Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Search Engine Marketing (SEM) case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Luis Ferrandiz, Rosa Fernandez-Alonso, Julian Villanueva. The Search Engine Marketing (SEM) (referred as “Displays Sem” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Sales & Marketing. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Internet, Marketing.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Case Study

Search engines are shop windows, giving visibility to our products and promoting our company. Not to make good use of them is to miss an opportunity to build brand and sales.When a user conducts a search, the search engine displays the results it considers most relevant. On the one hand, it displays "organic" or "natural" results. These appear in the middle of the results page and are not paid for by the company. SEO techniques are used to optimize this kind of result. On the other hand, it displays paid results. Also known as sponsored links, these consist of text advertisements shown at the top of the results page. To optimize this kind of result we use SEM techniques.In this technical note we shall focus on sponsored links and how we can use them to achieve our business objectives.

Case Authors : Luis Ferrandiz, Rosa Fernandez-Alonso, Julian Villanueva

Topic : Sales & Marketing

Related Areas : Internet, Marketing

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10001984)	-10001984	-	-
Year 1	3470562	-6531422	3470562	0.9434	3274115
Year 2	3955064	-2576358	7425626	0.89	3519993
Year 3	3943633	1367275	11369259	0.8396	3311150
Year 4	3241192	4608467	14610451	0.7921	2567328
TOTAL			14610451		12672586

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2670602

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Net Present Value
2. Payback Period
3. Profitability Index
4. Internal Rate of Return

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Displays Sem shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Displays Sem have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Sales & Marketing Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Displays Sem often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Displays Sem needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10001984)	-10001984	-	-
Year 1	3470562	-6531422	3470562	0.8696	3017880
Year 2	3955064	-2576358	7425626	0.7561	2990597
Year 3	3943633	1367275	11369259	0.6575	2593003
Year 4	3241192	4608467	14610451	0.5718	1853162
TOTAL					10454641

The Net NPV after 4 years is 452657

(10454641 - 10001984 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10001984)	-10001984	-	-
Year 1	3470562	-6531422	3470562	0.8333	2892135
Year 2	3955064	-2576358	7425626	0.6944	2746572
Year 3	3943633	1367275	11369259	0.5787	2282195
Year 4	3241192	4608467	14610451	0.4823	1563075
TOTAL					9483977

The Net NPV after 4 years is -518007

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9483977 - 10001984 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Displays Sem to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Displays Sem has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Displays Sem can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Displays Sem, then the stock price of the Displays Sem should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Displays Sem should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

References & Further Readings

Luis Ferrandiz, Rosa Fernandez-Alonso, Julian Villanueva (2018), "Search Engine Marketing (SEM) Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.