How do I get ROI from marketing my B2B business?

When people tell me they want to see a Return on Investment, or ROI, from their marketing, I first need to understand what they believe ROI means to them. What is a GREAT return for one business owner with a direct sales mindset is very different from another business owner with a long term vision for marketing mindset. 

Do you have a Direct Sales Mindset or a Long Term Marketing Mindset?

What is defined as a GREAT return for you will be different than what is defined as a great return for me, based on metrics like LTV (Lifetime Value of a Client) or my gross profit margin for the products or services that I sell. 

I know someone who has a 100 million dollar business but his profit is only 3%. He has to run his whole operation on 3 million dollars and he can't afford to acquire costly leads.

I have a client that does just 14 million in revenue and they net 4 million in profit each year. They can afford to pay a significant sum for leads that eventually turn into lucrative clients. 

How profitable is your B2B business? The more you can pay for a lead the higher the quality of the leads you will get!

Another thing to consider is that a STARTUP is very different from a MATURE business that has been around for a while, in terms of what they are looking for. 

I always say that there are three types of value that you can add to a business: 1. Making money 2. Saving money 3. Eliminating risk. 

Startups are really focused on making money. They are cash hungry and often are willing to take almost any client that comes their way. 

Growing a startup takes lots of effort energy and SALES! If you do not have sales, you really do not have a business. 

Once you get over the million dollar mark, you will run out of cash if you do not have PROFIT so you need to focus on profitable clients to get over the 5 million dollar mark, and once you get over the 10 million dollar mark and are super profitable, you need to make sure you eliminate RISK and you do not lose what you built! 

The best way to get an ROI from your marketing is to 1. Understand your goal 2. Get really clear on your target market and 3. Have amazing messaging that will help you convert more of the traffic that comes your way. 

Most people do not have a FUNNEL built out, and then they throw away all the leads they could be nurturing. You want to nurture leads that will turn into clients over time. 

When you get someone to visit your website and they LEAVE without buying, you just threw money out the window. 

If you get their email or have a cookie on their browser then you can get them to come back later. That is more valuable for you. 

Adding lead magnets, email automations, and the right landing pages will save you lots of money in the long run. You will have an automatic lead nurturing system that will drive more clients to stay top-of-mind with you. 

Getting your retargeting up and running, and doing it the right way will get the most ideal clients coming back, and those clients will also send you referrals because you have amazing marketing. 

The right strategy will save you a DECADE!

The more technology you use, and the more you leverage marketing with the right strategy, the more likely you are to get a better ROI from your marketing spend. 

Do not just do SEO without a FUNNEL, do not just drive traffic to a page without a clear target marketing, and the right messaging. Traffic with no strategy is a waste of effort, time, and money. 

Let me know in the comments if you think this article was helpful to you and what did you learn?

Feel free to give it a LIKE if you enjoyed it and LEARNed something valueable.

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Joe Apfelbaum

Ajax Union

PS: Feel free to send me an email at [email protected] with your website and our team will give you some feedback on improving ROI. Let us know that you read this article and you want some advice on how to improve your site. BOOM!