All you have to know about Inbound marketing

Inbound as a philosophy

Although on this topic page we will focus on inbound marketing, inbound is also a philosophy that encompasses the entire customer lifecycle. Consequently, there are inbound methods for sales and customer service. (These methods will not be covered in this article, but we have previously published a separate e-book on inbound sales, which you can find here.)

The term inbound was introduced in 2005 by Brian Halligan. That same year, he founded the SaaS company HubSpot together with Dharmesh Shah. HubSpot started as a software platform for marketers but is today a customer data platform (CDP) that has functionality supporting the entire value chain from marketing and sales to customer service.

What Halligan saw in 2005 was that the way companies marketed and sold was quite different from the way people bought. The buying process had long since moved online, where buyers relied on useful content from blogs and websites, word of mouth in social media, and customer reviews. Meanwhile, companies continued to market themselves as if they were still living in the 90s, before the internet, with outbound sales, cold-calling, and mass communication.

These "pushy" sales and marketing methods are called outbound. They represented the old way of selling—a toolkit that over time would become increasingly expensive and less effective. Inbound, on the other hand, was marketing that the customer sought out through search and social media, in the form of content that provided value in itself without asking for anything in return. Inbound is thus marketing and sales on the customer's terms, built around the customer's needs and desires.

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What is inbound marketing?

"Inbound marketing is a measurable and digital marketing strategy where, through useful and relevant content, potential buyers are attracted to the company's website and converted into leads. The leads are processed and monitored, supported by automation and consultative sales, until they become customers."

*lead = an identified potential customer

Inbound marketing represents one of two overarching marketing philosophies: Inbound marketing and outbound marketing. The main difference between the two is that inbound is buyer-initiated, while outbound is seller-initiated. We will briefly explain these here.

Outbound marketing

Outbound marketing (or seller-initiated marketing) was previously the dominant form of marketing. You approach potential buyers in the channels they are in and expose them to sales messages – which often means interrupting the user while he or she is consuming other content. A good example is online newspapers' use of video ads that the user is forced to watch before the video they actually wanted to see is shown.

Traditional advertising and promotion fall under outbound. This also includes telemarketing, direct marketing, and email campaigns with purchased address lists. Outbound is not based on the recipient's consent, often appears intrusive, and has become increasingly less effective and therefore more expensive after the digital shift.

Much of what falls under the term outbound marketing has been more restricted with the introduction of GDPR in 2018, which imposes stricter requirements for privacy and obtaining consent from those you wish to market to.

Inbound marketing

The philosophy behind inbound marketing is rooted in the recognition that the digital shift has completely changed buyer behavior and that outbound is no longer as effective. Where buyers previously relied on sellers to obtain information before making a purchase decision, today the seller does not come into the picture until 70 to 90 percent of the buying process is completed. 9 out of 10 start their buying process on the Internet and gather information on their own, on their own terms, whenever they want. The power has thus shifted from seller to buyer.

Inbound vs. outbound

Some go to great lengths to demonize outbound and create a black-and-white picture of the whole thing. It is important to emphasize that many outbound measures still work, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution for all companies. A more balanced approach to a comprehensive digital marketing strategy is to combine the best of the two philosophies based on the company's industry, product, target audience, and competitive situation. Inbound is a digital strategy but can certainly be enhanced with analog measures such as events, PR, seminars, direct mail, and ABM.

Inbound vs. content marketing

Since content marketing is one of the most important tools in an inbound strategy, the two concepts can be difficult to distinguish. A significant difference is that inbound marketing is an exclusively digital strategy, while content marketing can be both analog and digital. Another difference is that inbound is usually directly linked to goals for sales and leads, while content marketing can also have goals related to brand building or demand generation. However, the requirement for the content is the same for both types of marketing: It must be of high quality and deliver value to the recipient.

Inbound marketing-metoden

Inbound marketing is a systematic approach to marketing, where the marketing efforts are divided into four phases, as shown in the model to the right.

Let's take a closer look at these four phases.

Attract

The first phase is about attracting new visitors to your company's website. A corporate blog is a key tool in this phase. The corporate blog is an online collection of articles that answers the most important questions your target audience has – the most cost-effective way to build organic visibility in search engines.

