SaaS
Payback is measured in time. Every other metric is a ratio open to debate.
Demand capture and creation for B2B software, measured on payback time rather than lead volume.
11 months
CAC payback period delivered
B2B SaaS
The challenge
Months separate your conversion event from your revenue event. That gap creates two problems that feed each other.
First, bidding algorithms optimise for whatever signal you give them fastest — usually a form submission — so they find people who like filling in forms. Cost per lead drops, volume climbs, the sales-accepted rate falls further, and the marketing dashboard shows progress that the pipeline does not support.
Second, there is a hard platform limit that is rarely mentioned. Google’s click-to-conversion import window is not unlimited, so on a genuinely long sales cycle you cannot import closed-won revenue against the original click at all. Any agency promising to optimise your paid search straight to closed revenue on a nine-month cycle is describing something the platform cannot do.
Key factors
What we plan for
Optimise for the deepest stage that still has volume
This is the key trade-off, and it should be made deliberately rather than by default. Deeper stages give a cleaner signal but less volume; earlier stages give more volume but more noise. We identify the stage — usually sales-accepted lead or opportunity created — that falls within the import window and still generates enough weekly events for the algorithm to learn, then weight values by historical close rate.
Measure cost per qualified lead against contract value, not benchmarks
Cost per sales-qualified lead means nothing on its own. As a share of average contract value it means a lot, and it compares across categories in a way published benchmarks cannot. A figure that works at a six-figure contract value is disastrous at a five-figure one. We agree the ratio with you at the start, so setting targets is no longer a debate over whose benchmark applies.
Close the loop — and keep it closed
Click IDs saved against each record in your CRM, stage changes sent back as valued offline conversions, and the connection monitored for failures — because these integrations break silently and are often only noticed a quarter later. Google is also moving this upload route to its Data Manager API during 2026, which will break existing set-ups that are not migrated. We stay ahead of that rather than finding out afterwards.
Triangulate what cannot be attributed
Much of a B2B software buying decision happens beyond the reach of tracking: peer recommendations, communities, podcasts and events. We add a self-reported attribution question to the demo request and treat it as one of three inputs, alongside platform reporting and CRM data. It is not perfect, but it reliably reveals demand creation that click attribution credits to whichever brand search came last.
Services
Services we deliver here
PPC Advertising
Paid search and shopping managed for margin, not platform-reported ROAS.
Performance Marketing
Budget allocated across channels by measured contribution, not by what each platform claims.
Customer Acquisition
Acquisition economics modelled to a payback period, with media purchased to match.
Lead Generation
Optimised for pipeline and closed revenue, not form submissions.
Campaign Management
Profit-focused campaign planning, pacing and reviews run as a steady routine.
Common questions
Can you optimise our paid search for closed-won revenue?
Not directly on a long sales cycle, and it is important to be clear why. Import windows have limits; a deal closing in month seven cannot be traced back to the original click through the platform. What we can do is optimise for a mid-funnel stage weighted by its historical chance of closing — the honest version of the same goal.
Our MQL numbers look strong but sales are not happy. Where should we begin?
With written definitions agreed with sales before any media changes. Usually the marketing-qualified stage has turned into a volume target rather than a diagnostic, and the sales-accepted stage — the real handover — is not tracked at all. Fixing the tracking tends to resolve the disagreement faster than fixing the campaigns.
We are a product-led business. Does this still apply?
Yes, with different events. Product-qualified signals replace form submissions as the conversion — typically a stronger signal and a harder integration. The balance between depth and volume stays the same; it simply moves into your product analytics instead of your CRM.
Is LinkedIn worthwhile at our contract value?
It depends on the ratio, not the platform. LinkedIn’s cost per click is high and climbs steeply with seniority targeting, so it tends to pay off at higher contract values and struggle at lower ones. We model it against your average contract value before spending, not after.
Begin with an audit.
The audit has a clear scope and a clear output, and it stands on its own — no obligation to continue. If it shows your current setup is working well, that is a perfectly valid result and we will tell you so.