Inbound Marketing and Demand Generation

Inbound Marketing and Demand Generation

Jonathan Tam Research Director, Demand Creation Strategies

© 2016 SiriusDecisions. All Rights Reserved

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Executive Summary

• Key issues • Inbound is a required part of an effective b-to-b marketing

mix • Organizations that report strong inbound performance

consistently have a small set of common characteristics • Many organizations struggle to demonstrate measurable

business value from inbound efforts

• What you will walk away with • An understanding of inbound marketing trends • Inbound marketing mistakes to avoid • Best practices for inbound marketing success


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Buyer Information Gathering Preferences Have Changed

25% 23% 24%

12% 11% 10%

22% 22% 21%

20% 22% 21%

22% 21% 24%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

CXO VP Director

Internet Search Access a Social Media Community Call an Industry Peer Call an Industry Analyst Ask My Team or Colleague

R: 0 G: 51 B: 89

R: 128 G: 153 B: 172

R: 204 G: 214 B: 222

R: 122 G: 184 B: 0

R: 189 G: 220 B: 128

R: 228 G: 241 B: 204

R: 0 G: 115 B: 207

R: 128 G: 185 B: 231

R: 204 G: 227 B: 245

R: 99 G: 177 B: 229

R: 177 G: 216 B: 242

R: 204 G: 227 B: 245

R: 97 G: 99 B: 101

R: 176 G: 177 B: 178

R: 223 G: 224 B: 224

R: 224 G: 82 B: 6

R: 240 G: 169 B: 131

R: 249 G: 220 B: 205

R: 240 G: 171 B: 0

R: 248 G: 213 B: 128

R: 252 G: 238 B: 204

Business decision makers have shown a strong preference for gathering information digitally

Source: SiriusDecisions B to B Survey


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Its About Discoverability

Source: SiriusDecisions

15% 12% 9%

11% 9%6%

19% 21%14%

55% 58%71%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2009 2010 2015

Web

DirectMail

Email

Events


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SiriusPerspective: Inquiries generated via inbound perform better and cost less.

Inbound Performance

Source: SiriusDecisions

Inbound

Outbound

$25

$41.50

Cost Per Response


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SiriusPerspective: Inbound Marketing Defined

Inbound marketing uses strategies that attract a target audience with value oriented offers.

Doesn’t address a specific, named individual

Makes an offer of content or interaction to attract interest

Positions content or interaction where an audience already


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SiriusPerspective: Tactics and offers extended to an unknown target audience that deliver value-added content and are consumed at an individual’s discretion.

Inbound Marketing Defined

61%

63%

67%

81%

84%

84%

0% 50% 100%

Content syndication

Online demos/trials

Display advertising

Keyword advertising

SEO

Social media

% of respondents

User Driven

Awareness and Demand Creation

Unknown Audience

Value-added Offers


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Inbound Marketing and the Waterfall Inbound Marketing can attract prospects

Inbound Marketing can support research & evaluation for both prospects & customers

Inbound Marketing can help validate a decision

Best Practices for Success


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SiriusPerspective: Inbound Marketing Foundation

A sound content strategy is the foundation for inbound demand creation performance optimization.

The

Pill

ars

of C

onte

nt M

arke

ting

Targeting

Buyer Persona

Alignment

Improved targeting of key

buyer roles using buyer intelligence

Offer

Buyer’s Journey

Alignment

More compelling offers and offer

sequences to drive qualifying behaviors

Placement

Campaign Alignment

Streamlined planning of

integrated inbound and outbound components


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Target: Buyer Persona Alignment

Organization •  Size (revenue, headcount) •  Industry •  Geographic Region •  Products and Services Owned •  Length of Relationship

Buying Center •  Business Issue •  BANT (budget, authority, need, timing) •  Buyer Roles Involved

Enterprise

Business Unit

Department or Team

Job Role

Persona •  Key Initiatives •  Challenges


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B-to-B Buyer Persona Template

Attributes Persona A Persona B

Job Role Product Management Product Marketing

Buying Center Engineering/R&D Global Marketing

Common Titles Business Unit Head General Manager Product Management Service Line Manager

Product Marketing Solution Marketing Segment Manager Brand Manager

Position on Org Chart Reports to the Head of a Business Unit or Head of Product Management in the R&D division

Reports into the CMO of a central marketing organization or reports into the Head of a Business Unit

Challenges Lack of Development Funding Legacy Products Complicate Portfolio

Lack of Resources Sales Does Not Use Content

Initiatives Develop New Product Rationalize Legacy Portfolio

Product Launch Build New Vertical Marketing Strategy Create Thought Leadership Program

Buyer Role Type Influencer Champion

Interaction Preferences

Email In-Person Meetings

Watering Holes Linked In Product Management Group Product Management Associations

SiriusDecisions Event


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SiriusPerspective:

The Content Monster

Content is the fuel that powers effective inbound marketing, but an ad hoc content approach simply won’t do.

Offer: Buyer’s Journey Alignment

Brief, valuable, targeted, broadly appealing, unique, findable

Mwahahahaaaaaa!

