a guide to

inbound marketing
essentials for business ePaper

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A new approach to marketing 1
We have developed this whitepaper especially for business owners and CEOs to demonstrate how
a new marketing practice – “Inbound Marketing” – can empower companies to take advantage of
the changing business environment that the Internet has brought upon us.

As the Internet has evolved, marketing on the web has also

been forced to evolve. 2010 saw the marketing world truly “ Search engines, blogging and other Internet
change in a way we haven’t experienced since 1973 when
trends have fundamentally transformed
the Internet was first invented. Today we can’t simply rely
on a great website and planning to get found by search
the way people and businesses purchase
engines anymore. products, but most small businesses still use
outdated and inefficient marketing methods
In its early days the web experience was one of unrelenting
email spam, page upon page of flashing banners begging
– like print advertising, telemarketing and
for clicks and even outright deception enticing consumers trade shows – that people increasingly find
to spend. Today the web has turned into something more intrusive and screen out.”
targeted, less scattershot and more subtle. Web surfers
BRIAN HALLIGAN, Co-Founder & CEO, Hubspot
are now looking for more than our advertising; they want
information, entertainment, social interaction and most
importantly trust. Companies that deliver this kind of
content will get their business.

In this Whitepaper we will show you how to embrace a

new approach to marketing called “Inbound Marketing”.
Your customers are increasingly moving online and to
remain relevant so should your marketing efforts.
We will show you how the Internet and the social web
has brought about a new way to generate and track new
leads and grow revenues.

In our experience there is no doubt that by planning and

implementing an Inbound Marketing Strategy you will be able
to increase your qualified sales leads and ultimately sales.

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How does an Inbound Marketing Strategy
help you grow your business? 2
Inbound marketing is a methodology that allows you to generate more leads and opportunities
for your business, while at the same time building a community around your brand.

Whether you know it or not your potential customers are Inbound marketing has three key functions
searching for your businesses’ product and service. How well for your business – get found, convert, and
are you doing at guiding them along the path that leads them
analyse.
to find what they are looking for, your solution to their needs?

All too often, websites aren’t converting traffic into leads, or

even being found in the first place. By aligning with what your > GET FOUND
prospective customers are actually looking for online, and then Create, optimise, and promote your
giving them compelling offers that offer value, you can have a
content and get found.
holistic inbound lead generation system to increase sales and
drive business growth! > CONVERT
Nurture leads to gain more customers,
win more sales.
> ANALYSE
Make marketing decisions, focus on
what works.

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The focus is moving to “online” 3
Looking back, we can see how during the first phase in the evolution of the Internet, Google
changed forever the way we interacted with the Internet. In a short time we became accustomed
to search, search and more search. As a result our lives and businesses are now increasingly
dominated by online activities.

Consumers are tired of mass marketing – think advertising,

letter boxes full of direct mail, TV and radio. Consumers have “Old-school marketers are used to one-way
learned to switch off when messages are “pushed” towards
marketing communication and a sales
them, and increasingly they don’t trust these forms of
advertising.
approach that talks at the customer rather
than with the customer. That just doesn’t
The emergence of the social web and communities (think
work anymore.”
facebook & Linkedin) represents the second phase in the
evolution of the Internet. People are increasingly relying NEWT BARRETT, contentmarketingtoday.com
on their personal and business networks to help navigate
and research the Internet which now has Google seriously
questioning the future influence of search.

Consumers are interacting with their peers, exchanging ideas,

asking questions and seeking recommendations through their
“social” networks online.

The information superhighway is turning into

a conversation superhighway.

This phenomena is driving sales and represents a new frontier

in marketing. Successful companies are identifying these new
media trends and building relationships with buyers, and not
bombarding them with one-way marketing messages.

Inbound Marketing has recently emerged as a new and more

complete approach to being found by the Internet savvy
consumer market. While having the same goals as traditional
marketing – generate sales leads and enable your sales team
to convert them to customers – the difference lies in the way
businesses generate leads and retain customers.

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Inbound vs outbound 4
Inbound Marketing is the practice of bringing warm, qualified leads into your sales funnel rather than
reaching outward or broadcasting to cold, questionable targets. Broadcast marketing by its nature is
like using a shotgun. You aim it roughly in the right direction (ie. general target demographic), pull the
trigger and hope that you hit the right audience.

