We’ve talked a bit about inbound marketing versus outbound marketing, and how inbound marketing is better suited to today’s marketing landscape. Inbound methods, such as content marketing and social media, are clearly on the rise; outbound methods, such as telemarketing or print advertising, are just as clearly on the decline.;
Still, many marketers find it difficult to justify the cost of inbound marketing to their bosses. Perhaps they are comfortable with the status quo, or are not convinced that inbound is worth the necessary investment.
To help build the case, we looked into some recent research and analyzed the real-world numbers regarding inbound and outbound marketing. And when you look at the numbers, the reasons to invest in inbound marketing are clear.
1. Inbound Marketing Produces More Leads
For starters, inbound marketing produces more leads than outbound marketing. As of 2013, inbound marketing channels produced 54 percent more leads than all outbound channels combined.
Obviously, this is a big change from the pre-Internet days, which means that inbound marketing is clearly trending upwards while outbound is becoming less effective. The companies surveyed confirmed this trend: when asked which sources of leads have become less important to their company’s success, 17 percent listed traditional advertising or direct mail, compared to just 4 percent for SEO or social media. In fact, every single outbound source of leads was rated as less important than any of the inbound lead sources. Similarly, when asked which lead sources had become more important, every single inbound source rated higher than every outbound source.
Furthermore, in a study of individual companies who were implementing inbound marketing strategies, their average number of leads went from 300 to 9,100 in just 18 months—a growth of over 3,000 percent.
The higher number of leads results in a lower cost per lead. When companies were asked which lead sources produced a below-average cost per lead, all of the inbound channels fared better than any of the outbound channels.
2. Inbound Marketing Produces More Customers
Sure, skeptics may say, but what about the quality of the leads? Clearly, some leads are better than others.
However, it turns out that it’s the inbound leads which are more valuable than outbound leads. Inbound leads are more likely to convert to customers, with SEO, social media, and email marketing delivering the highest conversion rates.
With higher conversion rates and a lower cost per lead, inbound marketing naturally produced a lower cost per customer acquired. Companies which focused more on inbound marketing reported a $14 lower cost per customer than those which focused on outbound methods.
3. Inbound Marketing Provides a Better ROI
Not everyone calculates a separate ROI for their inbound activities. But, for those who do, 82 percent saw a positive return on investment from their inbound marketing.
Because of this, 53 percent of CEOs were increasing their budgets for inbound marketing this year, compared to only 11 percent lowering their inbound budgets. Past success with inbound marketing was identified as the number one reason for the change in budgeting.
How to Respond
Clearly, inbound marketing is producing results, and most companies are realizing that fact.
It is certainly not too late to invest in inbound marketing, but you don’t want to wait any longer. There is a cost to waiting to get started with inbound marketing. Inbound efforts take a while to build up steam, so those who begin earlier have a natural advantage.
That also means that you must commit to inbound marketing as a long-term solution, and provide the resources needed to develop a solid inbound program. The initial return on investment may not seem impressive, but, as the numbers show, those returns will grow over time. By taking advantage of inbound marketing’s built-in measuring and testing capabilities, you can determine what truly works best for your company and refine your approach to maximize your marketing ROI.
*Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
