We had a client ask us the other day if they should invest in Inbound Marketing (SEO, Blogging, Social Media, etc.) services before or after they hire new sales reps.
With the economy finally starting to make gains, Denver-based companies are looking at what they can do to move out of survival mode and start growing again. Since more leads and new customers are the key to growth, many companies start thinking about hiring additional sales people to begin building new prospects.
That is logical and we are big fans of great sales people.
But with the growth of Inbound Marketing, hiring new salespeople right away may not always be the best answer for your company. At least not early in the recovery cycle. In many cases, jumpstarting lead generation and improving ROI might be better handled through investing in Inbound Marketing.
Why? Here are the top five reasons:
1. Inbound Marketing Generates leads around-the-clock. No matter how dedicated your potential new sales professionals are, they can’t generate leads around-the-clock like Inbound Marketing does. Humans need to eat and sleep! With Inbound Marketing, your content and offers attract leads on your visitor’s schedule, without any “after-hours” restrictions. In many cases, the after-hours time-frame is when many of your prospects have time to look for solutions to their challenges and find your information.
2. Multiple “experts” for the price of one – When hiring an Inbound Marketing agency, your organization has access to a marketing strategist, a social media expert, an experienced web designer, a content developer and a data analyst for about the same cost as adding one sales rep.
3. Qualified leads, every time – Because prospects “self-identify” themselves and willingly share their contact information in exchange for access to your content, every lead is pre-qualified before a phone call is ever made. Potential buyers come to you rather than you having to search them out.
4. No leads left behind – Even with the best intentions, personal follow-up sometimes falls short. Fortunately, there are very effective tools offered from a number of Inbound Marketing software companies (HubSpot, Marketo) that offer great Lead “Nurturing” tools that will automate your follow-up communications based on your pre-set timing and messages. As a result, leads don’t fall through the cracks!
5. Reduced cost per lead – In 2011, the average cost per lead for outbound (traditional marketing) -dominated businesses was $373 (from Hubpsot’s 2012 State of Inbound Marketing) per lead, while businesses using Inbound Marketing services reported their lead costs averaged $143. Inbound marketing-dominated organizations experience a 62% lower cost-per-lead than outbound marketing organizations.
Again, make no mistake. We are big supporters of adding salespeople to your team. But by implementing your Inbound Marketing system first, you will generate more qualified leads, and you’ll be letting your sales people do what they do best – build personal relationships and close deals!
What’s your take? Do you disagree? Let us know!
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