The first day of the week-long Strategy & Planning Series focused on using data to determine the right balance of inbound and outbound campaigns and improve the performance of the funnel.
Many B2B marketers feel they need to pick sides between inbound and outbound marketing initiatives to fuel their campaigns throughout the year. However, using SEO and other metrics to strike the right balance between inbound and outbound marketing can enhance the overall effectiveness of campaigns.
In the session Why Inbound Isn’t Enough: How To Maximize Your ROI By Integrating With Outbound Tactics, hosted by Act-On Software, attendees gained knowledge on the modern definitions of inbound and outbound marketing, while also highlighting benefits and best practices of leveraging each strategy within marketing initiatives.
“We’re frequently asked which one is better: inbound or outbound,” said Rachel Rosin, Marketing Programs Manager for Act-On Software, during the presentation. “But the reality is that is shouldn’t be an either/or decision. You really need to embrace both to see a return on the marketing campaigns that you are running.”
Inbound marketing leverages a handful of tactics, including:
- Blogging
- Content Marketing
- SEO
- Social Media; and
- Review/Referral Sites.
“All of these tools offer some form of autonomy that allow prospective buyers to consume the information on their own,” said Rosin.
Using Funnel Insights To Align Sales And Marketing
The first step in becoming more data-driven is to identify how data can help achieve marketing goals. “Acknowledge that you have a marketing data problem,” said Bonnie Crater, President and CEO of Full Circle Insights , in the session Get Out Of The Dark And Turn On The Insights – 5 Steps To Full Funnel Visibility. “You need to set goals for volume, velocity and conversion rates.”
Matt Singer, VP of Marketing for Jobvite, a job recruiting platform, discussed the success that his company has seen with a data-driven approach to the entire funnel.
At the end of 2014, the company was seeking additional outside investments and needed to measure the impact of marketing activities. Other challenges included a lack of a single source of data and misalignment of sales and marketing.
Jobvite’s solution was to develop several different ways to measure the funnel, including by stage, teams and individual sales rep.
Some results include:
- An increase of more than 20% in meeting service-level agreements, with more than 90% of leads being processed within a few hours;
- A 10% increase in sales-accepted leads;
- Doubled productivity, “representing hundreds of thousands of dollars,” Singer noted;
- Fewer pushed deals; and
- Better lead quality.
“The goal is to see where the funnel is leaking, and fix those leaks, and data helps you get there,” Singer said.
The series continues today with a look at maximizing the value of clicks and content and orchestrating marketing messages across multiple channels. Click here to register for all of the sessions live and on-demand.
