A B2B Marketer's Dilemma: Healthy Metrics After a Strategy Shift, Zero Monthly Inquiries, and Staff Resignations—Move Forward or Step Back?

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"When we thought it was the dawn..."

But it turns out it was just another eye of the abyss...

To go or not to go?

To report or not to report?

-CTMON's Monologue-

In late August, the Google Ads campaign (SEM) for the industrial mini PC foreign trade project managed by CTMON finally saw the expected inquiries and entered a stable period, with a peak of 7 or 8 inquiries per day.

There are many people to thank, but the person I should thank the most is the client who gave CTMON this opportunity to hone his skills.

From the end of April to August, in just four months

CTMON experienced—

01 | Smooth Honeymoon

In the early stages of the project, the Google Ads campaign generated at least three stable inquiries per week with a small investment, demonstrating the client's trust and approval of CTMON.

02｜Walking in the Dark

"Is it really necessary to completely overhaul the entire foreign trade project, given that Google Ads is running smoothly, lead generation is stable, and costs are low?"

"Is it really necessary to redesign and modify advertising materials and landing pages multiple times without generating any revenue, and without doing so in a way that is taken for granted?"

"Is it really worth risking zero inquiries during the Google Ads campaign adjustment period by drastically adjusting the campaign strategy or even making a complete overhaul from start to finish?"

......

The time has come to test the values ​​of CTMON people.

To help our clients create greater value, we were determined to challenge ourselves with even higher goals and resolutely embarked on a journey...

A dark journey of living towards death

But the reality is often like this—

Either lead generation costs are rising daily, leaving them to sit back and wait to be ripped off by advertisers with huge traffic fees;

Either no inquiries were generated, because who asked you to readjust your ad campaign management strategy...?

"Should we report the results?"

"Report: The employee wants to leave!"

"How can we be responsible to our clients if we don't report?"

CTMON employees believe that reporting is essential and that they must be responsible to their clients.

03｜Seeing the Dawn

At that time, not a single inquiry was generated for a whole month. The customer did not understand, and the people at CTMON were under immense pressure.

The project managers all resigned directly, making it difficult for them to face clients;

We have fully implemented the correct action measures, except for the lack of inquiries—

After being redesigned and revised multiple times, the new landing page saw a gradual increase in key metrics such as page clicks , page dwell time , page visitors , and the percentage of valid search terms in inquiries .

The process data is improving! But there are still no inquiries.

Perhaps the first light of dawn is harder to endure than the long night.

Do you remember the first "inquiries" record that appeared with 0 inquiries? CTMON excitedly clicked on it—

It was discovered that no messages were successfully left for the "inquiries".

It would be a lie to say we weren't disappointed; at that time, CTMON desperately needed the first inquiry to boost their confidence.

And to repay our customers for their trust and support.

Persistence pays off; perhaps this unanswered inquiry is a sign that the project is starting to improve.

CTMON has received a real stream of inquiries—

04｜Striving Forward

Since the Google Ads campaign strategy was adjusted and we received our first inquiries, we haven't been able to stop receiving them .

The project now receives up to 8 inquiries per day! We've regained the trust and support of our clients!

A thousand words can be summed up in one sentence—

B2B digital marketers are not as glamorous as they seem;

However, we firmly believe that as long as we have the right motivation, continuously create value for our customers, implement the right actions, and make persistent and unremitting efforts—

The expected result will surely be achieved!

1. Empathy and altruism

If an outsourced project hasn't generated any inquiries for a whole month , as the client, can you really hold back and not say anything?

Looking at the world today, competition in all industries is becoming increasingly fierce. Businesses need to make a profit, and employees need to make a living, so everyone is under pressure.

Putting himself in their shoes , CTMON believes it's normal for customers to lose their temper when they've spent real money but seem to have gained nothing.

Before the Google Ads (SEM) campaign strategy was adjusted, the campaign cost was low, and at least 3 inquiries were generated every week.

However, this is still not ideal data for our customers and for CTMON as well.

II. Continuous iteration, never stopping

【Continuous iteration, never stopping】 is what we at CTMON strive for.

To help our clients create greater value, we have taken the first step in challenging ourselves to achieve even higher goals.

The existing Google Ads campaign strategy was incrementally optimized, with increased investment aimed at increasing traffic and boosting inquiries, but—

Despite the increasing amount of money invested, the number of inquiries has indeed increased...

However, the cost of a single lead generation gradually increased from several hundred RMB to over a thousand RMB, eventually becoming unacceptable to both our clients and us.

So CTMON began his second attempt, this time determined to start all over again—

Even if it's time-consuming, laborious, and doesn't generate additional revenue, a complete overhaul of everything from landing pages to Google Ads campaign strategies is necessary:

The original "precise strategy" of targeting a small audience with 10 to 15 keywords has been changed to "audience targeting + precise incremental strategy" with about 200 commercial keywords.

This means that the landing page needs to handle more conversions from specific keyword traffic , so the original page must be completely redesigned, and a lot of effort needs to be put into the trust section of the page .

As can be seen, it is not only more visually appealing, but its overall style is also more in line with the characteristics of industrial mini PCs and the preferences of the target audience.

Furthermore, the addition of a genuine "Customer Reviews" section greatly enhances the page's credibility with visitors.

However, the new campaign strategy requires at least a 7-day learning period to be effective, and the page design and renovation work requires at least a 25-day adjustment and transition period.

This information gap led to the earlier scene where the customer didn't understand CTMON;

Although it sounds trivial now, it wasn't so simple for the people of CTMON at the time.

During the strategy adjustment period, the project received no inquiries for the entire month, and the employees were under so much pressure that they were almost urinating blood.

We would like to thank our customers once again for their trust and support of CTMON .

Meanwhile, CTMON employees did not slacken their reporting on project work during this period, and began publicizing and reporting monthly goals starting in May when the project began:

This is just a small part of the story regarding the Google Ads (SEM) campaign for this foreign trade project. The screenshot also shows that CTMON employees are simultaneously working on Google SEO for the business website.

I'll share this part with you next time~

Epilogue

Xiao Chuang has something to say.

After overcoming numerous challenges and misunderstandings, CTMON, through its professional capabilities and persistent efforts, ultimately won the client's trust and support. Today, the project's inquiries are consistently effective, bringing tangible business opportunities to the client.

CTMON understands that in the overseas digital marketing industry, the success of every project depends on teamwork and the client's understanding.

We will continue to uphold our principles, continuously improve our technological capabilities and service quality, and provide more clients with high-quality digital marketing solutions.

At the same time, CTMON also hopes that through this project experience, more people will understand the hard work and dedication behind the digital marketing industry.

We believe that as long as we persevere and dare to face challenges, we will surely succeed in this industry full of opportunities and competition.

In the future, CTMON will continue to forge ahead, creating greater value for its customers and contributing to the development of the industry.