As a concept, inbound marketing is a relative newcomer to the business world. Investing your marketing budget on ways to grab the attention of prospects has proven to be an effective alternative when compared to the traditional outbound methods. However, it’s worthwhile to have a by-the-numbers look at how inbound marketing affects sales and identify ways teams are using it to close deals.
The Effects of Inbound Marketing on Sales
Converting the sale is the end goal of the sales process, though the steps you take to get there tend to be more difficult to control. The first challenge is lead generation, and inbound marketing tactics are enormously effective at attracting the interest of a potential customer. Studies have shown that 93% of companies who employ inbound marketing methods boost their lead generation, with the great majority of them doing so within seven months of launching their campaigns!
Breaking these figures down further to the initial phase of the sales process specifically, it has been calculated that 92.7% of companies using inbound marketing report an increase in new leads. You can’t close a deal without first generating the lead, so these numbers speak volumes as to how inbound marketing affects sales.
Successful Sales Teams Are Closing Deals with Inbound Marketing
With the proven success of inbound marketing, it’s worthwhile to study the ways that sales people are using inbound marketing to close deals. In general, creating engaging content that grabs the attention of prospects will help drive them to your site for more information. However, the channels you use to disseminate your content are just as important as the material itself.
Blogs
One of the most effective methods of inbound marketing is creating and maintaining a blog. You'll attract attention to your blog by posting articles that answer your prospects’ questions and provide them with useful information. They'll see your company as an expert in your field, and are more likely to buy from someone they trust.
Social Media
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media sites are the hot spots where your prospects are spending time online. You can draw them to your site by posting links to your blog or other authoritative sites, and by providing links to industry news. These channels give a face to your company's name, which can go far to build your brand.
Effective Landing Pages
Once potential customers find your site, you must impress them with a landing page that encourages them to hang out. Clear and concise titles that accurately describe an article's topic, as well as attention-grabbing content that focuses on benefits is key. You won't appreciate how inbound marketing affects sales if you lose a prospect that is confused by your content or is frustrated by meandering material.
The New Inbound Marketing and Sales Connection
Because your prospects are now consuming lots of your great content, it's made the sales job easier – in some respects. You can effectively “sell” prospects before a salesperson ever speaks to them. But here’s the other thing: your competitors are doing the same thing with content, so in some ways, it's actually become tougher.
That’s when your experienced sales people come in. When they first pick up the phone to talk to your prospects, they should keep the educational process going. They shouldn’t pitch the hard sell, but rather, just keep up the informing and advising role that your content already started for them. By keeping on the prospect with this approach, they will eventually close them. And that great content and inbound marketing approach started everything off. At that point, the cycle repeats over and over again and your company wins…every time.
Topics: Sales
