Costs Of B2B Lead Generation Tactics

A business leader’s job is to invest in the tactics that will yield the greatest returns. Before

determining the mix of tactics to invest in for a specific budget, a business leader should first be

aware of the costs inbound and outbound generation tactics and how well they work.

Outbound

In their research, Marketing Profs pointed out that outbound tactics were most effective in

delivering quality leads, with 39% of respondents citing it as the most effective.

Sales Team

Internal salespeople were believed to be most effective in lead generation, through the use of

referrals. As you would expect, this is also the most expensive tactic. Salespeople rarely only

receive their basic compensation, they generally receive commission on the sales they make.

MyCareer.com.au notes that on average, Sydney sales consultants receive $75,000 annually,

while sales managers receive $100,000 annually.

Telemarketing

The second most effective lead generation tactic, according to Marketing Profs is telemarketing,

due to its direct and interactive nature. But again it is one of the most expensive lead generation

tactics, given the costs of professional telemarketers. External telemarketers charge between $20

– $25 / hour or more depending on the work they’re expected to do and the quality of the list.

The other option is to have telemarketing done in-house, which means the cost you incur is

training the staff in telemarketing, in addition to their compensation which depends on the role

selected for the job (higher for salespeople, lower for admin staff).

EVENTS

The second most effective set of tactics was events, according to 27% of the survey respondents.

Trade Shows

Trade shows bring businesses and buyers together and allow business owners and their

salespeople to establish personal connections with their buyers. They are also able to filter out

contacts from genuine leads at the event (if they ask the right questions), making it a highly

effective source of qualified leads. At a trade show, a business can choose to sponsor and speak,

exhibit or just attend, so the investment that is entailed for each participation phase differs. It

also generally differs by scale of event and industry type. But it is not uncommon for businesses

to pay about $1,000 – $2,000 to attend the event, $8,000 – $10,000 to exhibit and above $10,000

for sponsorship and speaking opportunities.

Executive Events

Executive events are generally of smaller scale than trade shows. If conferences can have

hundreds or thousands of people, executive events tend to have less than 50, and some events

are more intimate with less than 10 people. With the smaller group, the conversations become

more targeted and you can easily identify a genuine lead. Of course, these come with an

investment for rent and meals, but not as much as trade shows. Typically, the cost of these

events range from $2,000 to $4000 for a small-scale event, and above AUD $5,000 for a larger

event.

Webinars

One of the top inbound marketing tactics believed to be one of the most effective is webinars.

The ability to engage through video and audio has proven to be popular amongst B2B

marketers and buyers alike. The cost to do a webinar is relatively low, compared to the costs

associated with the aforementioned tactics. You need the right content as well as the voice

conferencing capabilities. Companies like Citrix have made this easier with their tool

GoToWebinar, that are delivered on-demand for $49 / month for up to 50 attendees, and goes

up to $499 / month for 1000 attendees.

Online

Online marketing tactics were also believed to be effective as noted by 17% of respondents,

with a mix of email marketing, content marketing and website SEO and social media.

Email Marketing

As one of a direct marketing tactics, email marketing has been successful in generating qualified

leads. Some businesses shy away from it, for fear of being labeled as SPAM, but those who still

leverage it believe it is valuable. The main cost associated with email marketing is the marketing

automation tool. There are some inexpensive tools such as MailChimp that provide basic email

marketing functionalities and list management, and there are those that are full scale marketing

tools like HubSpot. The monthly cost of these inbound tools can range from $10 to $800.

Website SEO

Google search is perhaps the most used search tool in the world. To be on the first position for

your keyword is what every company strives to achieve or maintain. Organic search has been a

key source of qualified leads, and that is why many companies invest in SEO experts and

consultants. The costs of these vary greatly since there are freelance SEO consultants that charge

less than $10 / hour, while there are specialized SEO agencies whose fees are $3000 a month.

Content Marketing

An overarching tactic that is also believed to be rising in effectiveness is content marketing. It

comprises of the two above and many others including website content, blog posts, whitepapers,

case studies, infographics, videos, etc. Case studies and customer testimonials were highlighted

as the two most effective content marketing tactics in lead generation. The costs for content

marketing overall mainly involve freelance writers / internal marketers’ costs, freelance designer

/ design agency costs, and marketing automation which could potentially cost $1000 – $5000

every month.

Social Media

According to the research by Marketing Profs, social media was perceived to be the least

effective lead generation tactic, with only 5% of respondents believing it to be effective. What

has been established is that social media is a good channel to maintain brand presence and

increase brand exposure. The costs involved with social media tactics are next to nothing since

social networks are free. However, you may want to use scheduling tools to be more efficient

with your social media posts.

Cost Comparison

Overall, the costs of inbound and online lead generation tactics are much less than outbound or

events, (even though it is perceived to deliver better results). It is important to note that no

category of tactics will work as absolutes. These depend on your buyers, their needs and their

buying behavior. The best way to navigate through the challenges of lead generation is to use a

mix of outbound and inbound, perhaps leverage content marketing with a quarterly executive

event or a trade show once a year. If you leverage the right inbound and outbound tactics that

suit your buyers, the results you receive will outweigh the costs.

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