The latest annual report from marketing software company HubSpot confirms inbound marketing as a central strategic pillar for marketers worldwide. The report is the most comprehensive review available, with data analysis from over 3,300 participants from 128 different countries, including CEOs, agencies and marketers.
Inbound marketing is defined as a holistic, data-driven strategy that involves attracting and converting visitors into customers through, relevant information and content – not interruptive messages – and following them through the sales experience with ongoing engagement.
Key stats from the report:
- 60% of marketers have adopted inbound marketing strategies.
- 80% of those executing inbound marketing have integrated it into broader company goals.
- Inbound budgets have grown nearly 50% in each of the past three years.
The ten headline findings from the 2013 report are:
- Inbound is real, and it shows remarkable traction for such a new industry.
- Inbound also delivers on its ROI promises, providing more and cheaper leads that convert at higher rates.
- Traditional marketing continues to fade.
- We need to better define what inbound marketing is – and how to measure certain activities.
- As a holistic approach, inbound helps target a fragmented digital audience and make marketing more profitable.
- Inbound has shifted where marketers spend time, and automation helps them work smarter.
- Inbound marketing is not a channel or a technology, it’s a strategy.
- It’s a good time to be a customer because companies are becoming more customer-focused.
- It’s a great time – if a potentially exhausting one – to be an inbound marketer.
- Content is a critical, but not standalone, inbound marketing component.
HubSpot statement:
At HubSpot, our founding mission is to transform the way people do marketing. The traditional methods of reaching people through interruptive and annoying tactics are disappearing – and those that aren’t are becoming increasingly expensive and ineffective. Further, these highpressure tactics are counterproductive to building long-term relationships with customers.
BuzzedUp.co.uk of BuzzedUp is an Inbound Marketing Certified Professional.