INTRODUCTION:
Having worked in client side marketing roles within the tech sector for nearly 2 decades, I believe that inbound marketing is set to transform the way we go to market in the B2B technology sector. Where we've relied up until now on outbound activities to find new customers like tradeshows, integrated marketing campaigns spearheaded by advertising and lots of emailing. All this is set to be replaced by the more subtle, less invasive, typically less expensive and more scientific form of inbound marketing.
WHAT IS INBOUND MARKETING?
The standard explanation of inbound marketing is as follows "Inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people naturally towards your company or product. By aligning the content you publish with your customer's interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can attract, convert and delight over time." Inbound marketing harnesses the integrated power of blogging, SEO, PPC and social media to draw visitors to your website, engaging content encourages interaction and for prospects to start their conversion into customers.
OUTBOUND MARKETING - INTRUSIVE AND LARGELY INEFFICIENT
In contrast, outbound marketing is seen as interruptive and can make prospective buyers hostile. It is also highly ineffective and tends to be more expensive. Much of the demise of outbound marketing is down to the advent of the digital age. The majority of tech buyers now go online to stay informed, conduct research and select solutions. According to Sirius Decisions 67% of the buyer journey is now digital. Here's some other pretty terrifying facts if you're still focussed on outbound marketing:
- According to IBM Buyer Preference Study, cold calling does not work 97% of the time.
- Content marketing generates 3 times as many leads as traditional outbound marketing, but costs 62% less. (Demand Metric)
INBOUND MARKETING + B2B TECH BUYERS = ♥
Inbound marketing is the perfect safe haven for tech buyers where they can research technological trends on line, deepen their understanding of your technology through webinars and white papers and enquire about your service offering on their terms when they are ready. Tech buying tends to be one of the most longest and complex decision making processes and therefore its perfectly suited to an inbound content rich approach.
CONCLUSION:
I am a convert and advocate of inbound marketing. At Resourceful Marketing, we are a hampshire hubspot agency who work typically work with challenger technology companies and we really feel that inbound marketing perfectly wraps around our clients to deliver an all encompassing, highly analytical, cost effective marketing engine. We chose to partner with HubSpot the inventor of inbound marketing and an incredibly powerful and intelligent marketing automation platform as it empowers B2B technology companies of all sizes to take control and have a 360 degree view of all their marketing at all times and to show them the ROI delivered by marketing.
LINKS
https://www.siriusdecisions.com/Blog/2013/Jul/Three-Myths-of-the-67-Percent-Statistic.aspx
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