The PESO Model is more than just a pretty graphic and a list of tactics under each media type. When integrated and implemented correctly, it can be one of the most profitable investments for your business because it builds brand awareness and it generates qualified leads.
But it also is often mishandled, not implemented correctly, and not set up for business success, nor measured for organizational results. This is because many professionals still look at the PESO Model graphic and think, “Oh, this is easy! If I just add some social media advertising and influencer relations to my existing plan, I’ll have made it work.”
That’s not the case at all.
Because of this haphazard approach, we often hear executives say, “I spent a ton of money on communications and it didn’t work.” Or, “My marketing team can’t tell me how many qualified leads they’re generating and I don’t know how much of the budget we’re just lighting on fire.” Or (my favorite), “Hiring an agency is like donating money. You write them a check and they walk away.”
In this third of a seven-part series, learn the basics of the PESO Model, how it works and why, what benefits it offers to your business, how to make sure you or your team is implementing it correctly, and which tools you’ll need to use for lasting success.
Let’s get started!
The Value of Investing In the PESO Model
Whether or not you are responsible for a full PESO Model program, investing in it will increase revenue. And, if increased revenue is not your goal (if you’re a non-profit, for instance), it will help you achieve whatever it is you are working toward.
Take a 15-year-old B2B organization we work with as an example. They needed to not just implement the PESO Model but completely set up their metrics and data to show if they were generating qualified leads already or not.
They also had zero technology to support this endeavor. The sales team was already using Salesforce, but there wasn’t anything to help marketing. No marketing automation or Google analytics or a content management system. Zip. Zero. Zilch.
To boot, there was a massive disagreement among the three founders about who they are and what they stand for. So much so that every time a competitor said something they liked, they would call and say, “Let’s change course! We want to say that, too.”
Oy. Vey.
We were literally starting from scratch.
For the first 90 days, we bought and implemented the software we needed: Google Analytics, WordPress, ad accounts for the social networks and Google, HubSpot, Google Data Studio, Supermetrics, and Moz.
After that was all complete and we created KPIs and included the metrics we needed to track against them.
The second 90 days were then spent on messaging and content creation and “get to know you” meetings with journalists.
After six months, we were ready to begin integrating and implementing a PESO Model program. In the first year, we saw a 40% life in qualified leads, without changing their sales close rates at all. And that was during The Corona so it was a down year, overall, for most.
Now ending the first quarter of the second year, we’re looking at a 52% lift in qualified leads, with a goal to get to 100% by year’s end.
An Example of How the PESO Model Drives Revenue
Without changing your conversion or close rate at all, implementing a PESO Model program can increase the number of qualified leads that visit your website that are then nurtured into marketing leads, which become sales leads.
Let’s say, for argument’s sake, that your conversion from qualified lead to MQL to SQL to sales is:
100% –> 75% –> 50% –> 20%
If you currently have 100 qualified leads coming to your website every month, it looks like this:
- 100 qualified leads
- 75 MQLs
- 38 SQLs
- 8 new customers
With an integrated PESO Model program that is firing on all cylinders, you can easily expect a 40% lift in qualified leads. That leads you to this:
- 140 qualified leads
- 105 MQLs
- 53 SQLs
- 11 new customers
Now let’s say your average sale per customer is $100,000. Without improving your conversion rates at all, you have increased your annual revenue by $300,000 PER MONTH.
That’s nearly $4MM in found revenue, which more than pays for the team it will take to implement this program effectively.
Revenue Increases While Acquisition Costs Decrease
The work definitely isn’t free, but the good news is that 75% of the program’s efficiencies are organic, which means you don’t have to continue paying for things like you would with paid media.
Sure, you’ll have to pay salaries and benefits or for an agency like Spin Sucks to help you, but once it’s all set up, it becomes more and more efficient, which allows you to continue to make more money from it.
Another business implication, then, is that while your qualified leads increase, the customer acquisition cost should decrease as the PESO Model program continues to evolve.
Failure to implement an integrated PESO Model program won’t kill your business, but you will be leaving money on the table.
While you can certainly continue as you are and continue to be frustrated that your team can’t tell you how they’re contributing to sales and your agency (or agencies) are burning your money, wouldn’t you rather have it all working in your favor?
There are real financial returns that a PESO Model investment can generate—and real missed opportunities when it’s not implemented (or implemented correctly).
Next in this series, we’ll look at ways, other than direct revenue, that a PESO Model can help your organization succeed.
