Why cheap leads end up costing you more

Scroll through LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook as a business owner today and you get bombarded by marketing companies promising you the world.“100 leads per month for €499!”“1,000+ qualified leads, guaranteed!” Sometimes delivered through cringe selfie videos, sometimes with influencer-style slickness, sometimes even funny.

But honestly? It gives me wrinkles.

Maybe it’s my age. Maybe I’m an old marketer who still believes in foundations. But I keep saying it anyway: you wouldn’t build a house without a foundation, would you?

Leads ≠ qualified leads (and you know it)

Let’s start with the biggest fairytale these lead factories sell:that every lead is valuable.

Bullshit.

There’s a massive difference between:

• a list of 500 email addresses scraped by a bot

• and 10 people who are genuinely interested in what you do

It has to fit your company profile and your offer. Otherwise, your sales team ends up calling people who think they signed up for a free gardening e-book, while you’re selling B2B software.

Quality > quantity. Always. No debate.

No strategic foundation? stop communicating

This is where it gets really painful.

If your strategic foundation isn’t solid, communication is pointless. Period.

Nobody understands what you actually do.Nobody gets your product or service. Your messaging is vague.Your positioning is weak.Your brand story doesn’t exist. And then you start running ads? Pushing social posts? Launching lead campaigns?

You’re throwing money into a black hole.

Strategy first. Always. That’s not old-fashioned. That’s how marketing works.

AI won’t save your marketing (sorry)

“But Ben, AI can do everything for me now, right?” No. Not yet.

Let me be clear: I’m not anti-AI. Quite the opposite. AI is an incredible tool.But it’s a tool - not a replacement for strategy, insight or human judgement.

AI today:

• can generate content (sometimes even good content)

• can analyse data

• can speed up processes

AI today cannot:

• understand your brand

• know what your customer truly needs

• make strategic decisions with real impact

AI still needs human direction. Full stop.

Companies that rely entirely on AI-driven marketing without human steering? They’ll crash - hard. And frankly, they deserve to.

Lead companies are popping up like mushrooms (and I have questions)

I’m an entrepreneur. I love seeing young companies grow with massive ambition. Truly.

But these lead factories that pop up every single week?With their flashy videos and false promises? I have questions. Am I an old marketer who still values fundamentals? Absolutely.

Because marketing isn’t a quick fix. It’s not an “install this tool and you’ll have customers tomorrow” fairytale.

Marketing is:

• strategy

• positioning

• messaging

• consistency

• patience

• foundation

Growth without structure is unstable by definition.

This gives our industry a bad name

And this is where I genuinely get angry.

This cowboy marketing gives our industry — one we’ve fought hard to professionalise — a reputation for being unreliable. Marketing is not a scam. It’s not smoke and mirrors.It’s not a “promise everything, deliver nothing” business.

Good marketing:

• is strategic

• is honest

• is built on insight

• delivers measurable results

• builds brands that last

Bad marketing sells volume, not revenue — and disappears the moment results don’t show up.

How ARK approaches growth structurally

1. Start with the foundation

Who are you as a brand?What is your positioning?What is your unique value?Who are you actually for?

2. Use AI as a tool, not a replacement

Let AI assist, not decide.Stay human-led.Validate everything AI produces.

3. Focus on quality, not quantity

10 qualified leads > 1,000 useless ones.Build relationships, not lists.Invest in long-term growth.

4. Be realistic

Growth takes time.Marketing is not a quick fix. Foundation beats short-term tactics.

5. Choose partners who think strategically

Not the ones promising the fastest results.But the ones asking the right questions.And valuing fundamentals.

The hard truth

Marketing isn’t sexy. Not really. It’s a system designed to generate revenue.

It’s about:

• research

• strategy

• testing

• optimisation

• patience

• consistency

That doesn’t sell well in a 15-second Instagram Reel.But it works.

And those lead factories with their “guaranteed results”? They’ll be gone next year.

Companies with strong foundations? They stay.

Final thoughts

Maybe I’m an old marketer. Maybe I’m not cool enough for the TikTok generation.

But I’ve seen enough companies grow - and crash - to know one thing:

Foundations win. Always.

Stop googling shortcuts.Start with strategy. Build something that lasts.

If you read this and think “fuck, he’s right” — let’s talk.If you think “old man yells at cloud” — good luck with your 1,000 leads that convert into nothing.