B2B ad budgets are hard-fought, and with the economy headed for a possible recession, marketers may have to fight even harder still.
It doesn’t help that many marketing departments are still struggling to engage prospects with their ads. In a report1 analyzing thousands of Google Ads accounts with a combined $3 billion in annual spend, a quarter of all accounts were found to have less than 1% conversion rates.
This may have to do with the fact that many marketers fail to fully utilize the tools provided by Google—the ad platform of choice for many marketers—lacking the time and resources needed to continuously monitor and optimize their ads.
Many then turn to digital ad agencies for help, but with a fee structure that incentivizes more ad spend, they end up increasing your ad budget at a time when marketing is facing greater scrutiny than ever.
“A lot of marketing agencies that are doing Google work are generally billing for their time as a percentage of the ad budget. They might say, we’ll manage your Google spend, let’s say $100,000 a month, and charge you an additional 15% for management. That incentivizes them to make that $100,000 ad budget $120,000 or $150,000—which may not necessarily make your ad program more effective. At 2X, we practice fixed-fee resourcing. We believe in optimizing your ad program and making it more effective with your existing ad spend. If anything, we benefit if we can reduce it while increasing the conversion and impact. With the help of our team of Google-certified ad managers, we’ve been able to help our clients do just that,” said 2X CEO Domenic Colasante.
We’re proud to announce that 2X is now a Google partner, providing 2X clients access to the platform’s full suite of functionalities, plus a pool of Google-certified ad managers adept at running and optimizing Google Search, Display, Video, and Shopping ads.
Improve Conversion Rates with 2X’s Google-Certified Talent
In a 2022 survey2 of more than 400 stakeholders from the world’s largest advertisers, agencies, media platforms, and technology companies, almost half of all respondents (46%) believe marketing is facing its “worst-ever talent crisis”. The study reported that the talent crisis is greatest in data and analytics (89%). Omnichannel planning (70%) came in fourth while ad tech (65%) and ad operations (65%) shared the fifth spot.
Beyond ad campaign setup and management, marketers dedicated to conversion rate optimization (CRO)—a field of expertise focused on increasing ad conversion rates by optimizing ads and landing pages with A/B testing—are few and far between. In fact, in another study3, some 56% of CRO professionals say they only have less than three years of experience while less than 5% say they have more than 10 years of experience.
To address this talent shortage, 2X has spent years growing its team of Google-certified ad managers who—with the help of data analysts, designers, writers, and more—leverage Google Analytics data, ad and landing page creative best practices as well as A/B testing to drive conversion. Our partnership with Google inspires us to continue expanding our robust pool of digital ad managers to help more B2B companies boost their advertising ROIs, and ultimately, increase revenue.
Client Success Director and Google-certified digital ad expert Michael Kesuma is devoted to making his client’s ad budget work harder. “When it comes to ad optimization, the biggest challenge lies in constantly being on the lookout for trending keywords, and optimizing our ad campaigns accordingly. For example, with the sudden collapse of Silicon Valley Bank making headlines recently, how can we optimize an existing ad campaign for a client in the financial sector? An effective digital ad manager would quickly determine the most relevant keywords, craft a series of compelling ad copy, and pair them with a suitable piece of content. So it’s not about having a bigger budget. It’s about being constantly clued in on what’s happening in our client’s industry, and seizing the moment—which requires dedicated expertise and attention.”
A New Operating Model for MarTech Management
A recent Gartner report noted that on average, B2B companies leverage just 42% of their MarTech stacks today, compared to 58% in 2020, and declared that marketing technology utilization is tumbling into a new valley of unproductivity requiring “urgent attention to maximize impact in the face of potential economic headwinds that bring on greater CFO scrutiny or forced budget cuts.”4
Transforming the operating model is key to helping companies increase utilization of existing MarTech capabilities.
Marketing leaders are moving away from assembling their own in-house marketing teams, as hiring and retaining talent has become increasingly difficult and costly. Instead, many are outsourcing their execution functions, particularly MarTech management, to an offshore firm like 2X.
Backed by a highly qualified 2X team, they gain access to a dedicated team of certified marketing technologists who have a deep knowledge of cutting-edge MarTech tools and know how to apply them—at a fraction of the cost of an in-house hire—meaning B2B companies can hit the ground running with their marketing strategies.
About 2X
A pioneer in the B2B marketing as a service (MaaS) category, 2X enables operating model transformation that drives growth in marketing’s contribution to businesses’ revenue and overall enterprise valuation. With global headquarters in Philadelphia, US, and delivery operations in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 2X comprises a world-class, diverse team of marketing strategists, developers, analysts, designers, and writers who work together to deliver high-impact account-based marketing and demand-generation programs, data analytics, and marketing technology management. 2X’s unique approach brings scale to B2B marketing for greater revenue impact, execution efficiency, and capacity for innovation. It currently ranks #663 on the Inc. 5000 list and is recognized as a 2021 Diverse and Inclusive Employer by The Startup Weekly. For further information, visit: 2X.Marketing/Career.
About Google Marketing Platform
Google Marketing Platform is an integrated ad-technology platform that enables agencies and advertisers to more effectively create, manage and grow high-impact digital marketing campaigns. Google Marketing Platform integrates world-class solutions to help buyers run holistic campaigns across multiple channels.
1 Kim, Larry, “What’s a Good Conversion Rate? (It’s Higher Than You Think),” February 27, 2023, What’s a Good Conversion Rate?
2 “Where Is the Media ‘Talent Crisis’ Greatest”, Marketing Charts, Marketing Charts
3 ‘The 2020 State of Conversion Optimization Report’, CXL and Convert State of Conversion
Optimization Report
4 Gartner, ‘Disruptions Derail Progress in Martech Utilization’, 2022, Retrieved from Gartner