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Balancing Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing

November 1, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Join #B2BChat on Twitter every Thursday at 8:00 PM EasternInbound marketing has captured the attention of B2B marketers, and no wonder. According to Hubspot, leads from inbound marketing cost 62% less than leads from outbound marketing.

However, opinions and knowledge of inbound marketing vary widely among B2B marketers.

Dan Hanssel (@dannyhanssel) moderated a recent #b2bchat discussion on Twitter that tackled some of these issues. The result was not only some good advice for marketers, but also a window into the varying opinions marketers hold about inbound marketing, testing, budget allocations and more.

Brief highlights from the discussion are below, or you can see them here on Storify.


Balancing Inbound and Outbound in B2B Marketing

#B2Bchat summary. Moderated by @dannyhanssel on 11/1/2012

Storified by Eric Wittlake · Thu, Nov 01 2012 22:28:25

First Statement: Inbound marketing is too new to have a real track record. Spend your media budget on outbound, where it is proven. Agree or Disagree and Why?
Disagree, Inbound has been around for awhile. Nature of the in has changed. #b2bchatSteve Cassady
A1: I agree, you invest in what works. If inbound marketing hasn’t established itself, stick to outbound #b2bchatAdrienne Tate
MT @haidn: A1: Strongly disagree. Whole markets have been built on #inbound. Where would marketing automation segment be w/o it? #b2bchatRingCentral
S1 Potential B2B clients are looking for you online now, too – your business needs to be prepared for both. #b2bchatJennifer G. Hanford
Statement Two: Customers are tired of “tell and sell” outbound tactics. Inbound is a low pressure way to build relationships. Agree or Disagree and Why?
S2-"tell and sell" should have been replaced with "listen and deliver" long ago #b2bchatMiles Austin
S2 Yes customers have been LONG tired of tell & sell <– that doesn’t mean do inbound. IF customers are searching, inbound canwork #b2bchatMaureen Blandford
#A2 Both are important. It depends on the business to which is the better tactic, inbound or outbound marketing to use. #b2bchatAdrienne Tate
A2: Agree. Inbound marketing, done right, can help to attract the smart and discerning (i.e., high-value) customer. #b2bchatRingCentral
Statement Three: Working with smaller staffs and budgets today, CMOs can’t afford to waste time & money experimenting with new tactics. Agree or Disagree and Why?
S3. Disagree. Then why have a CMO? Just automate the existing tactics #b2bchatGerald Moczynski
#b2bchat it depends on the product or service. If trying to prove product leadership inbound is key to being perceived as a true partner.Sherri Anderson
S3 cont: Not always about limited $$$ – often limited bandwidth to create & manage all these programs. #b2bchatHaidn Foster
S3) Always should have some funds for learning. Never know the next great opportunity. #b2bchatSteve Cassady
A3: disagree, part of a small team we experiment and are very resourceful. Networking is key to help spread your message #B2bchatBrittany Burzawa
S3) disagree. should always try testing new things. Do an A-B test on a small scale #b2bchatRich Grant
Statement Four: Demand Generation and its structured sales processes are too big of a change for mid-sized and large companies to adopt. Agree or Disagree and Why?
S4) disagree. having worked for a company w/$1 billion+ in sales, they were always adopting new ways of doing things #b2bchatRich Grant
A4 Big or small cos have Culture issues that are often bigger obstacles than sales or marketing They can’t get out of their own way #b2bchatMaureen Blandford
S4: The best mid-large orgs already have strong demand gen practices in place. Not too complex to implement, need strategic leader #b2bchatHaidn Foster
Statement Five: Blogging is key to inbound success. If your top executives will not blog, you should outsource your company blog. Agree or Disagree and Why?
s5) agree, as long as blogger can get inside the head of the CEO. Regular meetings, clear vision, it can work #b2bchatRich Grant
Corporate blogs are like 40 yo white people dancing at weddings. So. Awk. #b2bchatMaureen Blandford
S5: Disagree on every count. Blogging is great, but only w/ strong internal support. Also doesn’t need to be cornerstone of inbound #b2bchatHaidn Foster
A5) our blog is actually the 3rd most visited page on our website. But its content directly from scientists – not fluff from mktg #b2bchatAmy Clausen
S5 The best blogs are from the inside…outsourced blogs just can’t capture the company’s culture, etc. #b2bchatJennifer G. Hanford
A5: Disagree, Someone inside the company should be blogging, it shouldn’t be limited to CEO and executive board members #b2bchatAdrienne Tate
Statement Six: All outbound and inbound tactics should be fully integrated and thematically consistent with your current campaign. Agree or Disagree and Why?
S6 Agree. Integration is important and needs to tie into the campaign…but meeting the clients’ needs is going to be key. #b2bchatJennifer G. Hanford
S6 Agree if your messaging isn’t from 1980. Which, hello, most messaging is today. As we’ve recently seen from a big MA launch #b2bchatMaureen Blandford
@dannyhanssel Yep. Risk of campaigns is they "get" attention. If you already have it, they can muddle the message #b2bchatEric Wittlake
Statement Seven: Inbound and Outbound messaging strategies can be very different because we engage different people with different media. Agree or Disagree and Why?
S7 Another maybe from me. The message to attract inbound leads can be a lot different than the outbound methods; diff audiences. #b2bchatJennifer G. Hanford
S7. Definitely agree. In my work, outbound is focused on targeted sectors. Inbound is focused on being the vendor of choice. #b2bchatGerald Moczynski
S8: Another "disagree strongly" – best inbound/outbound campaigns will be integrated & play off each other to build value. #b2bchatHaidn Foster

Your Turn

Do you want to respond to one of the statements from the chat? You can respond in the comments below or on Twitter using the hashtag #B2Bchat!

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About Eric Wittlake

I am a digital and B2B marketer with a background in online media and analytics. I work with B2B clients on media and integrated marketing programs at Babcock & Jenkins. You can connect with me on Twitter at @wittlake or in the comments here on my B2B Digital Marketing blog.