We've seen companies multiply their traffic in the first year of inbound, and Intuvio has more than 10x'd traffic since we started with inbound marketing in 2015. The speed at which traffic grows depends, among other factors, on how often you publish new content. A frequency of 1-2 articles per week is a normal ambition level for many companies starting with inbound marketing.

In some highly competitive industries, it may take longer to rank high on Google than in others. In such cases, you can buy distribution through social media advertising (e.g., Facebook Ads) or in online newspapers (native advertising).

Convert

Studies show that only 4% of visitors to your site are ready to buy. This is naturally dependent on the product and industry, but regardless, the purchase-ready visitors make up a very small percentage of visits. To engage this small group, you need clear positioning and make it easy for them to contact you – but what about the other 96% who aren't ready to buy? How do you get them to identify themselves so you can nurture and follow up with them over time as they get closer to making a purchase decision?

You need to convert these visitors into leads – in other words, get them to exchange their contact information for something they perceive as valuable. It could be an e-book, a report, a video, a webinar, a product demo, or a free consultation. The key is offering value and ensuring that what you offer moves them further down the sales funnel.

To convert visitors into leads, we use so-called CTAs (Calls To Action). These are buttons or banners typically placed at the bottom of an article on your corporate blog and serve as ads for the content you want in exchange for contact details. When a visitor clicks on the CTA, they are taken directly to a landing page where they are asked to fill out a form to receive the content. Once the form is submitted, the contact is registered in your CRM system as a lead and automatically receives the requested content.

Sell

According to Gleanster Research, 50% of potential customers who reach out are qualified but not yet ready to make a purchase decision. How do you move them forward? The answer is **lead nurturing** – a process that turns a cold inquiry into a warm sales opportunity.

Another term for lead nurturing is a **dialogue flow**. Simply put, it's an automated process that nurtures leads until they become sales-qualified leads (SQLs), leads that are worth investing time in by a salesperson.

To effectively work with dialogue flows, you need a marketing automation system like HubSpot. The system captures new leads and manages them through 1:1 communication via email, from the initial inquiry to when they become customers.

When a potential customer shows a profile indicating they are a match for your business (interest) and demonstrates digital behavior suggesting they are ready to be contacted (engaged), they will be marked as a sales-qualified lead in the CRM – and sales takes over the process with personalized 1:1 follow-up until they become a customer.

It's crucial to have a clear definition of **when** a lead should be defined as sales-qualified (SQL), to clarify the responsibilities of marketing and sales and avoid conflicts and misunderstandings between departments. This is where the "handover" from marketing to sales occurs.

Delight

As mentioned in the introduction, satisfied customers are your best ambassadors and marketers. **Customer satisfaction** breeds customer loyalty, which is one of the strongest drivers of profitability – and measuring this, for example through **Net Promoter Score (NPS)**, can be a smart investment. With fast, accessible, and problem-oriented customer service, and products and services that meet or exceed expectations, you’re already halfway there. Even the best marketing campaign can't save a bad product or prevent bad reviews or press coverage.

Inbound Marketing's Growth in Norway

Inbound marketing has long been mainstream in the US and continental Europe. Norwegian businesses have traditionally lagged behind the US in marketing innovation. Before 2015, inbound marketing was rarely discussed in Norway.

Today, inbound has become an established term among Norwegian marketers. More and more consulting firms and agencies are including inbound in their service offerings, more job postings for marketers list inbound expertise as a requirement, and more large and medium-sized Norwegian companies are adopting inbound as their primary strategy for driving top-line growth.

According to Deloitte (2018), 36% of Norwegian marketing directors have invested in inbound marketing and associated technologies, while 8% plan to invest. The **State of Inbound (2018)** report shows that 75% of companies in the EMEA region practice some form of inbound marketing.

Some Norwegian examples include Borregaard, Trioving, Komplett Bedrift, Fortum, Odfjell Well Services, VB, and Norsk Gjenvinning.

And, of course, Intuvio.

