Expert Press Case Study 55+ C-Suite Leads in just two months
We discovered an in-market client base for the Expert Press and helped get marketing-qualified leads within 2 Months of starting the Google Ad campaign.
Client Background
The Expert Press is an expert news platform for knowledge businesses and their SMEs. Their Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists write and publish articles for businesses and experts to increase their authority and visibility through bylined news analysis. While their direct market competitors focus on self-promotional content for getting more leads for their clients, The Expert Press shares insightful knowledge from industry experts to genuinely contribute to the audience's understanding of complex topics.
A high-ticket service like this is highly desirable amongst executives and business leaders. But The Expert Press needed a solid strategy with nuanced B2B marketing tactics to communicate that it was the #1 publishing platform for brands and businesses.
They partnered with InterTeam because of our experience with B2B marketing and high-ticket services with detailed research about finely-defined audience groups. Our pitch showcased our ability to find qualified Google searches.
Results Snapshot
This was the most immediately successful high-ticket B2B campaign InterTeam has executed in 5+ years of business.
Here are some of the results:
- Landed a full-sail customer in the second week of the ad campaign
- Paid off our entire ad spend within the first month (roughly USD 15,000)
- Generated shockingly high-caliber executive leads from companies like Fujitsu, eBay, and United Healthcare
To achieve results like these, we first had some daunting challenges to address.
Challenges
Challenge #1 - No Common Name for Their Service
As impressive as their service was, it didn't exist in the minds of their target audience. We had to conduct intensive keyword research in order to determine who their target market was and how to reach in-market audience.
Our Advertising Approach
First, we decided on an indirect approach to targeting high-purchase intent search queries.
Competitor analysis gave us a starting point, but the service providers we found were nowhere near the same tier in terms of publications featured or qualifications. That meant that their client base was also on a different level. We pulled what relevant high-intent keywords we could, and moved on.
While the analysis didn't give us the keywords we needed to run ads, it proved useful in tailoring copy that differentiated The Expert Press from its competitors. In the interim, we branded their service with a better aesthetic and message.
Challenge #2 – No Direct Keywords To Target
Second, we found that it's very difficult to know which keywords to target for a service with no name.
Approach to Keyword Research
Instead of simply split-testing target keywords with different copy, we realized we had to go wider. Therefore, we developed an indirect three-pronged campaign. We categorized the keywords keyword research into three groups based on the service, end-result search terms and thought leadership search terms.
Thought leadership was (and still is) at the core of The Expert Press's service. However, there were plenty of related terms in this category and it proved to be the most challenging. Here, we had to rely on our experience and intuition to guide us without breaking the bank on ads.
We also supplemented our campaign with general promotional ads on display and discovery networks.
The campaign produced results quickly. The leads were flooding in. Now, there was only one final challenge to overcome.
Challenge #3 – No Sure-Fire Way To Qualify Leads
We had our proverbial haystack. The question was could we comb through it in a way that would successfully launch The Expert Press in its current model?
Our Advertising Approach
- We put a new finely tuned lead qualification process to work.
- We upgraded the client with a high-performance website and landing page to draw leads.
- We came up with our own methodology that integrated Google Ads with HubSpot's assigned lead lifecycle stages.
To better explain, when a lead would come in, it was assigned the simple status of "lead."
Once we trained the staff at The Expert Press on how to review highly qualified leads, they could identify and label each as a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL).
Given an MQL status meant Google Ads counted the lead as a separate conversion. This allowed us to see which campaigns the MQLs were coming from, and optimize them accordingly.
Within an unprecedented short amount of time, we generated a number of marketing-qualified leads. For The Expert Press, each high-quality lead is an executive earning anywhere between 1-10 million+ dollars annually.
Result – Expert Press Closed High-Quality Clients in Its First 2 Months of the Ad Campaign
The typical B2B sales cycle is, on average, 102 days. We are very proud (and frankly shocked) at how fast we were able to bring in leads that reside at the pinnacles of their respective industries.
We engaged in a full-funnel approach from top to bottom.
Unlike other commonly used campaign tactics, we did not qualify potential keywords as we went. Our strategy was research-heavy and resulted in having qualified keywords on day one of the campaign.
Not only is The Expert Press fully aware that people are searching for their service, but their understanding of their business has also changed. With more leads coming in, they had to hire an in-house sales team to manage conversations.
If this strategy got you interested and you want to discuss how we can help you generate qualified leads, book a free discovery call with us. You will leave with lots of insightful tactics directly applicable to your existing marketing strategy.