Of course, you’re also paying to hit some unwilling bystanders Ultimately inbound marketing is largely about building
(non-target demographic) but that’s unavoidable. You then relationships, we invite you to join us in a conversation via our
trust that the people you have hit will react to your efforts – blog and/or social media sites. You can find these by visiting
Inbound marketing turns this approach upside down. our website creativebrew.com.au

Inbound marketing involves discovering

where potential customers are searching,
positioning yourself correctly so they’ll find
you and discover whether you have what
they are looking for.

Inbound marketing should be seen as an ongoing process

and commitment that will be well rewarded. By developing Website visitors
an inbound strategy you will find a new source and connection
with your customers with results directly proportional to
commitment.
Eye Catching
Call-to-action graphic
We don’t recommend that inbound marketing completely
replace other forms of your marketing efforts and we will Effective
Landing page(s)
show you examples of how integrated marketing campaigns
can take advantage of both inbound and outbound marketing
strategies. Leads
Most importantly inbound marketing can be measured and
justified by demonstrating a positive ROI. By implementing an Lead
Nurturing
integrated strategy you will:

> Increase brand awareness through social media,

content creation and SEO.

> Capture leads through attractive offers and incentives Converte

and effective landing pages d Leads = Customers

> Convert the “hottest” leads to customers with lead

nurturing campaigns

> Continue refining the process by analysing results

and adjusting your strategy and content

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Brand awareness 5
I don’t have to tell you how choc-o-block today’s marketplace is. To acquire more sales leads, the first
aspect of your marketing that needs to be addressed is your brand awareness. People must be able to
find out about you before they will buy from you. If they aren’t buying from you they’re probably buying
from your competition – so your number one aim should be to expand your reach on the net.

While over the past 5 years your focus would have been on
search engines, pay-per-click advertising and email marketing
to reach your audience, there is no doubt today that market
trends and economics dictate you must find your target
market online using inbound marketing techniques such as
blogs, social media and SEO.

While search forms a crucial part of getting found, online

advertising and even email blasts are losing their effectiveness
unless they are employed in a targeted way. Outbound
techniques increasingly fail to resonate with people unless
your strategy incorporates inbound elements.

The chart below shows that mass marketing both online and
offline is losing popularity to inbound marketing techniques
such as blogs, social media and SEO.

Sources of Leads That Have Become More Important in the Last 6 Months

60%
60%

59%

Inbound
55%

50%
2009 2010
48%
46%

46%

40%
42%
40%

Not Classified
30%
32%

2009 2010
20%
22%

Outbound
19%
16%
15%

10% 2009 2010

11%
10%

10%
10%

10%

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50+ Charts and Graphs, HubSpot, May 2010,

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Brand reputation
and customer retention 6
Your ongoing commitment to maintain your new relationship with your potential customers is vital.
When you first begin to attract visitors to your website, blog and social media venues be sure that
you plan and budget for maintaining your new relationship with your followers by consistently
posting helpful, interesting content and by engaging with them directly through comments,

The challenge you face today is not, “how do I get the most Be sure to follow these 7 rules for social engagement:
people to buy my product?” but “how do I really listen enough
1. Know your audience
to people so that I am able to serve their needs?”
2. Outline a Strategy and clear goals
Don’t think about how to invent a story
3. Develop a voice
that will make more people buy, focus on
how to tell “your” true story and create 4.
Create useful and meaningful content for
something of real value. your target market

Your aim is to engage and retain your new brand advocates 5. Maintain brand consistency
and then begin to move them down the sales funnel towards 6. Integrate offline and online activities
becoming customers.
7. Remain focused and dedicated
The trend is for business/brands to increasingly adopt some of
the many social media channels such as Twitter, Facebook and Effective inbound marketing is all about inviting you potential
LinkedIn as a means of staying in touch with their customer customers in for a chat instead of broadcasting to an
base, (as shown in the figure to the right). From the beginning increasingly ever-reluctant audience.
you should be monitoring what’s being said about your brand
and respond promptly. Always address negative comments
directly and steer the conversation in a more positive direction.
Engage and thank your followers for positive comments and
answer their questions. This is a vital part of your inbound
Business areas for which professionals worldwide
strategy.
use social media*, August 2009 (% of respondents)

