Marketing Automation | inBlurbs Inbound Marketing Agency

December 24, 2013November 29, 2019

The Rise Of B2B Inbound Marketing

The social media and other network are all agog with the discussion centered on B2B inbound marketing. Is B2B inbound marketing all that attractive? Is the hype about the lower cost leading to high quality sales justified? How do inbound and outbound marketing differ from each other when they are compared with each other?

Decline of outbound Marketing

With exploration of the market by electronic media growing by leaps and bounds, the traditional outbound marketing is only to be expected to see a decline. Consumers are not all that naive any more. The tendency these days is to get onto the internet to diligently pick up relevant information about anything they want to buy. They are more or less not impressed by the outbound marketing techniques even if they are genuinely innovative. In short, consumers are wiser than the marketers.

The most perfect example to this, which clearly defines that the concept has seeped into every age group would be of my friend’s grandfather. The family was planning on buying an LED TV. The grandfather was the first to go through the various options within their budget while scrolling through various blogs on his tablet. After spending an hour on analysis he came up with a very strong surety of buying Panasonic tx-l60dt65b LED TV . To be honest, I could not have expected this off a 70 year old man and definitely cements the importance of strategy for every age group as well.

If you thought that they stop at reading about the product in the manufacturer’s website and do not do anything more before buying, you could not be more wrong. They read reviews, even write them, and ask the peers on and offline before making the purchase.

The overkill of email marketing and telemarketing that inundated the cyberspace has produced an averse to things that are being marketed by these methods. Advertising, whether in electronic or print media, are looked at cynically. Is it any wonder that B2B outbound marketing is seeing a slide down?

Enter Inbound Marketing

If outbound marketing had lost its sheen, it could not be that it would not be replaced by an alternative method of marketing. Inbound marketing had taken its place. Increasingly, outbound marketing does not even get a mention in discussions on marketing. The points that are taken up for consideration talk only of pull marketing and its effectiveness. The ways to deliver the various elements is the next agenda in talks. Is it any wonder then that hype is perceived here?

The Independence of Buyers

Inbound marketing puts to use the delivery of useful, engaging and valuable information to the target audience. It lets the recipient of the information decide for himself of what to purchase. The trick works best when the prospect does not feel that he had been deliberately driven to read the ad. A strategically placed ad subtly makes its point to find a favor from the reader. Sales pitch is rather absent and in its place information that looks and feels helpful is put out.

Keeping Privacy Intact

Inbound marketing is utilized to inform as well as build credibility which shall come into the mind of the consumer when he is about to make a purchase. The element of invasion that marks the outbound marketing is not discernible in inbound marketing. The reader immediately feels a relief that his privacy is not being invaded.

Inbound marketing may at times call for a training schedule for the staff that are to be taught the new marketing techniques in place of outbound marketing they were employing till then.

Adam Prattler is a consultant for search engine optimization ny and has been working since the last 6 years. With a degree in engineering and a graduation in design, he believes he has the ability to look at from every aspect, be it technology, content or design. You can connect with Adama on LinkedIn, Google Plus, Facebook and Twitter.

May 8, 2013May 8, 2013

42 Profitable Reasons to Consider Inbound Marketing Strategy for Business

The proven and successful inbound marketing strategy is a great way to generate high quality leads.

Therefore inbound marketing is known as the “riskless” marketing strategy because of the activities done which are long lasting and bring an increasing stream of future customers to your offers.

Why is this inbound marketing such a great way to generate leads?

Inbound marketing offers you a strategic and smart approach to be and to stay several steps ahead of your competition.

Inbound marketing is the marketing strategy that focuses on getting found by customers when they research online for products and services your business also has to offer.

With inbound marketing businesses “earn” their way to the customer and his loyalty, by publishing helpful information on a blog, in social media and forums.

Inbound marketing includes: Content creation like blogging, video, photo, whitepapers, eBooks, podcasts, press releases, comments in social media and other blogs and forums, Social media two way communication, lead generation, lead conversion, lead nurturing and closed-loop analysis.

How can Inbound Marketing help you?

A. It saves you up to 62% of your marketing budget
B. Makes you stand out of your competition
C. Helps to generate a massive amount of leads
D. Gets you up to 55% higher lead conversion rates
E. Increases your customers and sales

Infographic: Inbound Marketing Rising

TOP 42 Reasons to Jumstart your Inbound Marketing NOW!

1. 60% of companies will execute an inbound marketing strategy in 2013.

2. Marketers dedicate 34% of their department budgets to inbound tactics, but only 11% to outbound.

3. 48% of marketers will increase spend on inbound marketing in 2013.

4. 34% of all leads generated in 2013 come from inbound marketing sources.

