...Applying an Inbound Marketing Approach in e-Commerce to Obtain Customers loyalty Khaled Ashraf Shaaban Faculty of Computer Science – Information Systems Department The British University in Egypt Cairo, Egypt Khaled117974@bue.edu.eg Abstract: In a modern fast moving world and challenging market, a business has to keep an eye on the latest technologies and marketing techniques to guarantee a competitive advantage. One of the latest marketing approaches used today by most businesses specially the ones using e-commerce as a main channel is Inbound Marketing. It is a marketing strategy aims to build a strong relationship with customers based on loyalty. That is achieved by taking an extreme care of both marketing content and targeted community instead of the offered product or service. This paper aims to declare the difference between inbound and outbound marketing in terms of applicability and result and focuses on the methodologies and techniques used to obtain customers loyalty by following the inbound approach. Introduction: Inbound marketing is a set of marketing plans and techniques concentrates on pushing clients towards a business and its products or services in order to obtain their loyalty. It has become widely followed as it changes the way buyers look at products, as they now surf the internet first to look for the product that is more likely satisfying and meeting their needs. Inbound marketers feed their customers with all the needed information...
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...Executive Summary Founders of HubSpot, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah saw an opportunity to develop software products to assist companies execute inbound marketing as the increase of popularity in online blogging, social media, platforms and search engine optimization (SEO). The strategy used by their company in Inbound Marketing is that it "pulls" interested customers by making available relevant information and disseminating data based on customer search processes. Instead of going and hunting for customers, interrupting their everyday lives through telemarketers and direct selling, Hubspot realized the simple efficiency of being there for the customer to find the company or product they are seeking. This effectiveness revolutionized the traditional marketing strategies used by other companies and other competitors. Hubspot differentiated its customers based on two types. Small Business Owner customer also known “Owner Ollie” and Marketing professional customer called “Marketer Mary”. Owner Ollie made up 73% of customer portfolio. Marketer Mary made up about 27%. Owner Ollie customers are the businesses ranging in between 1 to 25 employees. For these owners, their primary objective was to create maximum leads for their businesses. Owner Ollies are busy with all the functions of the organization and rarely have a defined marketing department. Owner Ollie customers less knowledgeable of the Web 2.0 technology and have great use for the training and guidance that comes along with...
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...Inbound marketing leads, according to Hubspot, cost 62% less than leads from outbound marketing. But don’t expect that cost advantage to last. One of two things is happening: Inbound isn’t really more cost effective. Maybe Hubspot’s sample is biased or methodology is bad, but for whatever reason, the 62% isn’t true. Inbound really is more cost effective today and early adopters are reaping the benefit. If reports of inbound marketing’s cost effectiveness are wrong, then inbound today may be far more expensive than Hubspot’s research indicates. If not, it will be soon. THE COST OF INBOUND MARKETING: AN ECONOMICS PRIMER Remember the old supply and demand curves from Economics 101? Here is the Cliff Notes version you need for today: Price will eventually be set where the supply and demand curves meet in a competitive market. Supply increases as cost increases, while demand decreases. Inbound and outbound marketing can be substitutes for each other. The utility (value) of perfect substitute products will eventually be equal as demand shifts from one product (outbound) to another product (inbound) in order to equalize value. This shifts the demand curve for inbound out, increasing the cost to marketers, until the value of outbound and inbound are in equilibrium. HOW INBOUND MARKETING COSTS WILL INCREASE If inbound is more cost effective, investment will shift from outbound marketing to inbound marketing. As investment shifts, we will see at least three changes that drive...