A positive brand reputation and a strong focus on customer Marketing 57%

service will drive new sales, repeat sales and customer Internal collaboration & learning 39%
retention. By providing high quality content and engaging and
Customer service & support 29%
promoting via social media, you can accomplish both tasks.
Sales 25%
Your efforts will create networks of informed and interested
people which has a distinct advantage when it comes to Human resources 21%
capturing leads, converting and retaining customer loyalty. Strategy 16%
Product development 14%
Other 31%

**Includes blogs,chat,
Includes blogs, chat, discussion
discussion boards,
boards, microblogs,
microblogs, podcasts,
podcasts, ratings,
ratings, social socialvideo-sharing,
networks, networks, video-sharing,
wikis, etc wikis, etc
Source: Mzinga and Babson Executive Education,
‘Social Software in Business’, 8 September 2009.

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Lead generation and conversion 7
To find leads and convert them into sales you must understand what your customers want and
make it easy for them to obtain something they value. Providing an opportunity is the key to
generating qualified sales leads through inbound marketing.

Content creation, SEO and social media provide the The Inbound Marketing process for lead generation:
opportunity for your content to be found. It stands to reason
> Create valuable offers and discounts that will attract
that if a potential customer is interested in what you have to
visitors and compel them to sign up
say – your content – then they are in actual fact a “warm” lead.
> Create call-to-action graphics or buttons that convey
The next step is to capture these warm/qualified leads
the offer and entice clicks to a landing page
by offering them something they value. Through having
identified your typical customer’s needs it becomes easy to > Use landing pages that further induce the visitor to
ask for a small commitment from them and gain their contact sign up or register for the offer
information in exchange for something they value. Make > Follow up converted leads with lead nurturing campaigns
it easy for them to sign up for a free product promotion or and sales calls
service, discounts or event and always use a well designed
landing page to increase your chances of getting their details. > Optimise lead conversion by measuring and analysing
results from offers and landing pages
Once leads are registered you can then begin to nurture them
and move them down the sales funnel. Depending on your > Organise and analyse leads using customer relationship
product or service you can use follow-up calls, seminars or management software
additional content such as e-papers to monitor their interest
and provide them with the right information that turns
them into a paying customer. Finding the right mix of offers,
valuable content and landing page strategy is expedited
through analysing your web traffic data.

“ In the end, the winner is content.

Good content, sharable content, and
consumer-driven content will allow us all to
have a broader spectrum of information and,
for the marketer, an easier way to connect
with their base.”
AARON KAHLOW,
CEO & Co-Founder, Online Marketing Connect

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Cost per lead – inbound vs outbound 8
Our experience and recent data shows that inbound marketing produces more quality sales leads
at a lower cost per lead than traditional (outbound) marketing efforts. Respondents to a HubSpot
Survey who spent more than 50% of their budgets on inbound marketing channels reported an
average cost per lead of $134, while those who spent the majority of their budget on outbound
marketing channels had an average cost per lead of $332, a 60% difference.

Ultimately, inbound marketing is about building relationships

online. When a business works with the “social” aspect of the
Internet and attracts people to their blogs, videos and other
content, they build an army of loyal followers. Through their
social networks this army spreads the word about you.

Inbound marketing leverages this “viral” effect, raising brand

awareness and your reputation with far less expenditure
in media costs compared to conventional advertising and
marketing. With an ongoing inbound marketing focus both
lead conversion rates and customer retention rates increase
since these loyal customers are highly likely to recommend
your products and services to their peers.

Average cost per lead

Outbound Marketing Dominated $332

Inbound
Marketing $134 < 60% lower cost per lead!
Dominated

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Inbound marketing costs & ROI 9
The world wide trend shows companies are increasing their budgets for inbound marketing
compared to traditional marketing budgets. According to a recent HubSpot survey, 88% of
marketers surveyed either have maintained or increased the amount of money spent on inbound
marketing compared to last year. In many cases, this represents a diversion of budget from
traditional to inbound, so overall budgets may not be increasing.

