If you’re an owner or decision-maker in a B2B organization, then you might be standing on the sidelines of this whole “inbound marketing thing,” waiting and wondering if it’s really something that you should be doing. In three words: yes, you should.
In more than three words: inbound marketing isn’t just suitable for B2B sales, but it’s fundamentally aligned with what makes or breaks relationships and turns interested prospects into profitable fans.
Here are 5 reasons key why inbound marketing works for B2B sales:
1. Inbound marketing enables rapid 24/7 responsiveness.
Because inbound marketing is largely automated, businesses can immediately deliver requested information to prospects such as ebooks, white papers, reports, checklists, and other assets. A staggering 35-50% of sales go to vendors that respond first (Source: InsideSales.com).
2. Inbound marketing supports longer sales cycles.
B2B sales cycles typically last for quite a while. In fact, 63% of prospects who request information today won’t purchase for at least 3 months, and 20% will take over a year (Source: Marketing Donut). Inbound marketing helps businesses stay on the radar screen throughout the extended journey and position themselves to win the deal when it’s time to make a decision.
3. Inbound marketing filters and nurtures leads.
The bane of existence for most (if not all) B2B sales professionals is getting overloaded with unqualified leads, which are massive time and resource drains. In fact, only 25% of leads in the pipeline are legitimate (Source: Gleanster Research). Inbound marketing automates the process of filtering qualified leads and then helps nurture them along the buyer’s journey. No, inbound marketing doesn’t — and shouldn’t — replace skilled B2B sales professionals. But it certainly is an ally that helps them maximize their active selling time and boost win rates.
4. Inbound marketing engages multiple buyer personas.
In a typical company with 100-500 employees, an average of 7 people are involved in most buying decisions (Source: Gartner). Inbound marketing is ideal for creating distinct content streams to engage different buyer personas (e.g. end users, executives, technical, finance, operations, etc.), so that everyone who needs to be informed and influenced is part of the effort.
5. Inbound marketing aligns sales and marketing teams.
When sales and marketing teams aren’t on the same page, resources are wasted, content is ignored or misused (i.e. the wrong documents and assets are sent to prospects, etc.), and opportunities get missed. Inbound marketing aligns sales and marketing teams, so they’re working together to create hyper-relevant content that is mapped to all deal stages. Businesses with tightly aligned sales and marketing functions enjoy 36% higher customer retention rates and 208% more revenue (Source: MarketingProfs).
The Bottom Line
Inbound marketing is perfectly suited for B2B sales, which is why a growing number of companies are making it a core part of their marketing strategy. To learn more about reaping the advantages in your environment, contact the Leap Clixx team. We serve numerous B2B customers across the country. We know what works — and just as important, we know what doesn’t. Your consultation with us is free.
For more information on inbound marketing, download our FREE eBook on best practices:
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