Driving Sustainable Lead Flow

Optimal leveraged intelligent data and strategic campaign management to slash Foundation Source's lead costs by 85.8%, surpassing the client's target by 64.4%, all while safeguarding their core business campaigns.

300%

more leads than goal

85%

in cost per lead

100

leads in 2 months

The problem.

Foundation Source, a leader in management services for private foundations, faced a unique challenge with their newly developed SaaS solution, Impactfully. This self-service software was designed to complement Foundation Source’s core service offerings, providing private foundation managers with a do-it-yourself version of their renowned services. However, several hurdles stood in their way: Major Challenges: Niche Market: The customer base for Impactfully is a subset of an already niche industry, requiring targeted and precise marketing strategies. Potential Cannibalization: Aggressively marketing Impactfully could risk the client’s core business, with customers opting for the SaaS solution over traditional services. High CPM Rates: The financial sector commands some of the highest Cost Per Mille (CPM) rates on advertising platforms, significantly increasing the cost of customer acquisition. Facing these complex challenges, Foundation Source turned to Optimal to spearhead the paid acquisition component of their go-to-market strategy for Impactfully.

The solution.

We conducted research on various ad platforms to get a sense of audience sizes, CPM, CPC, and other variable factors to present Foundation Source with the best game plan as per our expertise.

Step 1: The Channel

We determined that Google Ads would be the best place to begin based on the data. We used data we could gather on competitors to find keywords in the market that would be most relevant for Impactfully. Then we researched and applied costing data and average monthly search activity.

This allowed us to present the client with a range of potential budgets based on various spend levels and the type of performance that might be expected.

Step 2: The Destination Page

Once we had a solid Google Ads strategy in place, the next step was to ensure that the traffic we were driving would convert. We turned our focus to the destination page, the place where potential leads would land after clicking on our ads.

Page Optimization: We conducted a comprehensive review of the landing page, ensuring that it was fully optimized for conversions. This included checking that the page was user-friendly, had clear calls-to-action, and was aligned with the messaging in our ads.
A/B Testing: To maximize the effectiveness of the page, we employed A/B testing, experimenting with different headlines, images, and copy to see what resonated most with our audience. This iterative approach allowed us to continuously improve the page based on real user data.

Step 3: Driving Traffic

Once we had laid the groundwork with our research and strategy, it was time to launch the Google Ads campaign for Impactfully. Here’s how we went about it:

Keyword Research: Used tools like Google’s Keyword Planner to find relevant keywords and see how competitive they are.
Write Your Ads: Created compelling ad copy that clearly communicates the value proposition and includes a call-to-action. Ads were relevant to the keywords targeted.

Step 4: Testing & Learning Phase

After the campaign was live, the first month was dedicated to learning and optimization. We allocated a budget of $5000, which was intentionally distributed across various ad groups and audiences, all in an effort to gather real-time, updated data that would inform our subsequent strategies.

During this initial phase, we were able to generate 8 leads, with the cost per lead (CPL) coming in at $621.34. While these numbers were off our target, the insights gleaned from this first month were invaluable. This phase was not about instant results; it was a necessary step in fine-tuning our approach to ensure long-term success.

Step 5: Optimizations Post-Learning

The testing and learning phase provided us with a wealth of data and insights, which we then used to make informed and strategic alterations to the campaign. Our team delved deep into the metrics, identifying what worked and what didn’t, and implemented major changes accordingly.

The impact of these optimizations was immediately evident in month 2, where we saw a significant uptick in performance. The campaign generated 95 leads with the cost per lead (CPL) drastically reducing to $53.33, far exceeding the client’s goal of $150 per lead.