Inbound for All

In a new survey released this week by our partners at HubSpot, data clearly shows that no matter what size organization you have (fewer than 10 or more than 1,000 employees), or who you are attempting to sell to (B2B, B2C or not-for-profit), companies benefit more from inbound marketing results than from any other type of marketing.

Smaller companies spend larger % of budget on inbound

Companies are spending more on inbound marketing because it works. Survey respondents employing inbound marketing:

•       Get more high-quality leads
•       Have a lower cost per lead
•       Show a better ROI

Let’s find out more…

Technology has forever changed the way people buy and how they make purchasing decisions. There’s been a huge power shift from the traditional seller to today’s buyer. Depending on which sources you read, anywhere from 60 percent to 90 percent of buyers conduct online research prior to contacting a vendor. As a result, salespeople are involved later in the process.

The report shows that executives making business software purchase decisions are least likely to rely on a salesperson for information.

Find out what sources they do rely on by downloading your copy of the 2015 State of Inbound Report here.

Inbound marketing focuses on educational content to build marketplace credibility and trust. The good news for time-strapped business owners is that the people producing valuable content don’t always need to be your own employees. This year’s data shows an increase in the number of respondents who indicated they use freelancers and agency partners for content creation to help drive marketing results.

Inbound builds long-term relationships

Inbound marketing allows prospects to access information about products and services on their own terms, turning consumers of this content from website visitors into leads — and eventually into customers — more efficiently and more effectively than any other form of marketing.

Other facts from the State of Inbound 2015 report:

• Three out of four marketers across the globe prioritize an inbound approach to marketing.

• Both inbound and outbound marketers rank paid advertising as the #1 most overrated marketing tactic.

• Demonstrating ROI is the #1 challenge marketers face.

• Proven marketing ROI unlocks budget. But you have to be tracking ROI in the first place, which not everyone is doing.

The 2015 survey found that:

Small and medium sized businesses more often use inbound marketing while bigger companies use both outbound and inbound.

Getting more leads and converting more of them is a top priority across all company sizes and sectors.

Even outbound marketers say outbound marketing is overrated.

Takeaways and Best practices

Learn from the best – Leading marketers:

• Use marketing automation software
• Show inbound efforts achieve higher ROI than outbound
• Track ROI and prove it’s growing
• Check their marketing analytics 3+ times per week
• Resist the allure of paid campaigns

Get all of the statistics and more. Download your copy of the State of Inbound 2015 report here.

Research reports are chock full of data. The reports are often boring and dull. However, as marketers we recognize data-driven information conveys truth. In fact, data is a major driver of decision-making in the new era of successful inbound marketing.

Now that you have this data, what are you going to do with it? What changes will you make because of what you now know?

Here are some suggestions:

• Inbound is not a one-time, quick fix solution. Get started today.
• Consistently producing high-value, educational content for your prospects is the key to successful inbound marketing.Consider an outside expert for help.
• ROI is a key metric in defining marketing success. How are you measuring the return on your marketing investment?

Share your marketing success or Ask Us Anything in the Comments section below. A real person reads and responds to all comments.

Thanks,

David

To learn more about Crest, go to www.crestconsultingllc.com or contact me anytime. At Crest, we help companies:

• Create content that separates them from their competition
• Become subject matter experts in their field
• Measure the effectiveness of their marketing $$
• Generate a consistent pipeline of high-quality leads for less
• Turn clients into evangelists