Introduction to paid advertising

Like gas and groceries, marketing is getting more expensive – and B2B SaaS marketers who rely on paid advertising feel the pain the most.

Macroeconomic conditions and changes in B2B buying behavior have made traditional ad playbooks pricier, less effective, and less scalable:

Ads are more expensive due to crowding and competition on paid platforms. People have changed the way they research products online, and they are leaving trackable platforms for dark social. If it feels like “people aren’t clicking on ads anymore,” you’re not alone.

New privacy regulations make it difficult to target the right customers — and easy to waste ad budgets.

Customer acquisition costs (CACs) in B2B subscription businesses rose over 60% from 2014 to 2019, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue since.

To stem the tide of rising costs, marketers need to shift the way they think about paid advertising to keep CAC under control.

In this guide, you’ll learn why acquisition costs are going up and what to do about it, with insights from marketing experts at Outshine, Omni Lab, Refine Labs, and Clearbit.

Chapter 1: Think like a leader by understanding CAC and using this metric to manage business health. Learn about the broader industry shifts that are causing B2B CACs to rise.

Chapter 2: Make an investment today for more sustainable paid ads tomorrow. Shift some ad spend into brand advertising, even though it might feel counterintuitive.

Chapter 3: Respond to worse targeting power on ad platforms by reverse-engineering your ICP with your own data — to spend ad budget only on the most valuable prospects. Focused targeting is a competitive advantage and a must-have for cost control.

When you fortify your advertising playbook for a world of rising costs, you’ll make sure your marketing organization is not a cost center, but a revenue leader that can pay for itself — in any environment.