If you get a group of CEO’s/ owners/ marketers/ entrepreneurs together, the one constant is that everyone wants more customers. Size doesn’t matter when it comes to this desire but the question is, how? There are so many types of marketing and finding the best bang for the buck for your product/service can feel like a scavenger hunt but your profit numbers hold the key.

Four things are in marketing are a constant:

• Many people want to sell you marketing.

• The people selling it claim that it will bring you customers

• Nobody guarantees it.

• Only some types can generate business profitably.

Why Are We Marketing? Hint: To Generate Qualified Leads

Since nobody will guarantee their marketing, everyone is forced to test different options. Testing can be very expensive for certain types of marketing and unfortunately you might end up with possibly no sales and maybe even no qualified leads in the end. We lose track of the reason for marketing, but we must remember that gaining qualified leads is the goal!

Yes, “qualified” is the keyword here just like “Super” in Supermarket. For example: if you were looking for that one special flavor of Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream, you might go to a bunch of small markets looking for it, but you know the supermarket definitely has it. Leads aren’t any different — you go through a lot of unqualified leads to get to one that is qualified. In other words, marketing is, in part, a numbers game. Bottom line, when it comes to leads you want qualified ones, and you don't want to bankrupt your business marketing to or chasing unqualified ones, i.e. choosing the wrong types of marketing.

Download the Complete Types of Marketing Survival Guide and Learn What Works and What Doesn’t!

What is a Truly Qualified Lead?

Defining what is a qualified lead is something that most businesses don’t spend enough time exploring and can in the end, kill your marketing profitability. Here are some guiding principles in ascending order:

• The lead needs what you offer and they know it
• They have the budget to pay for what you offer and are willing to part with it
• They have the power to authorize the purchase
• They plan on buying at some point and you know it

Sometimes people don’t start out as a qualified lead but a great lead nurturing program can nurture them and make them qualified. From there you can nurture them further into becoming a customer.

What Types of Marketing Should You Use To Generate Qualified Leads? Hint: It’s All About Profit

That’s the burning question and after purchasing all types of marketing/advertising we can tell you that there is not a silver bullet, but instead, a collection of silver bullets that depends on your product and market, and more specifically, your profit margins.

Let's have some fun with a couple of examples.

Example 1: You sell hats for $20 and have gross profit of $17 per hat. Do you think that Radio or TV makes sense? Probably not because both are not great at generating an immediate sale unless you go direct response, and that takes the right type of product and budget and $17 profit per sale for a discretionary purchase is not going to work. Marketing through digital or distribution channels are probably your best bet. This may seem like common sense, but companies burn through their budget everyday in a scenario just like this one.

Example 2: You are ABC Telecom Provider. You need to show your audience that you are big and the best. You know that your average wireless customer generates somewhere around $589 per year in income (See 2015 Forecast from Statista.) and you will most likely keep them for 3 years once you acquire them. Add a little internet and TV making it 650 per year and let’s use a gross margin of 52%. Figure around $650 per year x 3 years. That is close to $1,000 per client. TV and Radio starts making sense because just about everyone is a target and you have the profit to cover your Cost Per Acquisition (CPA) and... have the budget to wait it out!

Cost Per Acquisition(CPA) matched up with your profit numbers will tell you what is going to be successful before you even start. It takes time to figure out your CPA and sure certain products/services are better geared towards certain types of marketing, but in the end, it’s all about profit. Think about it...have you ever seen a TV commercial about a low margin cell phone case? Case in point!

In the end, you want qualified leads you can close at a cost you can consistently afford. Consistency is momentum and momentum builds profit. It's surprising how many companies market aimlessly but even when you think you have chosen the right types of marketing, make sure you test, test and test again. Note: Everyone loves digital because it is easy and cheap to test. However, it doesn’t mean it will work.

If you're ready to stop marketing aimlessly and want to effectively market while getting the most out of your budget, download our Types of Marketing Survival Guide for Free. It will help you get a baseline on what types of marketing you should be considering and more importantly, what you shouldn't be.