- Ask CMO
- Posts
- š ļø Higher CPLs Might Actually Cost Less
š ļø Higher CPLs Might Actually Cost Less
Plus: Fixing that leaky funnel
Hey there!
The AskCMO team spent the week digging up the best B2B marketing tools and trends so you donāt have to.
And the best part? You can catch up on all of it in the next 3 minutes.
In todayās Tools & Trends roundup:
Too many leads never become customers because of snaky, hidden pain points in your funnel. Auditing (and fixing) those leaks is key to a smoother, faster path to revenue.
šļø The key takeaways:
When ads and ICP arenāt perfectly matched, youāll spend money on the wrong clicks and wonder why your funnelās stalling.
Automate follow-up sequences and equip sales with FAQ answers, case studies, and relevant content to prevent prospects from dropping out post-demo.
Track your buyersā actual steps, from first contact to onboarding, and refine your funnel to meet their needs at each and every stage.
Traditional ABM is getting a major overhaul. In 2025 the B2B landscape demands an account-driven GTM strategy (think: one that goes beyond targeting a few high-priority accounts and unifies your entire market, from brand awareness all the way to customer success).
šļø The key takeaways:
Map your entire potential market. Thanks to better data enrichment and research tools, you can identify all viable accounts and add them to your CRM with granular detail.
Beyond old-school lead scoring, you can track 2nd- and 3rd-party intent data at the account level. This means your team can spot which accounts are actively researching solutions.
Inbound isnāt just a top-of-funnel magnet anymore. Itās now a mid-funnel checkpoint. When a potential account engages your content or website, thatās a signal for deeper, multi-channel nurturing.
Everyone already knows that paid channels like LinkedIn and Google can give your brand a huge edge. The key is knowing where to focus for a stronger ROI and better conversions.
šļø The key takeaways:
Product-led models often see a lower cost per conversion because free trials or product demos beat scheduling a sales call in terms of click appeal.
Non-branded searches can get pricey if your AOV is either too high or too low, so narrow your efforts to high-intent keywords that self-qualify searchers.
Running ads against competitor brand names is expensive and risky. Keep a close eye on negative keywords and monitor performance metrics before scaling up.
Forms that keep users on-platform, especially LinkedIn, can convert three times better than landing pages. And donāt sleep on conversation ads. They often see a 50% open rate.
Podcasts are a great way for CMOs to establish themselves and their company as experts while reaching their audience in a more personal way, but how do you tie them back to pipeline and revenue?
šļø The key takeaways:
Integrate podcasts with other channels (like email, social, and blog posts) so you can track content engagement end-to-end.
Post clips and quotes on LinkedIn, then watch who engages, especially if theyāre decision-makers at target accounts.
Combine social engagement data with your CRM or marketing automation platform to identify when listeners become leads or pipeline opportunities.
B2B marketers usually freak out when CPL starts creeping up, but cheaper leads can be pretty worthless if they never convert. It might be time to refocus on quality over quantity.
šļø The key takeaways:
Low-cost leads are meaningless if they donāt convert into paying customers.
Pinpoint where real conversions happen (e.g., LinkedIn vs. Google), rather than simply chasing a lower cost.
Push closed-won and pipeline data back into your ad platforms so they target the leads that matter.
Thatās it for this week,
Speak soon,
The Ask CMO team
P.S. Do you (or someone you know) want to be interviewed for AskCMO? Weāre looking for 2025 guests now. If youāre a CMO or senior-level marketer in B2B, please fill out this form and weāll be in touch.
P.P.S. Did someone send this to you? What a legend. Thereās more where this came from, subscribe here.