3 Types of Stats that Prove Inbound Leads are Higher Quality than Outbound Ones

According to Hubspot’s 2017 State of Inbound study, 68 percent of marketers report their inbound marketing efforts are effective. But proving the impact of this strategy can be challenging.

When it comes to leads, measuring lead conversion rate is the sure-fire way to prove that inbound marketing generates higher quality leads than outbound marketing. Ideally, you’ll want to use your company’s own conversion numbers as evidence, but like anything worth waiting for – and especially if you’re new to it or your business has a longer sales cycle – inbound lead conversion data will take time to develop.

So while you’re gathering your own proof, here are three types of statistics to be aware of that will help you demonstrate the positive results of inbound marketing on your business.

 

1. Lead Quality Indicators

Since you may or may not have conversion numbers at your fingertips yet, use the following points to generate data. The following points may indicate the likelihood of conversion farther down the sales funnel.

• Ideal customer metrics
  • Overall buyer persona
  • Sales cycle location
  • Industry
  • Demographic data
• Points of engagement within the 90 days
  • Website visits
  • Content downloads
  • Email opens and clicks
  • Social engagement
  • Blog topics explored
• Visitor to lead conversion rate

Please note this is not an exhaustive list, but each of these points, and any additional ones, that may be relevant to your business or industry should be grouped by the originating source of the lead.

Depending on your business and current level of marketing, sources might include pay-per-click or other paid advertising, website offers, blogging, networking events, cold calling, and so on.

After the information you’ve gathered is organized, you can bet the source with the most points will be more likely to convert than the others.

Is it inbound or outbound?

 

 

 

2. Expert Findings

Sometimes the best way to prove value while waiting for info of your own is to lean on the experts’ findings.

Inbound marketing pioneer, HubSpot, was born in 2004 when two graduate students at MIT observed that their marketing client’s customers weren’t taking the bait delivered by direct mail, email blasts, cold calls, and interruptive paid advertising.

Today, Hubspot is a global marketing software company that helps companies just like yours market products and services in a value-based, customer-centric way.

They are experts.

Did you know Above the Fold Media is a Hubspot Partner? Learn more about Hubspot now. 

In its 2017 State of Inbound report, Hubspot says 46 percent of marketers feel inbound marketing gives a greater return on investment than outbound marketing. Your boss is bound to appreciate that.

Additionally, marketers report that 59 percent of inbound generated leads are of the highest quality.

For more helpful statistics, you can download the full State of Inbound report on the Hubspot website.

Here are four more useful Hubspot statistics that prove that inbound leads are better than their outbound counterparts:

• 54% more – the number of leads generated by inbound marketing as compared to more traditional, paid marketing tactics.
• 7 times – the likelihood that leads generated by SEO, an inbound tactic, would convert as compared to outbound lead sources.
• Double – the amount inbound marketers are able to increase their website conversion rates.
• 61% less – the savings in overall cost from using inbound marketing tactics.

You could not only share this data with your boss, you can also predict what your own business outcomes may be if your work holds up to these stats.

 

3. Outbound Channel Effectiveness

Marketing experts agree leads generated by referrals convert at the highest rate. Most studies also show inbound marketing ranks second or third for most conversions.

If these facts hold true for your business, the conversion rates of your outbound marketing tactics can also help you highlight the effectiveness of inbound marketing and its impact on the quality of the leads it generates.

Consider the following conversion rates:

• Paid advertising
• Pop-ups ads (on or off-site)
• Television and radio ads
• Any other interruptive marketing tactics.

According to Hubspot’s study, 70 percent of marketers researched say that their biggest priority this year is converting leads into customers. If you’re not already using inbound marketing tactics and want to convert more leads, lead quality is the answer.

Contact us to learn more about our inbound marketing services today.