert into pipeline , I’d wager the coffee will leave a longer lasting impression than the ad—so when they’re ready to buy, your brand will be top of mind.
Who’s with me?
Make the most of your marketing budget with Offline Engagement
Achieve higher returns and more memorable engagement within target accounts by leveraging the power of Offline Engagement. When planning your next quarter or fiscal year, consider reallocating marketing budget towards personalized gifts and branded experiences. Chat with one of our specialists today to integrate Offline Engagement into your programs and maximize your marketing budget.
