Inbound and Outbound Marketing: The Perfect Match
Posted: Tue Dec 17, 2024 6:31 am
The simple act of putting up a sign to announce something for sale is advertising. More specifically, it's outbound marketing. It's the oldest and simplest form of marketing. Today, we include in the mix newspaper, radio advertising, television commercials and pay-per-click ads, all of which are passive outbound marketing. Then you have your proactive outbound marketing, such as cold calling, email blasts and direct mail. Bringing it all together, you have your account-based marketing.
But here's the problem with outbound marketing alone and why so many people suggest replacing it with inbound marketing. Outbound marketing can be expensive. A 30-second Super Bowl ad can asia mobile number list cost almost $6 million. A billboard in LA can cost as much as $9,000 a month. If you want to advertise in The New York Times Sunday Business section, be prepared to spend more than $40,000.
Even more down-to-earth, targeted outlets can be pricey. A HubSpot study showed the average cost of an outbound marketing lead was $364, compared with an inbound lead cost of $135.
Thus, marketers have been pushing for permission-based, inbound marketing where buyers raise their hand (figuratively) to receive content and contact from a vendor. Prime examples of inbound marketing are SEO-driven blogs, social media campaigns, YouTube videos, webinars, e-book downloads, calculators, interactive tools and white papers. For the most part, inbound marketing is about making available content that will inform, educate and help prospects make a buying decision.
The numbers tell a story: Inbound leads have a 14.6% close rate, compared with outbound leads with just a 1.7% close rate. More than half of marketers find that they generate higher returns on inbound marketing. And inbound marketing helps companies generate 50% more sales-ready leads with a third of the cost.
But here's the problem with outbound marketing alone and why so many people suggest replacing it with inbound marketing. Outbound marketing can be expensive. A 30-second Super Bowl ad can asia mobile number list cost almost $6 million. A billboard in LA can cost as much as $9,000 a month. If you want to advertise in The New York Times Sunday Business section, be prepared to spend more than $40,000.
Even more down-to-earth, targeted outlets can be pricey. A HubSpot study showed the average cost of an outbound marketing lead was $364, compared with an inbound lead cost of $135.
Thus, marketers have been pushing for permission-based, inbound marketing where buyers raise their hand (figuratively) to receive content and contact from a vendor. Prime examples of inbound marketing are SEO-driven blogs, social media campaigns, YouTube videos, webinars, e-book downloads, calculators, interactive tools and white papers. For the most part, inbound marketing is about making available content that will inform, educate and help prospects make a buying decision.
The numbers tell a story: Inbound leads have a 14.6% close rate, compared with outbound leads with just a 1.7% close rate. More than half of marketers find that they generate higher returns on inbound marketing. And inbound marketing helps companies generate 50% more sales-ready leads with a third of the cost.