Inbound Marketing
Inbound Marketing vs. Outbound Marketing?
Outbound marketing generally consists of marketing methods such as trade shows, email blasts to purchased lists, internal cold calling, outsourced telemarketing, and advertising. In a time not so long ago, this was the standard and a very effective method of getting your message out there.
Then times changed – People were no longer using the yellow pages and unwanted marketing messages were easily blocked out by caller ID’s, DVR’s and spam filters. Not to mention the fact that everyone is too busy to meet with your door to door salesperson or attend a trade show. Time’s have changed but the demand for your product or service hasn’t. Are you marketing to those who actually want your product?
Welcome to the age of Inbound Marketing!
Inbound marketing is most effective marketing method used to generate leads and customers. By attracting visitors naturally through search engines, blog articles, and social media, inbound marketing allows you to appeal to tons of potential customers. To convert that traffic into leads, attractive offers are created that engage your audience. Marketing tools such as landing pages and calls to action are used to generate a lead’s information. Once leads are generated, inbound marketing techniques such as email marketing and lead nurturing are put into practice. When your prospect is ready to buy, you’re at the top of their list. Tools such as lead intelligence and advanced marketing analytics provide you with all of the tools you need to close more sale and grow your business.
Why should you invest in Inbound Marketing?
- Inbound marketing channels are maintaining their low-cost advantage: Inbound marketing-dominated organizations experience a cost per lead 62% lower than outbound marketing-dominated organizations.
- The gap between spending on inbound vs. outbound continues to widen: In 2009, inbound marketing had a 9% greater share of the lead generation budget; in 2011 its share was 17% greater.
- Blogs and social media channels are generating real customers: 57% of companies using blogs reported that they acquired customers from leads generated directly from their blog.
- More and more business are blogging: Businesses are now in the minority if they do not blog. From 2009 to 2011 the percentage of businesses with a blog grew from 48% to 65%.
- Businesses are increasingly aware their blog is highly valuable: 85% of businesses rated their company blogs as “useful,” “important” or “critical;” a whopping 27% rated their company blog as “critical” to their business.
The above statistics come from Hubspot