Ultimately any lead generation strategy should result in a 2010 Inbound Marketing Budgets
positive return on investment. Compared to 2009
Unlike conventional marketing one of the principal advantages
of inbound and Internet marketing is that you can measure 60%
the results easily. By driving potential customers to your lead
Percentage of Respondents

50%
capture forms you can isolate and measure the effects of your 51%
marketing campaigns on sales by: 40%
> Analysing website traffic 37%
30%
the general interest level generated by your brand
awareness and brand reputation efforts 20%
> Monitoring lead conversions 10%
from a casual website visitor to a sales lead 51%
0%
> Monitoring sales conversions
from a sales lead to a customer Change in 2010 Inbound Marketing Budget

> Monitoring retention rates Source: Marketing Data: 50+ Charts and Graphs, HubSpot, May 2010
from a one-time customer to a loyal, repeat customer

> Monitorying for the best strategies and tactics

which content topics, offers, social media and landing
pages generate the best results

> Measuring online sales performance

if you sell via e-commerce

It is also possible to measure sales lead conversions with

sales performance, preferably using some form of Salesforce™
automation software.

To compute your ROI, make sure you account for the personnel
involved in your inbound marketing efforts plus any external
costs such as software and any outsourced marketing costs.

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Inbound marketing – Case Studies 10
The following three case studies quantifying the benefits of inbound marketing on lead
generation and sales. These examples are provided by our friends at Hubspot who provide a
powerful all-in-one inbound marketing software solution which we proudly support.
See www.hubspot.com for more Hubspot cases studies.

Energy Software Company “ What we really need is a mindset shift that

> Increased organic traffic 17x in 6 months will make us relevant to today’s consumers,
> Attracted over 350 leads in the last 6 months a mindset shift from ‘telling & selling’ to
‘building relationships’.”
> Developed strong email marketing campaigns
> Achieved a ~ 15% conversion rate for landing pages JIM STENGEL
Former Global Marketing Officer, Proctor & Gamble

Read more about this case study >

Healthcare Solutions Company

> Increased organic traffic by 420% in 6 months
> Attracted over 210 leads in the last 6 months
> Achieved a 14% total conversion rate for
17 landing pages
> Saved on spending for paid search

Read more about this case study >

University
> Doubled organic traffic in 6 months
> Attracted over 1,200 leads in the last 6 months
> Reached 100% conversion rate on 2 landing pages
> Accumulated 6,000 links from over 1,300 domains

Read more about this case study >

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Social media policy 11
As social media quickly moves from an emerging form of communication to the mainstream,
business owners and CEOs need to be concerned with the potential for disaster if they turn their
work force loose on social networks. So, just like in the old days when companies had to figure out
how to deal with email, now they have to figure out how to deal with Facebook and all other new
media venues.

As part of a comprehensive inbound marketing strategy and

plan we recommend that you create a social media policy for “ Until recently, a vast majority of marketers
your company. A social media policy outlines for employees
were exploring this unfamiliar terrain
the corporate guidelines or principles of communicating in the
online world.
without a compass – or strategy – to guide
them... many ignored proven marketing
By creating procedures and policies to handle both positive
principles. They launched their social
and negative feedback and real-time requests for information
you will be in a position to react professionally. There is no
initiatives by creating blogs, Twitter and
question about it, you will be judged by your transparency, facebook accounts without a plan or
responsiveness and the quality of every piece of content and purpose. Not surprisingly, these initiatives
every engagement in social media. failed for many.”
A second valid concern is productivity. If your staff is busily SERGIO BALENGO, Research Director, Marketing Sherpa
chatting with their friends all day on Facebook what rules
should you put in place that doesn’t kill the ability of your
team to form relationships with new visitors and existing
customers?

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The next steps 12
We hope that you have found our Inbound Marketing whitepaper inspirational. Now that you
have a better understanding of the value of inbound marketing you should continue to build your
knowledge and look at ways to apply it to your business.

When you are ready to act, look at hiring an inbound

marketing agency that is skilled and experienced in the areas “Human beings are far more likely to
outlined – to assist you in developing your strategy, put the
communicate ideas and information with
wheels in motion to get your company found online and to
begin generating new sales leads.
others when they are emotionally engaged.
Find the key issues that concern your
We are an inbound marketing agency keen to establish
audience and then inculcate them within
relationships with customers who want to succeed in inbound
marketing, and we hope that we can create one with your
your marketing plan to get an emotional
company. response.”
If you would like to discuss how inbound MAKI, doshdosh.com
marketing can work for you, then please feel
free to contact us on tel: 8677 2248 or email
us at: [email protected]

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