Paid Media Case Study

The only way to know your message is reaching the right audience, at the right time, through the right channel is through testing. At Two Octobers, we believe the foundation of any successful digital marketing strategy hinges on flexibility and adapting to results. Our ability to pivot based on findings led to more quality leads for our client AgentSync, helping them achieve quarter-over-quarter growth.

The Challenge

AgentSync, a company that powers growth and operational efficiency for insurance carriers, agencies and MGAs with world-class producer management and compliance solutions, was on a mission to increase sales. In March of 2022, the company made the strategic decision to take on more capital with the goal of investing in their product and adding more staff. This investment and rapid growth raised the stakes for AgentSync, who needed to ramp up their digital marketing strategy quickly to drive new sales leads.

A test-and-learn approach to paid media 

In a combined effort with AgentSync’s team, we were able to identify the best paid media channels to reach multiple audiences, defined by job role and industry, and throughout each stage of the buying funnel. These channels pointed leads to AgentSync’s smart landing pages with content that was enticing to the audience.

The key to our approach (and success) was detailed top of the funnel tracking. We knew the program needed to deliver a high volume of leads, but the company’s goals wouldn’t be reached if the quality of those leads didn’t move them down the funnel to marketing qualified and sales accepted. By tracking channel performance back to rejected and disqualified terminology and ads, Two Octobers and AgentSync were able to keep close tabs on results at multiple levels and pivot quickly when we identified opportunities for improvement.

The Solution

A refined strategy with quality leads

By embracing a test-learn-adjust approach, from Q1 to Q3, the team was able to assist AgentSync in reducing the cost per lead, and increasing MQLs by 18% while reducing rejection rates due to the focus on quality. There were several key pivot points that led to AgentSync’s success: 

• Audience targeting. By testing multiple audience/platform mixes we ensured that each targeting combination was successful. If any test was not creating the desired result, it was replaced with a new strategy.
• Content adjustments. When sales rejection rate of MQLs (Marketing Qualified Leads) was high from one particular channel, our investigation traced conversion rates from ad creative, to landing page, through to MQL. We were then able to recommend adjustments.
• Shifting to a funnel-based approach. Our team suggested shifting from an audience-based approach to a funnel-based approach in order to expand reach and drive MQLs. The funnel-based approach combined with AgentSync’s brand refresh, conversion rate optimizations on creative, and an increase in budget, resulted in LinkedIn’s conversions increasing 143% MoM, CPS decreasing 25% MoM and MQLs increasing 39% MoM within a two month time period.
• An impact-based approach. Our team was careful not to have tunnel vision when it came to improving all metrics. For example, at one stage the cost per MQL increased 29%, which might be a cause for concern. However, by viewing leads through sales accepted lead metrics, we determined this was ultimately beneficial to the program because sales rejection rates decreased.

Results

18% growth in MQLs from Q1 to Q3

With the help of Two Octobers, AgentSync realized 18% growth in MQLs from Q1 to Q3, experienced its biggest MQL volume month ever and generated $3.5M in pipeline revenue.

“The fact that Two Octobers dug into UTM-level data to improve rejection rates speaks to their focus and is unusual compared to other agencies.” – AgentSync

While our team’s experience in managing thousands of campaigns was vital to AgentSync’s success, we couldn’t have done it without collaboration from the client. Their business knowledge allowed us to get even more accurate in our testing, resulting in a paid media strategy that consistently generates quality leads.