How a B2B SaaS cut marketing spend and increased conversions

Company: A B2B SaaS provider of fitness club management software serving thousands of gyms globally.

Challenge:
The company was overspending on digital advertising while seeing stagnant results. They were running too many pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, including accidentally targeting existing customers, leading to excessive spending with little return. Their ad budget had exceeded planned expenditure by 180%, yet there was little insight into why performance remained poor.

Their cost per acquisition (CPA) had surged to between £550 and £650 per demo, and many campaigns produced no conversions at all. The marketing team needed to reduce ad spend without losing leads while improving lead quality and conversion rates.

Strategy: Smarter targeting, attribution, and automation

Instead of making indiscriminate budget cuts, the company took a data-driven approach to reduce wasted spend and improve efficiency.

Refining audience targeting
One of the biggest leaks in their budget was identified in their PPC campaigns, where ads were being shown to existing customers searching for the company’s login or support pages. This meant they were paying for clicks that had no potential to generate new business.

To resolve this, the team uploaded their customer list from Salesforce to create exclusion audiences, ensuring that ads were not displayed to existing users. They also added extensive negative keywords, such as “login” and “support,” preventing these searches from triggering paid adverts. This immediately stopped unnecessary ad spend and improved the relevance of impressions.

Geo and persona focus
An analysis of high-quality lead sources led to a refinement in geotargeting. The company focused only on its strongest markets, for instance, restricting one campaign to North America while dropping poorly converting regions.

On social platforms, they restructured campaigns around the buyer journey rather than scattering budgets across numerous audiences. Instead of running 60 separate small audiences on Facebook, they consolidated efforts into a few strategic campaigns aligned to different funnel stages. Lookalike audiences were shown blog content to build awareness, warm prospects were presented with case studies to nurture consideration, and website retargeting audiences received demo offers to drive conversions. Aligning audience segments with relevant content increased lead intent and improved conversion rates.

Cutting weak performers
A detailed audit uncovered multiple underperforming campaigns and keywords that were spending heavily without delivering results. Twenty-one Facebook ad sets had generated zero conversions, and several others were significantly exceeding the company’s cost-per-acquisition targets. The team systematically paused or eliminated these campaigns, reallocating the budget to high-performing ads instead of spreading resources too thinly. This ensured that every pound spent was more likely to generate a lead.

Better attribution and measurement
To determine which campaigns should be retained or discontinued, the marketing team relied on conversion tracking and attribution data. Moving away from a last-click attribution model, they analysed which ads contributed to eventual sales.

For example, a major European insurer had previously built an attribution model that revealed channels such as display ads were actually influencing conversions over a longer sales journey. With this insight, they were able to reduce ad spend by 10% while increasing conversion rates by 5%. The SaaS company adopted a similar evidence-based approach, cutting truly wasteful spend while keeping tactics that contributed to downstream sales.

Leveraging automation
Once inefficiencies had been addressed, the team introduced automation to further optimise ad spend. Previously, they had relied on manual bidding and enhanced CPC, but with more accurate conversion data now available, they enabled Google’s smart bidding. This machine learning-powered system adjusted bids in real-time, focusing on clicks most likely to convert.

By allowing the ad platforms’ AI to optimise for conversion value, the company achieved better results even as their overall ad budget was reduced. This shift allowed them to bid smarter rather than simply bidding higher, improving efficiency and ROI.

Improved messaging alignment
The marketing team also refined ad messaging and offers to maximise conversion rates. They applied a “journey-offer fit” strategy, ensuring that ad content matched the lead’s stage in the buyer journey. Cold prospects were shown educational content, such as blog posts or downloadable resources, while warmer prospects were presented with trial and demo offers.

This approach increased conversion efficiency, as the clicks they paid for were more likely to result in leads. The combination of improved targeting and more relevant messaging helped the company generate higher conversions from fewer clicks.

Results: Reduced spend, increased conversions

Within a few months, the company significantly improved its marketing efficiency.

Lower spend, higher conversions
In the first two months, Google Ads spend was reduced by 23%, while goal conversions increased by 11.5%. The Google Ads conversion rate more than doubled, rising by 185% as wasted clicks were eliminated.

