Traditional outbound marketing measures have been on the decline for years. Due to smaller marketing budgets and a lack of measurability, it is playing an increasingly minor role for small and medium-sized companies in particular. According to the "State of Inbound 2015" study by HubSpot, 84% of companies with fewer than 25 employees rely primarily on inbound marketing activities. For companies with 25 to 200 employees, the figure is still 71% and for larger companies, the activities are evenly balanced. But what are the actual benefits of inbound? Mark provides an overview: Advantages of inbound marketing.
ROI of marketing activities is one of the biggest challenges for b2b marketers
Creating brochures, organizing trade fairs, managing media budgets... For a long time, these were the main tasks of marketing departments in b2b companies. Nowadays, measurable goals are also defined here - the focus is usually on lead generation. b2b marketers are increasingly faced with the challenge of making their activities measurable - i.e. presenting figures such as cost per lead, cost per acquisition, etc. transparently at the end of the day. For 51% of companies, this is one of the biggest challenges facing marketers. Followed by securing their own budgets.
What advantages does inbound marketing offer?
Classic outbound is often still the standard, especially in the b2b sector - where comparatively large budgets are wasted and only a few quality leads are delivered. Inbound marketing is not only more efficient than classic outbound, but also has many other advantages. These include, for example
Inbound marketing is measurable
Compared to many classic outbound marketing activities, inbound measures can be measured in concrete terms - because they are based on defined processes. If you also use a marketing automation tool such as HubSpot, you have all the information along the sales funnel at your disposal.
- How many leads were generated in a certain period?
- Which channels did the leads come from?
- How many of them became MQLs/SQLs or customers?
- Which content appeals to my target group and generates new prospects?
- What are the costs per lead or customer in combination with the channel?
The ROI of marketing activities can be significantly increased
Conversion optimization is of course also an issue with inbound marketing. Over 70% of companies that use marketing automation tools record an increase in sales within 12 months. The number of website visitors and leads generated can also be increased. Companies that have previously generated fewer than 10 leads online can increase these figures almost sevenfold. The conversion rate of leads to customers is also developing positively. 50 % of companies were able to increase the rates by up to 25 % within 12 months. Investments in an inbound marketing strategy therefore generally pay off within the first year.
More visibility with customers through added value
Inbound marketing is basically a combination of different marketing tactics: essentially content marketing, social media and search engine optimization SEO. The core, however, is value-added content for precisely defined target groups. Considering that 57% of purchase decisions in the b2b sector are already completed before the first contact, this underlines the need for a suitable content marketing strategy. Customers have specific needs or problems and it is precisely in these micro-moments that they search for solutions on the World Wide Web. This will bring companies significantly more visibility, for example in the form of website visitors.
Strengthening the brand and positioning as an expert
Highlighting clear USPs is becoming more and more of a challenge for many companies. Product functionalities are becoming more and more similar and are taken for granted. Customers benefit when companies can support them in their strategic planning and understand their challenges. Positioning yourself as an expert through an appropriate content strategy creates trust and can become a company's USP.
Inbound marketing addresses the problems of interested parties
A good content marketing strategy as the basis of inbound picks up the target groups with their topics and challenges and provides solutions step by step. Lead nurturing is the keyword here. The focus is not on your own product or service, but on strategies and solutions that help interested parties with their current challenges. This increases the traffic on your own website and at the same time lowers the barrier to making contact. Successful content works like a watering hole strategy. You offer what customers need and they will come. Of course, anyone interested in legal pitfalls in email marketing will certainly not immediately want to buy new mailing software... - but is very likely to fit into the defined target group.
Build up and continuously expand customer knowledge
Precise knowledge of customer needs is the be-all and end-all in b2b sales today. Inbound marketing helps to expand this information bit by bit. What problems or challenges does the target group have to deal with on a daily basis and what questions arise from this? Through targeted information requests or dialog via social media, you get to know your customers better and can then offer content that is really relevant to them.
Cooperation between marketing and sales is improved
Especially in B2B companies, improved collaboration between marketing and sales holds enormous potential for lead generation. An inbound marketing strategy closes this gap because it is based on a defined sales process and clear lead segmentation. This means that it is precisely defined what a lead, a marketing or sales qualified lead or an opportunity is and who is responsible at which stage of the process. Handover points are clearly defined. In this case, the sales department receives warm contacts that are already qualified and fit into the company's target group.
Staying in touch with the target group
Capital goods that require explanation do not sell overnight. There are often months or even years between initial interest and product delivery. The challenge for sales at this point is always "when is the right time to contact the customer?" or "how do I stay in the relevant set with the customer?". Inbound marketing optimizes the processes at this point. With suitable automation processes and appropriate customer knowledge, you can stay in close contact with the customer.