5. Inbound practices produce 54% more leads than traditional outbound leads.

6. 17% of marketers say traditional advertising and direct mail are less important than they were 6 months ago.

7. Traditional advertising and PPC deliver the least leads of any form of marketing.

8. Only 6% of marketing leads originate from advertising or PPC campaigns.

9. 34% of businesses cannot or don’t calculate overall inbound ROI in 2013.

10. Adopting a marketing/sales agreement saves companies with more than 200 employees $195.84 per new customer.

11. Only 24% of companies have a formal process for marketing/sales handoffs.

12. Companies who test are 75% more likely to show ROI for inbound marketing.

13. Inbound marketers double the average site conversion rate, from 6% to 12% total.

14. The average website conversion rate is 10%.

15. 81% of companies integrate inbound marketing with larger marketing goals.

16. Marketers spend 55% more of their time than their money on blogging.

17. 82% of marketers who blog on a daily basis have acquired a customer through blog content.

18. 57% of marketers who only blog once a month have acquired a customer through blogging.

19. Inbound marketers plan to hire an average of 9.3 people this year.

20. Only 18% of marketers are purely focused on developing quality content in 2013.

21. 25% of marketers cite reaching the right audience as their top priority for 2013.

22. Only 5% of marketers have no integration between inbound marketing and overall marketing goals.

23. 50% of marketers consider their companies primarily customer-focused.

24. 17% of sales teams and 11% of executives fully support inbound marketing efforts.

25. 73% of marketing agencies are implementing inbound strategies.

26. Only 41% of nonprofits report adopting inbound tactics for 2013.

27. Just 21% of enterprises assimilate inbound marketing with their overall marketing strategy.

28. 47% of CEOs and CMOs ignore formal marketing/sales agreement development.

29. Marketing is 125% more likely than sales to provide inbound resources.

30. Increasing total lead volume is the top priority for 21% of marketers.

31. Customers average a total of 9,100 leads after 1.5 years of inbound marketing.

32. 67% of marketers produced a blog last year.

33. Only 20% of marketers without a blog reported a positive ROI for 2012.

34. 27% of marketers report that both social media and email marketing produce the lowest total average lead costs.

35. 15% of marketers say SEO leads have the highest sales conversions.

36. Social media delivers 14% of all leads and 13% of all customers.

37. 52% of all marketers have found a customer via Facebook.

38. 43% of marketers have found a customer on LinkedIn.

39. 36% of marketers have found a customer on Twitter.

40. 41% of marketers have adjusted their budget due to the success of inbound marketing.

41. 41% of CEOs report inbound delivered measurable ROI.

42. Marketers with more than 15 blog posts per month average 1,200 leads per month.

Source:

April 19, 2013March 24, 2014

Expert Video: How to Create Your Future Customer Engagement Strategy

Constellation Research CEO and Principal Analyst R “Ray” Wang visited the Software Advice offices during the 2013 South by Southwest Interactive Festival to talk about some research he released called “Building Your Interaction Strategy with the 9 C’s of Engagement.”

In today’s world, we face constant demands for our attention — from social media to news alerts and loyalty programs. Wang asserts that companies must find ways to cut through this clutter if they want to compete in the future. To do this, they need to create a true engagement strategy based on authentic, natural and trustworthy interactions.

A lot of organizations think they know what this means: sending a coupon on a customer’s birthday, or liking a post about you on Facebook. But most don’t look at the big picture, or they just end up coming off as “creepy” in their engagements.

Instead, he suggests following the “9 C’s of Engagement” when building your interaction strategy. These fall into one of three categories:

People Centric Values: Culture, Community, Credibility
Delivery and Communication Styles: Channel, Content and Cadence
Right Time Drivers: Context, Catalyst and Currencies

In this video, Wang describes how companies can use these three pillars to build an effective engagement strategy.

About the author:

Ashley Verrill is a Market Analyst for research firm Software Advice. Her professional experience spans journalism, sales, advertising and SEO marketing. She’s a seasoned writer having produced copy for business journals, a sports magazine, daily deals advertising and industry blogs. She can be contacted at ashleyverrill[@]softwareadvice.com, or by calling 512-582-2314512-582-2314. LinkedIn – Twitter – Google +

November 22, 2012March 24, 2014

HEALING online with VIDEO

There are millions of Healing Practitioners around the globe, with much to offer the world in terms of healing, training + moving forward, but many are struggling to put food on the table in these economic climes.

Most Medical Aid Funds do not support, nor include most of the Wellness industry in their Medical Aid Cover, so these costs need to be born directly by Patients / Clients / Students – Really tough for most in these tough economic climes !

