5 Practical Marketing Take-Aways From State of Inbound 2015

state of inboundHubspot’s annual State of Inbound report tracks the practice and adoption of inbound marketing and is the result of surveying thousands of marketing and sales professionals globally.

Because the report includes respondents from a range of company sizes, with a range of marketing budgets and from a variety of sectors, the results are a good indicator of new or changing trends in the field. Whether you’re a marketing executive, a manager or the person executing inbound marketing tactics, here are 5 key take-aways for you.

1. Companies Of All Sizes Get a Higher ROI From Inbound vs Outbound Marketing

Regardless of company size or marketing budget, businesses were 3x as likely to see a higher ROI on inbound marketing campaigns than on outbound marketing. In fact, the smaller the marketing budget, the more likely to get positive results from inbound marketing.

This is especially great news for startups and small businesses because it means effective marketing and lead generation results can be attained, even on a constrained budget.

marketing ROI

2. Inbound Works for Companies of Every Type: B2B, B2C & Non-Profit

Similar to how inbound can provide positive ROI for any company size, inbound also works for different company types from B2B, B2C to non-profits. Regardless of what type of business you run, or its size, you have opportunities to attract and nurture leads with inbound marketing.

company type

3. Use of Freelance and Agency for Content is Rising

The portion of content written by in-house staff is decreasing, and companies are engaging third parties such as freelancers and agencies to product their content. This may make business sense, especially if the staff writing the content are revenue-generating employees like consultants or other professionals.

If you’re a company who has been struggling to product content on a consistent basis for your blog, guides, white papers or case studies, know that there’s nothing wrong with engaging a third party to help you – companies are increasingly going this path.

who writes marketing content

4. High Correlation Between Using Analytics & ROI

Marketers, or marketing teams, who check their metrics at least 3 times per week are over 20% more likely to to achieve positive ROI.

Before initiating a campaign, decide on the metrics you will use to measure success. Simple examples are the number of leads who download a white paper, or the number of new email newsletter subscribers. Monitoring these metrics as the campaign progresses may give you insights on adjustments you can make to your tactics to improve the results.

check analytics

5. Tracking ROI = Marketing Budget Increases

It goes without saying that checking your marketing metrics and tracking ROI on your inbound marketing efforts is essential for assessing how successful your campaigns are. If that isn’t enough of an incentive, the State of Inbound 2015 also shows that marketers who demonstrate higher ROI are twice as likely to secure more budget.

If you want more funds allocated to your department or team, you should start tracking or demonstrating the ROI of your marketing activities. This doesn’t mean that every individual marketing campaign has to be successful or profitable, it just means you are showing diligence with your funds by tracking the outcomes.

track roi

Getting started with inbound marketing can be a challenge, especially if your business has traditionally used outbound marketing. Luckily, the trying inbound marketing is relatively low risk because entry costs are low compared to other marketing investments (like PR or purchasing advertisements). If you’re ready to learn more about inbound marketing, download our free Introduction to Inbound Marketing white paper to help get you started.

5 Practical Marketing Take-Aways From State of Inbound 2015