With developing of internet, inbound marking are playing a more and more important role on customers. Customers tend to purchase a products not only based on advertising but also based on users feedback on social media. They are also trying to find information by themselves through search engine. Marketers noticed this change clearly. The number of marketers who think facebook is important to their business has increased 83% in last two years, and the average budget spent on company social media has nearly doubled in the last two years.
For small companies, inbound marketing is definitely a good way to open market. It costs 62% less per lead comparing to traditional marketing. How could a small start up company compete with a big, well founded company through traditional marketing methods? The total revenue for a month might not support a five seconds TV ads. Inbound marketing provide small companies a new way to keep in touch with customers, provide product information to customers while interact with them.
Although inbound marketing is a trend, I hold my opinion about that companies can survive just by inbound marketing in recent years. Once a company became bigger and got fame, it may want to get a higher percentage of profit. And as a result, it needs a faster buying cycle from customers. However, the process of building trust, interactive, and then achieve a purchase is too long by inbound marketing. Big companies need shorter buying cycle to enlarge their markets at a rate matched the companies' growth.
What's more, we had to admit that there are still a lot of laggers who still show their loyalty on traditional marketing tools. For those products which target customers would contain these laggers, companies still need to use outbound marketing to get their attentions.
So, I think inbound marketing would be the future trend. But most of companies can hardly depend solely on inbound marketing in recent years.
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While it is more economical for smaller businesses to utilize inbound marketing tools, how do you propose these smaller businesses get their word out to the masses before focusing on what they believe to be their niche market?
ReplyDeleteHi Nan,
ReplyDeleteThe professor discussed Formula Five as a perfect example of an in-bound only (or primarily) success story. Formula Five relies heavily on word of mouth to promote their business and they do very little out bound marketing (going to car shows and meetings) to promote their business. However, I think the lack of outbound marketing is a limiting factor for Formula Five's growth, and for any small business for that matter. I there there comes a point where word of mouth can only travel so far. Thus, out bound marketing serves as a larger scale marketing tool.
-Brendan
Nan, I'm confused. At one point you say you think companies CAN survive on inbound marketing along. In another place you say they CAN'T. Which is it?
ReplyDeleteI meant that inbound marketing is a good way to build world of mouth. But companies cannot only rely on inbound marketing. Outbound marketing should be used as well as inbound marketing. Those two ways combine together could be best.
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