Effective inbound strategies require content that is . . .


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SiriusPerspective:

Continuous Improvement

Objective Content Asset

Architecture

Content Execution Measurement

A sound content strategy for inbound requires a systematic, closed-loop approach to content management and execution.

Content Strategy: A Five-Pronged Approach

•  Campaign framework

•  Demand type •  Buyer’s journey •  Planning

•  Define the audience

•  Audit and map assets

•  Content library

•  Content mediums •  Delivery

mechanisms •  Dynamic content •  Crowd-sourcing

•  Engagement rate

•  Conversion rates •  SEO

performance

•  Revisions •  Content

rationalization •  Buyer’s journey


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Identify Knowledge Inflection Points

①  Loosening of the Status Quo

Vendor Selection

Phase

Solution Phase

Education Phase

SiriusDecisions B-to-B Buying Cycle INFORM: Connect the persona with the business issue. TRIGGER: Pinpoint the idea or concept that will persuade the persona to take action.

BENEFIT: Explain how the solution can meet the persona’s need or solve a problem. DIFFERENTIATE: Illustrate how your solution is unique from other alternatives. BUSINESS CASE: Offer investment rationale based on the persona’s decision criteria.

CONFIRM: Reinforce the vendor choice via peer testimonials or success examples.

Messaging Components

②  Committing to Change

③  Exploring Possible Solutions

④  Committing to a Solution

⑤  Justifying the Decision

⑥  Making the Selection

Value Proposition

Content Offer

Content Offer

Content Offer

Content Offer

Content Offer

Content Offer

Persona


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SiriusPerspective: One of marketing’s missions is to be a predictable engine of demand and supporter of conversion.

Measurement using the Demand Waterfall

Best-in-class companies know exactly what it takes… •  How many inquiries to

generate by source

•  What percentage of leads convert in each phase

•  How long they take to move and why they stall

•  What tactics buyers prefer …To deliver a predictable share of pipeline and revenue

Inquiry

Outbound Inbound

Marketing Qualification

Teleprospecting Qualified Leads (TQLs)

Teleprospecting Accepted Leads (TALs)

Automation Qualified Leads (AQLs)

Teleprospecting Generated Leads (TGLs)

Sales Qualification

Sales Accepted Leads (SALs)

Sales Generated Leads (SGLs)

Sales Qualified Leads (SQLs)

Close

Won Business


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SiriusPerspective: Proper integration of inbound and outbound approaches enables perpetual demand programs.

Aligning Inbound and Outbound: Demand Creation

WEB SITE The conversion optimized

Web site drives responses

PRE-MQL NURTURE

Responses trigger contacts to flow into pre-

built nurture flows

RECYCLED NURTURE

Lead rejection and disqualification reasons

trigger recycling

INBOUND Inbound tactics are used to draw targets to value

added offers on Web properties

MAP •  Pre-MQL nurture •  Recycled nurture

TELE/SALES •  Accept/reject •  Outreach •  Disqualify •  Qualify

INBOUND

•  SEO/SEM •  Social •  Organic

OPTIMIZED WEB SITE

•  Offers •  Forms •  Analytics

NO RESPONSE

NO RESPONSE

OPT OUT

QU

ALIFIED

LEA

D

VALID

IN

QU

IRY

INVALID RESPONSE

Dispose of lead Unsubscribe

Retargeting Long-term nurture


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Example: Commvault Virtual Martial Artist

Correct Lexicon

Collects qualification information

FUN and ENGAGING!


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SiriusPerspective: Demand creation program for new product launched by seeding discussion with social influencers and early customer advocates.

Example: Lattice Engines: #MKTGnerd


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SiriusPerspective: New Inbound Marketing Themes I Inbound marketing has been growing in popularity for 5-7 years and new themes are emerging with how organizations approach inbound.

Content: Application, Specificity and Uniqueness

The Wired Buyer: Is a Human Being

The Wired Buyer: Is Connected

Community: Incubate your own

•  No giant ebooks! Modular •  Specific/personalized to persona •  Optimized for sharing •  Unique in voice, style, or

aggregated in a different way.

•  Conversational search •  Emphasis on “social currency” •  Threshold for humor and

emotion and other tenants of virality.

•  Cross-device challenge •  Apps, mobile trials – how can

you be useful? •  Social-mobile retargeting/

challenges with cookie-based tracking

•  Decline in Facebook reach •  Don’t put all your eggs in

somebody else’s basket •  Proprietary or verticalized social

communities •  Incubate advocates and identify

influencers


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Embrace the Change!

The New Reality of the Buyer’s Journey

67% of the Buyer’s Journey takes Place Online

71% Of Leads Expected to Originate Online (2015)

It’s Self-Service

(I can find that information myself)

It’s Content Focused

(By reading stuff that contains the information I am looking

for)

It’s Digitally Delivered

(Online or on my mobile device)


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Thank You!

@jontam13

linkedin.com/in/jtam13

Inbound Marketing and Demand Generation

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