They would do well to seek other marketing tools + platforms to get themselves into the world globally

So what should Practitioners consider in this economic climate ?

1. I believe it is to seek out alternative + additional marketing tools + platforms + really embrace the Internet + Online Technology + all it has to offer !

2. VIDEO + MOBILE is the future, which opens up huge possibilities for Healing Practitioners, to use these tools as an adjunct to their one on one healing sessions, face to face workshops + trainings/healings they facilitate

3. Embracing the future + what is, would be something to consider, to grow their business + go Global with ease ! Millions globally have access to the Internet + many have Mobile smartphones today

4. Many Practitioners in the Healing fraternity industry are still resisting Online technology as an adjunct vehicle, to do their work Online, as HEALERS / TRAINERS / MEDIUMS / DOCTORS, etc – aside from using their therapy rooms, clinics or outside venues

5. The big move into technology, the Internet + Mobile is hugely daunting

6. However, those willing to take the leap would be well advised to start with the energy of Desire

7. They should be open + receptive to change, followed by a Mindset shift + the ability + willingness to embrace the power of it all, a new language, new knowledge, do the work to achieve new learning – to really embrace the Internet + all it has to offer to assist them in marketing their Brand, their Products, Healing Modalities, Psychic Readings + Training modalities, etc

8. Now is the perfect time for folk to solicit the services of Wellness Practitioners, who have much to offer, but at the right price of course !

9. Having said that, Wellness Practioners need to take a long hard look at their marketing etc costs + how best to serve their target audience in the most cost effective way ?

Where are things headed ?

· MOBILE
· VIDEO and
· Marketing on the Internet + Social Media sites

1. Practitioners are assured that, as long as eye to eye contact + voice resonance is achieved, Online meetings / healings / readings / trainings are totally feasible !

2. By moving away from hosting live ‘face to face’ Workshops/Training/Coaching at specific venues + hosting meetings online, Practitioners can, using this technology, save fortunes doing the ‘green thing’, reach a bigger audience, growing their business + consider passing on their savings to their Clients / Patients / Students

3. The ‘GOING GREEN’ here would be to consider integrating a Video Communications suite, into their marketing mix, such as –

· Video Email and
· Video Conferencing/Webinars

Using Video Conferencing / Webinars

· With the advent of web conferencing, coaching/teaching/readings etc can now be done 100% online from the ‘home office’ to easily reach a worldwide audience of potential + existing clients

· Going this route, they save on time, energy, airfares, venues, hotel accommodation – ultimately saving money themselves, which they can pass on to their clients

Using Vmail – the new Email

Practitioners would do well to market using Vmail – Extraordinary results can be achieved using this technology

· People spend 8 seconds reading a static text email, but retain 85% of what they see in a Video
· Static text emails are easy to ignore – and at their best – give a customer only the vaguest notion of what your business really values. People simply don’t have the time today to read screeds of text + barely get past the third line, before deleting, without ever grasping the gist of the message that is trying to be conveyed
· Video Email is simple to use, online, browser based technology, which enables you to create your own personal Vmails
· Most technology platforms allow 20 minutes of talk time, which is more than adequate to impart your message
· Additional videos may also be uploaded into the Vmail
· No software downloads are necessary
· Bandwidth is not compromised, as the VMail opens on the Internet, for folk with Internet + Bandwidth challenges
· Most Vmail purveyors allow full integration with your social networks to share on Youtube or Facebook, etc.

This is highly recommended + both Video Conferencing + VMail can be accessed on most Pads, Android + select Smartphones

More tips for Wellness Practitioners –

1. Consider coming into the future + really upping their game in terms of the marketing tools they use to attract, capture + maintain new Clients / Patients / Students etc
2. Have Hope for a successful Career + Business, to enable Thriving + Surviving in this global economy
3. Explore all other positive cost cutting possibilities for themselves + their Business + to pass this on to their Clients / Students etc
4. Get really Specific in their marketing approach
5. Think hard about speaking Generically to everyone, as trying to appeal to everyone doesn’t cut it anymore
6. Be highly Targeted in their marketing to people with problems

Facts to consider :

· Google loves Video !
· Cisco predict there will be a 10 fold increase in the use of Video over the next 5 years
· Internet Video traffic is now 40% of consumer internet
· People retain 10% of what they hear, but 50% of what they see
· Video is the single, most effective form of communication
· Additional creative marketing platforms are constantly being sought
· ‘Old school’ marketing is no longer effective

Heather de Wit considers herself to be an ‘out of the box’ thinker and is happy to share her knowledge on the merits of utilising Video Email and Conferencing/Webinars. Her experience as a sole Entrepreneur for over 20 years spans marketing, advertising and PR. She enjoys creative writing, singing at functions and is a self-taught artist.

