Businesses have a known customer acquision cost. This is the cost of advertising, subsidies, etc. it takes to add one new customer. A bank may spend $200 total, on average, to acquire a single new customer.
Now let's take the WTS. In 2010, 1.6 Billion hours are spent to acquire 294,000 new members. This is an average of 5450 hours per member.
Think about that, 5450 hours! There is a cost in those hours. Opportunity cost, time that could have been spent doing other things, even working. Plus costs with travel, gas, etc. Let's place some values on the hourly cost, low, medium, and high:
- 5450 hours x $2/hr = $10,900
- 5450 hours x $5/hr = $27,250!!
- 5450 hours x $7.25/hr (minimum wage) = $39,500!!
Talk about the most inefficient acquisition cost! In the US at a time value of minimum wage, this would be $40,000 per new publisher!
Imagine if they used these resources to real advertising!