Market size

If you are in a niche market with very few (read: a handful) potential buyers, inbound should not be the first priority. In that case, outbound sales and targeted digital marketing or ABM would be more appropriate. If you operate in a larger market, perhaps with an unknown number of potential buyers, inbound should be seriously considered.

Timeline

If you need results by tomorrow, inbound is not the right strategy. Inbound is a long-term strategy, and it usually takes about six months before you start seeing results – although this can happen much faster when combined with performance marketing.

Your custmers buyer´s journey

The simplest way to determine if inbound marketing is a sensible strategy for your business is to clarify what your customers' buying process looks like. The buying process falls into one of three categories: information-based, habit-based, or impulsive. We take a closer look at these below.

Maturity of the market

In immature markets, you must address the problem before providing the solution. In a mature market, you must convince buyers why they should choose you. Inbound can be effective in both types of markets, but the way you execute the strategy will be different.

Marketing budget

A serious inbound effort will require an annual investment of 500,000 kroner and upwards. Many companies shift funds from other initiatives to inbound, while others expand the budget.

Business goals

Inbound is a strategy that contributes to growth in web traffic, leads, and sales. But it is also a strategy that strengthens brand awareness and preference, and can be used to increase the recruitment of new employees as part of an employer branding strategy.

Your customers' buying journeys

Information-based

An information-based purchasing process is characterized by the buyer gathering and reviewing information before making a purchase decision, and it is the best match for inbound marketing. Products and services that fall under the high-interest category, both in the consumer market and B2B, are usually information-based.

The buyer goes through three phases: 1) Recognition of need, 2) Evaluation of alternative solutions, and 3) Decision on supplier. Let's illustrate this with an example many can relate to:

Recognition: You start to feel pain in your knee. It doesn't go away, and you realize you need to do something about it. You Google "knee pain" and start reading up on possible causes. Based on your symptoms and what you read, you conclude that it is probably the meniscus.

Evaluation: You Google "how to treat meniscus" and find out you have three options. You can stop physically demanding activities for the knee, such as football or jogging, and see if the pain subsides. If that doesn't help, you can get physiotherapy treatment, or in the worst case, surgery. You choose to consult a physiotherapist but still don't know who to go to.

Decision: You do an online search for "physiotherapist," and Google shows you the nearest physiotherapists. You quickly look at some reviews, pick out three physiotherapists nearby with good reviews, and contact one of them. They respond immediately, and you get an appointment.

A physiotherapist practicing inbound marketing could, in light of this, take the following marketing actions at the different stages of the purchasing process:

Recognition: Publish an article titled "Knee Pain? Here are 10 Possible Reasons" on the company's blog or website. This positions you for better visibility in search engines when someone searches for "knee pain." Search engine rankings are not won overnight, so consider paying some money for visibility through Google Ads for immediate effect.

Evaluation: Publish articles about meniscus treatment to build visibility on Google in the same way as in the recognition phase. Here too, Google Ads would be a wise investment, as you are likely to reach very purchase-ready customers.

Decision: Ensure your website is well-positioned in your geographical location, as a search in this phase will usually be "physiotherapist + place name." Many searches are also without a place name, but because Google knows the searcher's location, your business should also be registered on Google Maps, so you appear among the recommended providers and on the map.

What results can one expect from inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is a growth strategy that directly impacts the top line. Companies that invest in inbound also see results in the form of:

Significant increase in website traffic
Multiplication of the number of leads
Much more efficient conversion of leads into customers
Better online visibility, allowing you to eventually reduce the media budget
100% measurability of all actions
Full control over ROI (return on investment)

Benchmark studies from HubSpot among 7,000 companies show that those who have implemented an inbound strategy with a company blog updated 1-2 times a month generate 67 percent more leads than those who have not done so.

In addition to directly impacting increased sales revenue, inbound also contributes to other business goals. The focus on useful content contributes to increased brand awareness and preference and provides an opportunity to build thought leadership. As a consequence, the company will also attract talents who want to work there.

How quickly can one expect results from inbound marketing?

A commonly used rule of thumb says it takes between 3-6 months before you start seeing visible results from inbound marketing.

