# Case Study: The Channel That Looked Eight Times Cheaper and Was a Third More Expensive | Crank Source: https://wearecrank.com/case-studies/social-impact-software-qualification-2026 Once qualification was traced through, the channel that looked nearly eight times cheaper on the surface turned out to cost more per genuine opportunity than the one it was being compared against. --- ![Social impact software case study: The Channel That Looked Eight Times Cheaper and Was a Third More Expensive](/images/case-studies/social-impact-software.png?dpl=dpl_2uJjggmfov9ibhArygujfRBb3pax) Social Impact Software, 2026 # The Channel That Looked Eight Times Cheaper and Was a Third More Expensive Once qualification was traced through, the channel that looked nearly eight times cheaper on the surface turned out to cost more per genuine opportunity than the one it was being compared against. Challenge One channel produced enquiries at £47 against £363 for another, nearly eight times cheaper on the surface, and a third channel took 27 per cent of spend while producing 74 per cent of enquiries, both of which looked like an obvious case for reallocating budget. Acting on either would have made the account rationally, and entirely, worse, and twelve per cent of results were being credited to other channels or missed altogether. Approach Trace every enquiry through to sales qualification before acting on cost per enquiry alone, and reconcile what the advertising platforms reported against what the sales system actually held. Outcome Budget decisions gained a different basis to move on, cost per qualified enquiry rather than cost per enquiry, which reverses the ranking of the two channels. Across £16,481 of spend, 128 enquiries produced 31 marketing-qualified contacts and one sales-qualified, roughly ten weeks to the first real opportunity, the expectation that stops a working campaign being cancelled at week six. 01 ## The cheap channel that was actually the expensive one One channel produced enquiries at £47 and the other at £363, nearly eight times dearer on the surface. Once qualification was traced through the sales system, the cheap channel qualified 5.3 per cent of its enquiries and the expensive one qualified 54.5 per cent, ten times the rate. Cost per qualified enquiry came out at £901 for the cheap channel against £665 for the expensive one: the channel that looked nearly eight times cheaper was, in reality, a third more expensive. A gated technical document, self-selecting, attracting people who'd chosen the topic and identified themselves by role, did the qualifying before anyone in sales spent time on it; broad search terms did not. The same account showed the same trap from a different angle: one channel took 27 per cent of spend and produced 74 per cent of enquiries, an obvious case for shifting budget toward it, until qualification data showed its enquiries converted at a tenth of the rate. Acting on the obvious move would have made the account rationally, and entirely, worse. 02 ## Sixteen enquiries the platforms never claimed The advertising platforms reported 128 enquiries for the period. The sales system held 144 attributed to paid activity, sixteen people who were influenced by advertising but whose session had been recorded as direct, organic or offline. Twelve per cent of results the platform view alone would have credited elsewhere, or missed entirely. 03 ## Ten weeks to the first real opportunity, and why that's not a failure Across £16,481 of spend, 128 enquiries produced 31 marketing-qualified contacts, of which one reached sales-qualified status, 24 per cent qualifying at the first stage, 3 per cent of those progressing further. A campaign performing well on every platform measure can still be ten weeks from its first real opportunity. Knowing that in advance is what stops it being cancelled at week six for looking like it isn't working. 04 ## What qualification changed the basis for deciding Cost per qualified enquiry reverses the ranking cost per enquiry alone produces, giving the account a metric to plan budget against instead of one that consistently pointed the wrong way. Across £16,481 of spend, 128 enquiries produced 31 marketing-qualified contacts and one sales-qualified contact, roughly ten weeks to the first real opportunity, which is the expectation that stops a working campaign being cancelled at week six for looking like it isn't. 05 ## What this means for you Cost per enquiry ranks channels in the wrong order more often than not. Qualification frequently inverts it entirely, and a gated technical document does the qualifying before sales spends time on it. ## What tracing qualification all the way through changed £901vs£665 Cost per qualified enquiry, cheap channel vs. dear channel 5.3%vs54.5% Qualification rate, same comparison 16 Enquiries the sales system held that the ad platforms never claimed \~10 weeks To the first real opportunity, the expectation that stops a working campaign being cancelled at week six Drawn from Crank's account work conducted in 2026 for this social impact software business. Client not named. ## Want to know what this looks like in your own account? These findings came from asking straightforward questions before any budget moved. We're happy to do the same for yours. [ Talk to Wearecrank](https://wa.me/447457416922?text=Help%20my%20business)[Get in touch](/contact) [← Back to all case studies](/case-studies)