More advertising budget, same target group? Thoroughly check your new customer reach

What the new survey shows – and what it doesn’t show

Taboola reports on a survey of more than 300 marketing and advertising executives for The Data Advantage. Respondents work at companies with more than 1,000 employees and at least $300,000 in monthly marketing expenses. According to the published summary, 81% reported struggling to reach new audiences and instead target the same segments repeatedly. 75% reported difficulty recognizing the same unconverted person across multiple contact points.

These are self-reports from a limited group of large advertisers, not a measured reach of all meta accounts. The publicly available notice does not specify a survey period or a precise distribution by country or industry. Taboola itself sells advertising outside of major platforms; This economic perspective is part of the classification of the investigation. Neither the 81% nor the 75% can be adopted as a benchmark for a German company or as a prediction of success for a new channel.

The study examines a market problem, not a new meta-function. A high proportion of known contacts can arise for several reasons: a strong existing audience, a narrow target group, similar creatives, long purchasing decisions or incomplete mapping in your own CRM. Without our own data, none of these causes can be derived from the survey.

First, define what “new” means to you

NOSA classification: For high-priced offers, a form filled out for the first time is not automatically a new potential customer. A person may have already made an inquiry, had a conversation or made a purchase. Therefore, before evaluating, decide whether you want to measure “new lead”, “new company” or “first paying customer”. These three sizes answer different questions.

A simple example: out of 100 inquiries in a month, 30 are already known contacts. Of the remaining 70, 20 meet your qualification criteria and 5 go on to become customers. Then the proportion of new contacts is 70 out of 100 inquiries, the proportion of qualified new contacts is 20 out of 70 new contacts and the observed completion rate is 5 out of 20 qualified new contacts. With small case numbers or long sales cycles, these values ​​are uncertain and delayed. The numbers are just a calculation example, not a market value.

Compare people or companies with existing data sets only to the extent that the data quality and your permissible processing allow this. A missing email, multiple phone numbers or different spellings can incorrectly turn a known contact into a new one. Therefore, document a proportion that “cannot be assigned with certainty” instead of counting all uncertainties as new customers.

A testing process for meta campaigns and other channels

NOSA classification: Start with a fixed time period and the same definition for all campaigns. Export costs and inquiries per campaign from the advertising manager and add from the CRM whether the contact was previously known, whether a qualified conversation took place and whether new customer sales were generated. The platform reports promotional events; Whether this resulted in a new paying customer must come from your sales data.

Separate three changes: more total inquiries, more first-time contacts and more new paying customers. If expenses increase and only the first number grows, this is not evidence of better acquisition of new customers. At the same time, check whether the entry or assignment has been changed. A new form or a changed CRM duplicate rule can shift the numbers without improving advertising.

If you also test a different advertising environment, keep the offer, period, target region and qualification criteria as comparable as possible. Don’t just evaluate the new channel based on a lower click price or higher reach. What is crucial is whether additional qualified new customers are created who probably would not have come without this measure. In small tests this can remain open; then “not yet proven” is the correct result.

1. Before the test, determine whether “new” means a person, a company or a first purchase and over what period of time existing contacts will be checked.
2. Check a sample in the CRM for duplicates, missing contact details and duplicate companies; record unclear cases separately.
3. Reports per campaign expenses, inquiries, unique new contacts, qualified new contacts and new customers acquired later, each with a denominator and time period.
4. Compare changes only after tracking, form, offer and sales capacity have been examined as possible causes.
5. Only move budget based on a pre-defined success criterion; document low case numbers and open closures.

When the market statement is useful for your budget decision

The Taboola survey from October 5, 2026 shows that large advertisers perceive acquiring additional target groups and recognition across touchpoints as problems. It does not prove that Meta Ads no longer reach certain target groups, that another channel is cheaper for your company or that a certain budget level is necessary.

NOSA classification: Use the finding as a control question in the next monthly report: Which part of the additional contacts gained was actually new for you, which part qualified and which part later turned into sales? If this data is missing, the first task is to measure and correctly assign contacts. Only then can a serious decision be made as to whether the creative, target group approach, offer, budget or channel mix should be adjusted.