On Facebook, restructuring campaigns led to a 36% reduction in ad spend. Overall, marketing expenditure decreased by approximately 30% while lead volume remained stable. Any slight decline in total lead count was offset by a substantial improvement in lead quality.

Higher quality leads leading to higher sales
By filtering out low-intent audiences and focusing on engaged prospects, the quality of leads improved, making them far more likely to convert into customers. Even with fewer conversions from Facebook, the sales resulting from Facebook leads increased, with overall sales growing by 5%

This improvement was driven by higher-intent leads that closed at a greater rate. The marketing team maintained lead volume but delivered leads of significantly higher quality, translating into an increase in deals won.

Significantly lower customer acquisition cost (CAC)
By cutting wasted ad spend and optimising targeting, the company dramatically reduced its customer acquisition costs. The average cost per demo dropped from approximately £580 to just £128.

For a B2B company, such a substantial reduction in acquisition cost freed up budget to reinvest in other areas or scale campaigns profitably. Marketing return on investment improved considerably, as every pound spent generated far greater returns than before.

Better insights and long-term efficiency
The optimisation process fostered a culture of measurement and accountability. The marketing team gained clarity on which keywords, channels, and audiences were driving conversions and which were underperforming.

Campaigns were no longer set and left to run without oversight. With robust tracking and regular reviews to remove ineffective spend, efficiency gains were maintained over time. This allowed the team to achieve better results with fewer resources, a critical advantage, particularly in constrained budget conditions.

Key takeaways for B2B marketers

For B2B marketers aiming to reduce unnecessary spend while improving results, this case study highlights several key lessons.

Audit and eliminate waste
Regularly reviewing campaigns is essential to identifying where budget is being spent with little or no return. Keywords, ads, or channels that fail to convert or have an excessive cost per lead should be paused or removed. In many campaigns, a small number of keywords or audience segments drive the majority of conversions – identifying and focusing on these while cutting underperformers ensures that budget is used effectively.

Refine targeting with data
CRM and analytics data should be used to refine audience targeting. Excluding existing customers and irrelevant segments prevents unnecessary spending on clicks that will not generate new business. Geotargeting or industry-specific targeting should be adjusted to focus on the ideal customer profile. A smaller number of high-intent clicks is more valuable than a large volume of random, low-quality clicks.

Leverage negative keywords
In search marketing, negative keywords play a crucial role in preventing wasted ad spend. Filtering out search terms that indicate the user is not a potential buyer – such as job seekers, support queries, or irrelevant keyword variations – helps ensure ads are only displayed to qualified prospects. This not only reduces wasted spend but also improves click-through and conversion rates by focusing on relevant searches.

Align ads to funnel stage
Tailoring messaging and offers to match a lead’s stage in the buying journey can improve conversion rates without increasing spend. Cold leads may benefit from educational content, while warm leads are more likely to respond to case studies or demo offers. Ensuring that prospects see messaging that aligns with their needs at the right time makes ad spend more effective.

Use automation, but ensure it has the right data
Smart bidding and algorithmic optimisation can improve efficiency, but only when enough high-quality conversion data has been collected. In this case study, switching to Google’s machine learning bidding system allowed the company to optimise ad spend in real time based on conversion likelihood. Automation is faster at adjusting bids and placements than human management, but it requires careful monitoring and well-defined conversion goals to maximise its effectiveness.

Adopt a mindset of continuous improvement
Marketing measurement should be an ongoing process rather than a one-time audit. Multi-touch attribution can help identify which ads contribute to sales, rather than relying solely on last-click attribution. Budgets should be reviewed regularly, with adjustments made based on performance data. This agile approach ensures marketing spend is always allocated to the most effective tactics rather than continuing to fund underperforming campaigns simply because they have historically been in place.

By applying these principles, B2B marketers can make a smaller budget go further, delivering stronger results with less spend. Reducing marketing costs does not have to mean reducing conversions or sales – it is about eliminating inefficiencies while focusing on the strategies that drive the best outcomes. This case study demonstrates that a smarter, data-driven approach can lead to increased sales and higher conversion rates while lowering overall spend. Efficiency is the most effective way to boost marketing ROI.

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