The reasons for this are several:

It takes time to build organic visibility on Google around the keywords the business wants to be found on
It takes time to build a relatively large base of subscribers/leads
It takes time to process leads into sales with a base of qualified leads to work with
It takes time before qualified leads become sales opportunities and customers
You will see healthy growth in traffic, leads, and customers if the following success factors are followed:
Inbound strategy with defined target groups (personas)
Content strategy that covers all parts of the customer journey
Regular content publishing in year 1 (one to two articles per week)
Conversion strategy that ensures qualified visitors register as leads
Systematic work with conversion optimization and A/B testing (CRO)
Content perceived as valuable enough for the target group to be willing to provide their contact information in exchange for it
Best practice use of tools (CTAs, workflows)
Best practice for structure and content on the company's website
Best practice for search engine optimization

Note: If you want an immediate effect of your strategy (so you don't have to wait several months), you can allocate a portion of the marketing budget to advertising on social media and search. Google and Facebook are channels that can provide very good cost-benefit – and you can continuously measure your return in terms of cost per lead and cost per customer.

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Pitfall 1: No overarching digital marketing strategy

Inbound marketing is a completely digital marketing strategy aimed at creating top-line growth through lead generation and sales. In most large companies, an inbound strategy will be part of a comprehensive, overarching marketing strategy, which may also include strategies for branding, outbound sales, and customer service. An inbound initiative will influence elements in the other strategies, and they must therefore be viewed from an overarching perspective to ensure that the strategies reinforce each other.

Pitfall 2: Lack of buy-in from key stakeholders in the organization

After an inbound strategy has been pitched to the management team/board and approved, it should not stop there. While traditional marketing usually only involves sales and marketing, inbound marketing involves a larger part of the organization, often including those in senior, engineering, and expert positions. In the establishment and operation of an inbound strategy, these key individuals must allocate time to work on the conceptualization and completion of content, including e-books, guides, and blog posts. They do not necessarily have to produce the content themselves, but must at least be available for interviews by a ghostwriter, who writes on their behalf. Therefore, it is important that management has anchored the strategy throughout the organization and that contributors understand the importance and consequences.

Pitfall 3: Insufficient investment level

Inbound marketing is a marketing engine that operates 24 hours a day, continuously supplying the business with leads. However, building such an engine requires quality at every stage, both in establishment and operation. As a rule of thumb, the annual investment level should be 500,000 kroner and upwards. The calculation includes license costs for the marketing automation system, assistance from a business advisor with inbound expertise for strategy processes and establishment, as well as a minimum level for content production and optimization of the marketing engine throughout the year. Any media budgets are in addition to this.

Pitfall 4: Not setting quantitative goals

If quantitative goals are not set, there will be no alignment of expectations with the involved parties. How well the strategy performs becomes subject to subjective assessments. KPIs must be established for traffic, leads, and customers.

Pitfall 5: Lack of collaboration between sales and marketing

In far too many companies, sales and marketing work in silos. Often, the marketing department is a support function for sales. To succeed with inbound marketing, the two functions must work together towards common goals and have clear and distinct roles: The marketing function's task is to attract and generate qualified leads. The sales function's task is to contact these leads and convert them into customers.

Pitfall 6: Not securing the right expertise

Inbound changes much of the way sales and marketing are conducted and requires the company to have the right expertise, both in management and in the sales and marketing functions.

Pitfall 7: A naive view of content

Content is the very essence of an inbound strategy, but many take this too lightly. Unless you are the only one in the market writing or creating videos about topic X, delivering mediocre, superficial content is not enough. The content must be of high quality, and the greater the competition, the more important the quality becomes. If you want to establish yourself as a thought leader in the industry, you must aim to be among the best and put in the effort required to get there.

How much does it cost to invest in inbound marketing?

When we get this question, we often answer: "As much as a good salesperson costs you per year." However, the precise answer depends on several factors:

What growth goals do you have for traffic, leads, and customers, and within what time frame?
How much will you do yourself, and how much will be outsourced to a partner?
What does the competitive situation look like, and how does it impact your level of ambition?
How many business areas or markets will you start with?
How many contacts with email addresses need to be imported from your current CRM system?
Will this initiative have implications for your existing website and any necessary upgrades or renewals?

