As advised by Forbes contributor AJ Agrawal, companies that want to enjoy substantial business growth in 2016 must make inbound marketing a top priority. Argrawal writes:
“Cold calling and cold emailing is no longer as effective because people are spending less time on the phone and more time texting and online. When people receive a call from an unknown or unrecognized number, they are much less likely to answer it than they were a few years ago. Thus, company outreach is less effective. To get more leads, you need the leads to come to you. By creating channels that invite prospective customers to your website and landing pages, you can grow your pipeline.”
To this advice, we at Leap Clixx would add that cold calling and cold emailing isn’t just totally ineffective – it’s also a colossal waste of money and time. In fact, it ranks right alongside Yellow Pages advertising as the worst possible way to spend marketing dollars.
What’s more, inbound marketing isn’t just driving leads, customers, sales and profits in select industries, such as those that have always spent significantly on marketing (e.g. consumer electronics, travel and tourism, real estate, etc.). In fact, some of the most dramatic improvements are being seen in industries that have traditionally leaned away from marketing – and perhaps the most vivid illustration of this is with software and technology companies. For example, thanks to inbound marketing + HubSpot:
- SaaS company Phase 5 Group increased leads by 4200 percent
- Software development company Trekksoft increased leads by 376 percent
- eCommerce payment company Paytrail increase leads by 235 percent
- Talent management platform company Talent Cue increased web traffic 150 percent
- Software development company BrightGauge increased its customer roster by 87 percent
- B2B eCommerce company Atlis RFID increased revenues by 50 percent
These impressive and inspiring numbers are not exceptions; they are typical (if a 4200% increase in leads and 87% increase in customers can truly be called “typical”!), and they mirror the results that our software and technology customers are experiencing.
So why does inbound marketing work especially well for software and technology companies? There are 4 key reasons:
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Establishes Expertise
Inbound marketing helps companies establish their expertise, which while important in every industry, is absolutely critical in the software and technology space. Forget about being the low cost leader or having the biggest inventory. These days, the most valuable and coveted position is thought leader, and inbound marketing lets smart companies stand out.
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Supports Persona Driven and Lead Score-Driven Content Delivery
Inbound marketing supports persona-driven and lead score-driven content delivery -- and both of these align perfectly with how relationships are built and sales happen in the software and technology space.
Persona-driven means that prospects are engaged in ways that align with their needs, pain points and aspirations. For example, a company that sells hosted VoIP solutions can target business owners, facility managers, and IT professionals with three separate campaigns that deliver persona-specific messaging and information.
Lead score-driven means that prospects who share the same persona type can be engaged by content based on where they are on the customer journey. For example, business owner prospects don’t all need to get the same persona-based content. Those who are considered closer to the beginning of the journey (low score) get messaging that is suitable for them, while those further along (higher score) get messaging that is suitable for them.
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Fully Automated
Inbound marketing is fully automated, which makes it very efficient and remarkably cost-effective -- and that makes it perfect for software and technology companies that are under constant pressure to “do more with less”.
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Data-Driven Decision Making
Instead of being forced to rely on best guesses or gut feels, inbound marketing fundamentally supports data-driven decision making. As a result, software and technology companies can turn raw information into actionable intelligence, and achieve the shortest path to sustainable ROI.
Learn More
To learn more about how inbound marketing can help your software or technology company increase leads, traffic, sales and revenues, contact the Leap Clixx team today. As experts in the inbound marketing field and certified Gold HubSpot partners, we know what works and why – and just as importantly, we know what doesn’t and won’t! Simply put, our proven expertise is your best advantage.
For more information on inbound marketing best practices, download our FREE eBook:
Topics: Inbound Marketing
