TLDR;
- Your business being in Boston has almost zero impact on which ad platform you should choose. The platforms are global; what matters is your customer, not your postcode.
- Stop thinking about customer demographics. You need to define your Ideal Customer Profile (ICP) by their most urgent, expensive, career-threatening problem or 'nightmare'. This is the secret to ads that actually work.
- Choose your platform based on customer intent. Are they actively searching for a solution (use Google Ads)? Or do they need to be made aware of the problem (use Meta or LinkedIn Ads)?
- Your offer is probably the biggest reason ads fail. Ditch the high-friction "Request a Demo" and create a "no-brainer" offer that provides immediate value for free, like a tool, a free trial, or an automated audit.
- This letter includes an interactive Lifetime Value (LTV) calculator to help you figure out exactly how much you can afford to spend to acquire a customer, which is a much better metric than a low cost-per-lead.
Hi there,
Thanks for reaching out!
Happy to give you some initial thoughts on this. It's a very common question, but the answer probably isn't what you expect. A lot of people get bogged down thinking that their physical location is the most important factor for online ads, when it's actually one of the least relevant details. The good news is, choosing the right platform is much simpler once you stop focusing on geography and start focusing on your customer's mindset.
I'll walk you through how we think about this. It's a bit of a different approach, but it's what stops you from just burning money and actually gets results.
Let's be blunt: Boston doesn't matter
First things first, let's get this out of the way. The idea that you need a "Boston-specific" platform comparison is a complete red herring. It's a misconception that holds a lot of businesses back. Platforms like Google, Meta (Facebook & Instagram), and LinkedIn are global advertising machines. Their targeting algorithms and tools work in precisely the same way whether you're targeting someone in Beacon Hill, Boston, or Belgravia, London.
Your physical location as a business is irrelevant. The only time location matters is when defining your *target audience's* location. If you only serve customers in the Greater Boston area, then yes, you'll use geo-targeting to restrict your ads to that area. But that's just a setting you apply on *any* of the major platforms. It doesn't change which platform is fundamentally the right one for your buisness.
The real question you should be asking isn't "Which platform is best for Boston?" but rather, "Where does my ideal customer spend their time online, and what is their state of mind when they're there?". That's the only thing that counts.
We'll need to define your ICP by its Nightmare, Not its Postcode
Before you even think about which platform to use, you have to get this bit right. Most marketing advice tells you to build an "Ideal Customer Profile" or ICP based on sterile demographics. Things like "Companies in the finance sector in Boston with 50-200 employees". Tbh, this is utterly useless information. It tells you nothing of value and leads to generic, boring ads that get ignored because they speak to no one.
To stop burning cash, you have to define your customer by their *pain*. Their specific, urgent, expensive, and maybe even career-threatening nightmare. Your ICP isn't a person; it's a problem state.
Think about it:
- If you sell cybersecurity services, your ICP isn't a "CTO". It's the CTO who lies awake at 3 AM terrified of a ransomware attack that could bankrupt the company and ruin his reputation.
- If you sell high-end video production, your ICP isn't a "Marketing Director". It's the Marketing Director at a brilliant but unknown firm who is deeply frustrated that their less-talented competitors are winning all the business because they look more professional online.
- If you sell accounting software, your ICP isn't a "small business owner". It's the founder who just wasted another weekend trying to reconcile spreadsheets instead of spending time with their family, and who dreads making a payroll mistake that could bring legal trouble.
Once you've identified that specific nightmare, your entire strategy becomes clear. Where does that person go to find solutions? What newsletters do they read (e.g., Stratechery for tech leaders)? What podcasts do they listen to on their commute? What influencers do they follow on LinkedIn or Twitter? What software do they already pay for? This intelligence is the blueprint for your targeting. Do this work first, or you have no business spending a single pound on ads.
"Businesses in Boston"
"We sell X services"
High Spend, Zero Leads
"Fear of a payroll crisis"
"Solve your cash flow anxiety"
Lower Spend, High-Quality Leads
I'd say you need to decide: Are you a Hunter or a Farmer?
Okay, so you've defined the nightmare. Now you can choose your platform. This is where I simplify things into two basic strategies: Hunting and Farming.
Strategy 1: Hunting (Capturing Intent)
This is for when your ideal customer is *actively searching* for a solution to their nightmare. They've realised they have a problem and they're typing queries into a search engine to find help. Your job is simply to show up at that exact moment.
-> The Platform: Google Ads (specifically Search Ads).
This is the most powerful form of advertising for many businesses because the intent is so high. You're not interrupting them; you're helping them. Think about the keywords they would use. Not "business advice", but specific, high-intent phrases like "emergency electrician boston", "b2b saas marketing agency", or "fractional cfo services for startups".
When we run campaigns for service businesses, this is almost always where we start. I remember one campaign for an HVAC company in a competitive area; we were getting them leads for around $60 each through highly specific Google Search ads. For a high-value job, that's a fantastic return. The key is that people were already looking for help.
Strategy 2: Farming (Creating Demand)
This is for when your ideal customer is *not* actively searching. They might not even realise the full extent of their problem, or they don't know that a solution like yours even exists. Your job is to interrupt their scrolling with a message so relevant to their unspoken nightmare that it stops them in their tracks.
-> The Platforms: Meta Ads (Facebook/Instagram) and LinkedIn Ads.
Here, you're playing a different game. You're using the platforms' incredibly detailed targeting to find people based on their job titles, interests, company size, behaviours, etc., and then presenting them with your solution. It's less direct and often takes longer to see a return, but it's essential if your market isn't actively searching.
