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It’s Time to Graduate From Inbound

Act-On Software, the leading provider of marketing automation for fast-growing businesses, and Demand Metric, a marketing research and advisory firm, today released findings from a joint benchmark study.

New Study Finds That 84% of Marketers Are Moving Away From Inbound–Only Marketing to Deliver Better Results

PORTLAND, OR–(Marketwired – June 15, 2016) – Act-On Software, the leading provider of marketing automation for fast-growing businesses, and Demand Metric, a marketing research and advisory firm, today released findings from a joint benchmark study on Inbound Marketing Effectiveness, which revealed that neither Inbound Marketing nor Outbound Marketing alone drives today’s businesses. According to the new report, the majority of marketers take a balanced approach to marketing, blending inbound and outbound tactics as part of an “Allbound” marketing strategy. With the rise of Account-Based Marketing, Inbound Marketing is losing its authority and becoming a less effective strategy for B2B companies, while outbound tactics continue to hold steady and serve as the backbone of ABM.

A buzzword born with the advent of the Internet search, “Inbound Marketing” is in essence a new-age term for advertising and awareness. While it has long had value to offer at the discovery stage of the buyer’s journey, Inbound Marketing alone has not proven effective enough to grow a business, even as the hype around it has significantly eroded the mindshare of Outbound Marketing in recent years. On average, Outbound Marketing generates 43 percent of a company’s annual revenue, while inbound generates 41 percent.

To find out how the modern marketer values and invests in inbound vs. outbound marketing, Act-On partnered with Demand Metric and surveyed over 130 marketers nationwide at B2B companies. Results showed quickly that prevailing perceptions of Inbound Marketing were imprecise at best, with respondents volunteering outbound tactics like email and digital advertising when asked to indicate the inbound methods they used.

“While Inbound Marketing generates buzz, combining Inbound and Outbound Marketing produce real business results,” said Kevin Bobowski, CMO of Act-On Software. “And as more marketers adopt Account-Based Marketing and the outbound tactics that support it, it will be time to rethink the role of Inbound Marketing.”

Marketing across the buyer’s journey requires an “Allbound” strategy to be effective. A campaign must be tailored to a persona or account, and needs to go beyond attracting a visitor to the site. Marketers must engage buyers to help them come to an educated decision. A balanced approach puts the right content in front of the right person at precisely the right time. Survey respondents underscored the value of an “Allbound” marketing strategy, with 84 percent agreeing that it’s the combination of inbound and outbound that drives their business.

This study also debunked the notion that marketers perceive inbound as more important and strategically valuable than outbound. In fact, many marketers assigned near-equal numerical values to each approach. On a scale from 1 to 10 where 1 = very unimportant and 10 = very important, they gave outbound a score of 7.3 and inbound 7.4.

About Act-On Software

Act-On Software is a marketing automation company delivering innovation that empowers marketers to do the best work of their careers. Act-On is the only integrated workspace that powers the customer experience from end-to-end, from brand awareness and demand generation, to retention and loyalty. With Act-On, marketers can drive better business outcomes and see higher customer lifetime value. Act-On is squarely focused on the success of its customers and offers consultant-level quality with everyday customer support. Act-On has been recognized for its superior product and rapid business growth by Deloitte, Forbes, and Inc. Magazine. For more information, visit act-on.com.

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Media Contact:
Paige Musto
Act-On Software, Inc.
[email protected]
650-931-2385