Statistics on the efficacy of inbound marketing

Statistics provided not only by HubSpot but other marketing solution providers and research organisations as well, suggest that inbound – if done well – is significantly more cost-effective than outbound, or at least outbound alone. Selected stats via the Content Marketing Institute, Impact Branding & Design, SmartBug Media, as well as some of my own.

Inbound versus outbound

Inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing. (Mashable)

While content marketing costs 62% less than outbound marketing, it generates more than three times as many leads. (Content Marketing Institute)

Properly executed Inbound Marketing tactics are 10 times more effective for lead conversion compared to outbound methods. (Gartner)

When content marketing adopters and non-adopters are compared, the adopters have conversion rates that are nearly six times higher than their competitors. (Content Marketing Institute)

Inbound Marketing yields 3 times more leads per dollar than traditional methods. (Kapost)

Inbound practices produce 54% more leads than traditional outbound practices. (HubSpot)

Inbound marketers double the average site conversion rate, from 6% to 12% total. (HubSpot)

The average cost per lead drops 80% after 5 months of consistent Inbound Marketing. (Eloqua)

Inbound leads cost 61% less on average than outbound leads. (HubSpot)

Mid-sized businesses save 31% on Inbound Marketing costs compared to paid search. (Eloqua)

Businesses that mainly rely on Inbound Marketing save more than $14 for every newly acquired customer. (State of Inbound Marketing)

67% of surveyed B2B companies rated Inbound Marketing as a top three or a very high priority component of their overall marketing strategy for 2015. (Kapost)

Buyer preferences and behavior

B2B customers conduct 12 searches on average before checking a specific brand’s website. (Kapost)

Online buyers go through about 57% of the buying cycle on their own without talking to sales. (Executive Board)

78% of consumers believe that organizations providing custom content are interested in building good relationships with them. (McMurry/TMG)

61% of consumers say they feel better about a company that delivers custom content and are also more likely to buy from that company. (Custom Content Council)

Customers who receive email newsletters spend 82% more when they buy from the company. (iContact)

The impact of content

B2B Marketers give the highest priority and dedicate most of their time to 3 main content types: blogs, eBooks, and whitepapers. (Kapost)

Companies who have prioritized business blogging are 13 times more likely to enjoy positive Inbound Marketing ROI. (HubSpot)

Businesses with 31 to 40 landing pages got 7 times more leads than those with only 1 to 5 landing pages. (HubSpot)

Those with over 40 landing pages got 12 times more leads than those with only 1 to 5 landing pages. (HubSpot)

The lifespan of a blog post is nearly 24 times the currently accepted measurement of 30 days. Only after two years will a blog post obtain 99 percent of its impressions. (Convince & Convert)

Marketing automation

44% of brands that use marketing automation software see ROI within 6 months, while 75% see ROI after one year. (Groove Digital Marketing)

Companies that excel at lead nurturing generate 50% more sales ready leads at 33% lower cost. (Forrester Research)

(Photo by Olu Eletu on Unsplash)