- LinkedIn Ads: The best option if you need to reach specific B2B decision-makers. You can target by job title, industry, company size, etc. with incredible precision. It's more expensive, but the quality can be unmatched. We ran a campaign for a B2B software targeting decision-makers and saw a $22 Cost Per Lead, which for their high-ticket service was a bargain.
- Meta Ads: Brilliant for B2C and can work surprisingly well for B2B if your audience is broader (e.g., "small business owners" or if you can target interests related to your industry). The algorithm is exceptionally good at finding people likely to convert once you feed it enough data. We've scaled SaaS companies to thousands of trials using Meta by focusing on the right conversion events.
You probably should fix your offer before you spend a penny
This might be the most important part of this entire letter. You can have the perfect ICP and pick the perfect platform, but if your offer is weak, your campaigns will fail. This is the number one reason I see campaigns underperform.
And the most common, most arrogant, and least effective offer in all of business advertising is the "Request a Demo" button. Think about it. You're asking a busy, important person to commit their valuable time to a meeting where they know they're going to be sold to. It's a high-friction, low-value proposition. It instantly positions you as just another commodity vendor begging for their time.
You must delete it. Your offer's only job is to deliver an "aha!" moment of undeniable value, for free, that makes the prospect sell *themselves* on your full solution.
You must solve a small, real problem for free to earn the right to solve the big one for money. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
- If you're a SaaS company: Don't gate your product behind a demo. Offer a completely free trial (no credit card) or a generous freemium plan. Let them *use* the product. Let them experience the transformation themselves. A product-qualified lead who has already seen the value is infinitely better than a marketing-qualified lead who just filled out a form.
- If you're a marketing agency: Don't offer a "free consultation". Offer a free, automated SEO audit that instantly shows them their top 3 keyword opportunities. Give them a piece of real, actionable insight.
- If you're a data analytics firm: Offer a free "Data Health Check" that connects to their database and flags the top 3 critical issues. Show, don't tell.
- If you're a corporate training company: Offer a free, 15-minute interactive video module on a common pain point, like "Handling Difficult Conversations". Give them a taste of the full course.
Our agency, for example, offers a free 20-minute strategy session where we actually audit a company's failing ad account and give them specific, actionable advice. We provide real value upfront. This builds trust and demonstrates our expertise far more effectively than any sales pitch ever could. You have to do the same.
You'll need to understand the real cost of getting a customer
Finally, let's talk about money. People often ask, "What CPL should I expect?". The real question isn't "How low can my Cost Per Lead go?" but "How high a CPL can I *afford* to acquire a great customer?". The answer lies in calculating your Customer Lifetime Value (LTV).
The math is simpler than it sounds. You need three numbers:
- Average Revenue Per Account (ARPA): What's the average amount a customer pays you per month?
- Gross Margin %: What's your profit margin on that revenue? (Revenue - Cost of Goods Sold) / Revenue.
- Monthly Churn Rate %: What percentage of customers do you lose each month?
Once you have those, you can understand what each new customer is truly worth to you. Use the calculator below to see for yourself.
Now you have the truth. With a £10,000 LTV, a healthy 3:1 LTV to Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) ratio means you can afford to spend up to £3,333 to get a new customer. Suddenly, a £100 lead from Google or a £250 lead from LinkedIn doesn't seem so expensive, does it? It looks like a bargain.
This is the math that unlocks aggressive, intelligent growth. It frees you from the tyranny of chasing cheap, low-quality leads and allows you to confidently invest in finding the right customers, no matter the upfront cost.
This is the main advice I have for you:
I know this is a lot of information, and it's a very different way of thinking than just "picking a platform". To make it more actionable, here is the step-by-step process I would recommend you follow.
| Step | Action | Why it Matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Define the Nightmare | Forget demographics. Write down the single most urgent, expensive problem your ideal customer faces that you can solve. | This is the foundation of all effective messaging. It ensures your ads resonate emotionally and aren't just ignored noise. |
| 2. Pick a Strategy | Decide if your customer is actively searching (Hunter) or needs to be found (Farmer). | This directly determines your primary platform choice: Google Ads for Hunters, Meta/LinkedIn for Farmers. Starting on the wrong one is a costly mistake. |
| 3. Craft a No-Brainer Offer | Create a free, high-value tool, asset, or trial that solves a small part of their nightmare instantly. Delete "Request a Demo". | This removes friction, builds trust, and demonstrates your value before you ever ask for money, dramatically increasing conversion rates. |
| 4. Calculate LTV & Budget | Use the LTV calculator to figure out your max affordable Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC). Set your ad budget based on this reality. | This shifts your mindset from "cost" to "investment" and allows you to spend what's necessary to acquire high-value customers profitably. |
| 5. Launch & Optimise | Launch your first campaign on your chosen platform, optimising for conversions (leads, trials, sales), not vanity metrics like reach or clicks. | You must tell the algorithm what you actually want. Optimising for conversions is the best form of "brand awareness" because it finds people who actually take action. |
Executing this strategy correctly is, of course, easier said than done. It involves deep knowledge of each platform's technical nuances, persuasive copywriting, and a rigorous process of testing and optimisation. It’s not just about turning on ads; it’s about building a predictable system for customer acquisition.
This is where expert help can make a significant difference, helping you avoid common pitfalls and accelerate your path to a positive return. If you'd like to walk through this framework for your specific business and see how it would apply in more detail, we offer a free, no-obligation 20-minute strategy session where we can map out a plan together.
Hope that helps!
Regards,
Team @ Lukas Holschuh
