Why is Classifieds advertising easy, fast and big on ROI?
It’s hard to say when but, perhaps, it was in the early 2000 BC when some ancient Egyptian put out a public notice by carving some words on steel, that the world started using advertisements. From town-criers to papyrus-posters to bullock-cart billboards, we have come a long way.
Yet, we are still struggling with that timeless problem of marketing. Which part of the advertising buck creates the real bang? Marketers are still fighting the ‘effectiveness’ battle. Advertisers are still trying to see where the ROI (Return on Investment) actually comes from.
Show me ROI, please!
The irony is stark. It does not matter what one says and how loud unless it is said to the right person, and in a way that it gets through to the right person. Only 31% of companies meet the criteria of being customer-centric in a Forrester study of 1,269 global business leaders. These are leaders who show awareness that investing in the customer experience across people, processes and technology has higher brand awareness, higher order value, higher customer retention and satisfaction.
If you look at the 2019 CMO Survey by Deloitte, Duke University and the American Marketing Association, you will find something similar. Despite leaning towards data-driven decisions, most marketers are having a hard time showing ROI in their efforts. Some 36% CMOs felt they could prove the impact of marketing spend using quantitative metrics, while 51% leaned towards qualitative metrics — such as engagement and brand recognition. Then there was the 13% lot that could not show any impact. In B2B marketing, in particular, about 19% of all B2B marketers reported how they were unable to show the marketing impact on the company’s bottom line.
Marketing analytics spend can rise over the next three years — accounting for 11% of the average marketing budget. Looks like CMOs use analytics in 43% of their decisions.
So that makes it important and easy to know if B2B marketing effort is being expended in the right direction, both quantitatively and qualitatively. Are marketers using approaches which fail in coverage, precision and simplicity? Or are they aware about a format that promises ROI on all these fronts?
Classifieds Advertising: The Perfect Vehicle for the B2B Message
When you use classifieds advertising as a B2B marketer, you attack three goals in one shot. You get a wider reach, lower-cost, and better targeting. To add to that it is a model that is short, simple, easy to create and can fast-forward the sales cycle. It will not burn a hole in your pocket as TV does. It will not burden you with social media risks and complexity as Facebook might.
Plus, a B2B marketer has so many options to choose from. You can go for direct contact or CTA options. You can pick between horizontal or vertical classifieds post. And you can have the choice between localized and globalised coverage.
All that is possible in a very effortless, customer-centric and ROI-friendly way in a classified advertising. More so, when you use this form of advertising on a smart and integrated online marketplace, it presents an explosive opportunity.
Standing apart from TV and Social Media
Classifieds advertising on a B2B marketplace has a unique advantage: customer attention. On both the Television and social media platforms, advertisers struggle to keep the attention of the user. Users rarely flock to these platforms for buying or making business connections. They have a brief attention span. And that makes the job of advertising more difficult. Targeting can also go very wrong on the television. You are just not sure if the right audience is watching your ad. Usually, to overcome this issue, advertisers spend more and broadcast for a long time to make an impact.
But businesses come to a B2B marketplace with a specific intent: to search, connect and transact with real suppliers and buyers. A classifieds advertisement will have the highest chance of getting spotted and acted upon.
Classified advertising: Here to Stay
The global online Classified market is slated to grow at a rapid pace between 2019 to 2023. This growth has a lot of drivers – use of smartphones, internet penetration, an emerging youth population, ease of digital payments, and fast-paced e-commerce industry.
There is remarkable interest happening in the space of online Classifieds, which is emerging as one of the fastest-growing types of online advertising.
A classifieds advertising is much more than a small message or advertisement tucked in some corner in a newspaper or a magazine. Nowadays, it can be created with heightened placement advantages, engagement value and attractiveness.
So why not take up this advantage? In B2B, nothing matters more than hitting the bull’s eye. Take aim.
