Introduction

In this case study, we will compare the effectiveness of acquisition email marketing vs. pay-per-click (PPC) advertising for a health insurance provider that targets UK small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The ROI from email marketing is 260%, while PPC advertising has an ROI of 167%. Additionally, the volume of leads generated in 2022 from email marketing is 2,067, whereas PPC generates five times the number of leads. Market Location provided the email marketing service as a managed service.

Background

The health insurance provider wanted to increase its customer base among UK SMEs. They decided to try two acquisition channels: email marketing and PPC advertising. The goal was to compare the effectiveness of these channels in terms of ROI and the number of leads generated.

Logo for email marketing featuring envelope icons

Methods

For the email marketing campaign, the provider utilised Market Location’s managed email service. The email campaign was designed to introduce the provider’s services and offer potential customers a whitepaper and a quote. The provider tracked the number of leads generated and the ROI from the email campaign, calculated as ad spend vs sales revenue.

The provider used Google Ads to target UK SMEs for the PPC advertising campaign, designed to promote the provider’s services and offer a quote for new customers. The provider tracked the number of leads generated and the ROI from the PPC campaign, calculated as ad spend vs sales revenue.

Results

The email marketing campaign generated 2,067 leads in 2022 with an ROI of 260%. The PPC advertising campaign had an ROI of 167%.

Conclusion

The results of this case study suggest that PPC advertising is a more effective channel for lead generation among UK SMEs for health insurance providers, whereas email marketing is more effective in terms of ROI. All health insurance providers should consider using PPC advertising and email marketing as multi-channel and complimentary acquisition channels to maximise the outcome.

The managed email service from Market Location proved to be a valuable resource for executing a successful email marketing campaign, so we chose to continue our working relationship