As an absolute minimum, you should expect to invest somewhere between 500,000 and 1 million NOK annually. For larger companies with large contact databases and operations in multiple markets, the investment could amount to several million NOK per year. Since inbound is an investment, it's crucial that you justify the costs and are able to estimate the return on investment (ROI). A skilled business advisor can help you with this.

What technology do you need to acquire?

To practice inbound marketing in a scalable way, you need to invest in a business system that supports the inbound method. This system includes a CRM as the foundation, along with functionality that supports the marketing and sales departments in their daily work.

Leading solutions in the market include HubSpot, Marketo, Salesforce Pardot, and Oracle Eloqua. As a diamond partner with HubSpot, we are most familiar with their platform, and we use it as an example. The Professional license for HubSpot's Marketing Hub, which many start with, costs (as of February 2024) from EUR 792 per month, or roughly 100,000 NOK per year. A common pricing factor across all platforms is the number of active contacts in the database.

What expertise do you need?

Inbound marketing is a holistic marketing method that requires access to expertise across a range of disciplines:

Strategic marketing
Email marketing
Video marketing
Interaction design
Content production
Content distribution
Data-driven marketing
Lead nurturing and qualification
Conversion strategy
Conversion rate optimization (CRO)
Search engine optimization (SEO)
Search engine marketing (SEM)
Social media
Advanced knowledge of marketing automation
Big data and analytical skills

It will be difficult, if not impossible, to find one person with expertise in all these disciplines. However, by collaborating with an agency specialized in inbound marketing, you can access the expertise you need. Alternatively, you can build the expertise in-house, which would involve building your own internal team.

How to get started with inbound marketing?

When you decide to get started with inbound marketing, you will go through three phases:

Strategy Phase
Establishment Phase
Operational Phase

Strategy Phase

This phase involves developing the inbound marketing strategy. You start by identifying and prioritizing your company's key personas. Then, you create a content strategy based on each persona's buying process. During this phase, you also assess whether your existing website is optimized to meet the needs of ready-to-buy customers. A conversion plan with corresponding content offers is developed, and you establish a content creation process and a content calendar. A critical part of the strategy process is setting quantitative goals and financial boundaries for the initiative.

Establishment Phase

This phase includes all the work that needs to be done from the time the strategy is in place to the launch. The strategy must first be anchored in the organization, particularly with those who will contribute to content production. Several parallel tasks begin: configuring the technical platform, designing and implementing the company blog, and producing content so you have a solid "bank" of blog posts and articles at launch. The recommended content bank should cover 4-8 weeks. With a publishing frequency of two articles per week, this amounts to 8-16 articles. To ensure conversion, you must also develop content offers—premium content offered in exchange for user contact information, typically in the form of an e-book, guide, or webinar.

Operational Phase

Once the strategy is implemented, you enter the operational phase. In this phase, the focus is on ongoing content production and promotion, as well as closely monitoring goals and KPIs. Good project management is essential in this phase, and it's important to have a team that divides responsibilities. You should have one or two content producers for content creation. For daily monitoring of KPIs and maintenance of CRM and business systems, you should have a digital marketer. This expertise can either be hired internally or outsourced through an agency agreement. You will also need strategic expertise to revise and optimize the strategy continuously. Digital marketing is constantly evolving, and it's not an IT solution you can install and forget about.

How to choose the right partner?

Inbound marketing is a long-term strategy and a significant investment for your business. Choosing the wrong partner can have major consequences for the results you achieve. Ask yourself the following critical questions:

Do they have the experience and financial stability to ensure they will be here tomorrow?
Do they practice what they preach?
Do they have satisfied customers?
Do they have experience with similar clients?
Can they show results?
Do they have a realistic pricing level?
Are they certified partners?
Are they a partner you can grow with?
Is the business system they use ideal for us?
Do they understand our business and challenges?

Last but not least, you need a system provider or strategic partner who can not only help you get started with inbound marketing but also help you scale and improve your efforts in years 2 and 3.