Are you really paying an average of $310 for a single lead? Read our CPL analysis and reduce the cost burden

Every dollar spent on acquiring potential customers matters in business. As companies try to maximize return on their marketing investments, awareness and optimization of Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) has become crucial. CPL is a key marketing metric that influences lead generation strategies and, ultimately, a marketing campaign's overall effectiveness.

It is important to know how CPL impacts lead generation strategies as well as the factors determining its value and how businesses can optimize it. So let's start with...

What is Cost-Per-Lead (CPL)?
The average cost of acquiring one customer is calculated by the metric known as Cost-per-lead (CPL). This is obtained by dividing total marketing spend by the number of leads generated within some particular period. CPL is an important metric because it provides marketers with insights on how efficient their various efforts towards lead generation are and helps them allocate resources properly.

For example, if a firm spends $10,000 on a marketing campaign that yields 200 leads then the company would have a CPL of $50 which implies that each lead costs the company an average of $50.

Reducing CPL Through Quality Refinement
CPL's role in lead generation strategy
How it affects different aspects of the strategy:

1. Budget Distribution

One of CPL's main roles in lead generation strategies is to determine the distribution of funds for marketing purposes. A high CPL indicates a company spends more on acquiring leads, signaling inefficiencies in its marketing efforts. On the contrary, low CPL points to cost-effective marketing efforts.

By looking at CPLs, businesses can identify the best channels and campaigns generating cost-effective leads that they can allocate budgets accordingly. For instance, if one digital advertising platform provides leads at a lower CPL than others do, it may be suggested to spend more on this platform. But this too differ further, as for B2B SaaS, the average Cost-Per-Lead (CPL) is $310 for paid leads, $164 for organic leads, and $237 when blended.

2. Channels Choice

Various marketing channels have different CPLs. For example, compared with paid search generated leads; organic search generated leas have smaller CSPs. Understanding how much different channels' CPL will help marketers select relatively cheaper platforms for their campaigns.

Moreover, CPL data can assist in determining whether or not to sustain or drop certain marketing channels. If a channel consistently creates leads at a high CPL, it may be worth reconsidering its role within the overall strategy.

3. Lead Quality and Conversion Rates

However, while low CPL is desirable it is essential to balance cost against lead quality. In some cases, lower CPLs may result in leads that are less likely to convert into customers. Therefore, marketers should also consider the conversion rates of leads from different sources when evaluating CPL.

For example, one company might find that through a particular channel their leads are generated at a low CPL but also have low conversion rates as well. On contrast another channel may have higher CPL but much higher conversion rate thus more valuable in the longer term.

4. ROI Measurement

CPL is an important component for measuring the return on investment (ROI) of lead generation campaigns. By comparing the average revenue generated by each lead with their CPL businesses can determine if their lead generation efforts are profitable enough.

Take for example: if the average revenue per lead is $100 and the CPL is $50, a positive ROI will occur. Conversely, if the CPL becomes higher than the revenue per lead, then there is no cost effectiveness of that campaign which needs adjustment.