Customer habits have been driving more and more companies to use inbound marketing rather than traditional outbound marketing. For example, 83% of online tech buyers discovered their vendors through Google searches. Customers aren’t reading paper brochures much anymore, and they know exactly how to avoid telemarketers. But what is the ROI of inbound marketing? How can you know if the time and resources you spend on inbound marketing are paying off? Should you hire a digital marketing agency?
These are questions that CFOs want answers to when they’re preparing to allocate budget line items for marketing. Fortunately, inbound marketing not only offers the metrics you need to calculate ROI, but it also allows you to predictably move customers through the sales funnel toward a purchase.
According to HubSpot, the average cost of a lead procured through outbound marketing is $332! A lead from inbound marketing costs an average of $134, which is 61% less. Why are inbound leads so much less expensive?
Inbound marketing is more in sync with the way people live and shop today. It allows you to target certain audiences and find them where they hang out online. You can even personalize your messages and start conversations with potential customers. All of these benefits make inbound marketing more efficient per dollar than outbound marketing.
The Cost of Mail
HubSpot reports that 44% of direct mail is never even opened. Not only is this a waste of paper, postage, and the fuel used by the postal service, but it’s also a waste of your marketing dollars.
Inbound marketers know how to send the very same message with email marketing. This is a very easy way to improve your ROI because the cost is so much lower. Constant Contact reports that for every $1 you spend on email marketing, you can expect $38 in sales in return. That’s a pretty impressive ROI!
Word-of-Mouth Marketing Meets Social Media
Word-of-mouth marketing has always been sought after, but it hasn’t always been predictable and reliable. Social media marketing has changed all of that by allowing businesses to have real time conversations with potential customers and clients. Best of all, social media is free! Of course, you can pay for ad campaigns on most social media platforms, and doing this can be an important component of your overall inbound marketing strategy, but many companies are using social media for free to reach new people and find new customers.
Social media can help you to increase your brand awareness and visibility. You can even handle some customer service issues on social media, which shows potential clients how well you care for your customers and makes you more accessible.
How Soon Will We See Results?
It’s true that inbound marketing has a higher ROI than outbound marketing, but you have to realize that inbound marketing is a long-term strategy. With each new blog post and email newsletter you create, you’ll reach more people and add to your store of SEO-rich content on your website.
Your content will not only give you material to share on social media immediately, but it will also show up in searches for years to come. Be patient as your content grows, and remember that you’re working toward sustainable growth with your marketing.
Learn more from a marketing agency, about what inbound marketing can do for your company by contacting us at Park Slope Softworks, your inbound marketing company in Brooklyn. Be sure to get a Free SEO analysis of your website as well!