Get in touch with heather :

Facebook
LinkedIn
SKYPE : heather.de.wit
Mobile +27824907143+27824907143
EMail: heather@boundless-activities.net

August 29, 2012March 24, 2014

Tips for New Content Marketers – an Interview with Joe Chernov

Recently, we posted a video with Eloqua’s Joe Chernov that discussed the various ways marketers miss the mark with content marketer.

As a follow-up to that, the folks at CRMSoftware.TV sent over another interview where Joe offers some advice to those just getting started with content marketing

You’ll have to watch the video to learn all of his tips, but we’ve highlighted our three favorites below.

— Develop “buzzword-free” writing skills. At the risk of offending the PR crowd, it is important for content marketers to know how to write in a non-PR way. What that means is ditching the buzzwords and using language that people can understand and ultimately connect to. This is an area where new graduates have a leg up. Their language hasn’t been corrupted by industry jargon, so they are more inclined to communicate ideas in a more straightforward way.

— Display good business judgement. Many young marketers pride themselves on their web savvy. They are on Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Google+ and myriad other online networks. However, it is important to remember that your activity on those networks is a reflection of you as a professional. Joe suggests that you approach your activity with this mindset: “If Google is your resume, what does that say about you?”

— Keep it brief. An oft heard phrase is, “Brevity is the art of lingerie,” but it’s also the art of content. Joe addressed this somewhat in the last video, but it begs being mentioned again – keep it short and sweet! Just because you use 100 words to explain something doesn’t mean you should. It’s far more impressive to do it in 10. Content marketers should keep this in mind when creating content, remembering that today’s buyer consumes information at a much more rapid pace and doesn’t have time (or patience) to sit through a 10 page whitepaper.

For the rest of the tips, check out the video below.

Lauren joined Software Advice in 2010 as the CRM Market Manager. Currently, she is the Producer and Content Manager for CRMSoftware.TV, a new site designed to be like Hulu for CRM Software. She writes about various topics related to CRM software, and often reports live from major industry events. She has particular interest in marketing automation and social CRM, and her work has been featured in Forbes and The New York Times. When she isn’t covering the software industry, you can find her running at Town Lake with her dog, Sophie, and singing at local Austin venues. She is a graduate of the University of Texas with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Get in touch with Lauren:

July 16, 2012March 24, 2014

Eloqua Announces Chatter Integration

Eloqua revealed this week a new integration with social enterprise app innovator Chatter. The Salesforce.com-owned business network will automatically be integrated into Eloqua’s Marketing Automation (MA) platform free of charge.

The new “Chatter inside Eloqua” won’t be publicly available until next quarter, but I was granted a sneak peek earlier this week. Eloqua connected me with their product team who gave me a demo. In short, the upgrade forges a stronger collaboration channel between Marketing and Sales, as well as extends socialized enterprise value further in an organization. On a technical level, the integration enables teams to share a single Chatter stream. Also, data from Eloqua is synced with Chatter.

One of the most interesting features I noted during the demo was the expert search function. The marketer in this scenario needed a subject matter expert to review a health-related email before sending it to a customer segment, so he typed “?Health” in the search field. Chatter responded with the profiles of individuals who previously worked with health-related campaigns, including the qualifications and success they had (such as “completed 36 email campaigns with that keyword” or “has the highest email open success rate for that term”).

He then contacted the selected expert, Jill Roberts, by simply typing “@JillRoberts” and his message into Chatter, which alerted her through her dashboard. Jill scanned the discussion thread for context into the campaign and caught a critical issue: “Docs would say patient, not customer,” she replied.

This entire interaction happened without one email and without ever leaving Eloqua. This integration increases collaboration without forcing employees to toggle between yet another business tool.

The integration also allows Eloqua to automatically push information into the Chatter news feed when various milestones are reached. For instance, in the demo scenario, Eloqua posted, “Good News! The Health Care Campaign has achieved a 15% better than average open rate.” In response, the marketer commented, just as you might on a link in Facebook, “Thanks @JillRoberts — I couldn’t have done it without you!”

Follow this link to read the entire news release: http://www.eloqua.com/news/press/Eloqua-Unveils-New-Chatter-inside-Eloqua.html

Research for this brief was provided by Software Advice.

About the author:

Ashley Furness is a Market Analyst for research firm Software Advice. Her professional experience spans journalism, sales, advertising and SEO marketing. She’s a seasoned writer having produced copy for business journals, a sports magazine, daily deals advertising and industry blogs. She can be contacted at Ashleyfurness[@]softwareadvice.com, or by calling 512-582-2314512-582-2314. LinkedIn – Twitter – Google +