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...Awesome Marketing Quotes • 1. 101 Marketing Quotes @HubSpotTWEET EBOOK! • 2. If you wait untilthere is anothercase studyin yourindustry,you will betoo late.SETH GODINKEYNOTE SPEAKERAUTHOR OF PERMISSION MARKETING TWEET EBOOK! • 3. People share, read andgenerally engage more withany type of content whenit‟s surfaced through friends& people they know and trust. MALORIE LUCICH FACEBOOK SPOKESPERSON • 4. No matter what,the very first piece ofsocial media real estateI‟d start with is a blog.CHRIS BROGANKEYNOTE SPEAKERFOUNDER, NEW MARKETING LABS • 5. Instead ofone-way interruption,Web marketingis about deliveringuseful contentat just the precisemoment thata buyer needs it.DAVID MEERMAN SCOTTMARKETING STRATEGISTAUTHOR OF THE NEW RULES OF MARKETING AND PR • 6. Increasingly, the massmarketing is turning intoa mass of niches.CHRIS ANDERSONAUTHOR OF THE LONG TAIL • 7. Remarkable socialmedia content andgreat sales copy arepretty much the same—plain spoken wordsdesigned to focuson the needsof the reader, listener,or viewer.BRIAN CLARKFOUNDER, COPYBLOGGER • 8. The next time you heara social media myth, question it.Ask for the proof,and ask out loud.DAN ZARRELLASOCIAL MEDIA SCIENTISTHUBSPOT • 9. Bring the best of your authenticself to every opportunity. JOHN JANTSCH AUTHOR OF DUCT TAPE MARKETING • 10. There are no magic wands,no hidden tricks,and no secret handshakesthat can bring youimmediate success,but with time, energy...
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...How to Use Facebook for Business VP Inbound Marketing HubSpot Twitter: @mvolpe Mike Volpe Ellie Mirman Inbound Marketing Manager HubSpot Twitter: @ellieeille How to Participate on Twitter Step One 1. Login to your Twitter account g y 2. Comment and ask questions including the hashtag “#hubspot” How to Participate on Twitter Step Two 1. Go to http://search.twitter.com 2. Search for “#hubspot” Agenda • What is Facebook & Why is it Important? • How to Get Started • How to Create Your Business Page • 5 Tips for Promoting Your Business • What to Measure & How Outbound Marketing 800-555-1234 Annoying Salesperson Inbound Marketing Blog g SEO Social Media Rethinking Marketing Outbound Marketing • Telemarketing • Trade shows • Direct mail • Email blasts Email blasts • Print ads • TV/radio ads Inbound Marketing • SEO / SEM • Blogging • Social Media • RSS • Free tools/trials • Public Relations Interruption Permission What is Facebook? Why You Should Care • • • • • • • Over 120 million active users Adding 250,000 new users each day since Jan 07 Addi 250 000 hd i J 07 4th most trafficked website Most trafficked social media site Top Social Search Engine p g More than 55,000 networks More than half are outside of college & fastest More than half are outside of college & fastest growing demographic is 25 years or older “I’m 48. I don t understand I m 48 don’t this Social Media stuff.” • Similar to a business Similar to a business ...
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...HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0 By Ashna Bali 1) According to HubSpot, the rules of marketing have changed in the sense of the way that businesses approach or reach out to their customers. HubSpot believes in tapping into technology and Internet for marketing businesses and products by using Web 2.0 tools and methods such as blogging software, social media and search engine optimization. The CEO of HubSpot, Brian Halligan, believes that the traditional “outward” methods of marketing are seen by potential customers as an interruption in their lives (For example, advertisements on TV while watching your favorite show) and society is getting better at blocking out such interruptions. Therefore, the impact of such marketing is obviously reducing. On the other hand, “inbound marketing” is on the rise. Google has become such an important part of our lives today and people like to read blogs and reviews online before purchasing products or services. Hence, businesses should direct their attention to social media, blogging and search engine optimization. David Meerman Scott (2010) recommends that marketers "earn their way in" (via publishing helpful information on a blog etc.) in contrast to outbound marketing where they "buy, beg, or bug their way in" (via paid advertisements, issuing press releases, or paying commissioned sales people, respectively). Yes, I agree that the rules of marketing have changed and that these days the internet and social media plays a very important...
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...it will do only INBOUND marketing. That is the real problem and hence Hubspot’s real problem is the business strategy and not the marketing strategy. Inbound marketing cannot be a stand-alone strategy for a company but since Hubspot champions it, it has in effect cornered itself. Problem with Inbound is , it is a “carpet-bombing” air-war scheme which works in limited mode but in reality market demands “more targeted” ground-war scheme to break through the clutter. This means delivering high quality content to “right” audience and not just to everyone. You also have to do it across multiple channels, which may smell of some “outbound” marketing strategies like phone, direct mail etc. The challenge here is if someone don’t know about you then they cant search about you. And hence lack of an integrated multi channel business model is at the root of Hubspot’s problem. Hubspot is confusing inbound marketing with “content-driven” inbound marketing, which seems to create trouble for it. Hubspot SWOT Analysis: Strengths • Simple solution which attracts customers initially • Good lead tracking and analytics offering • Customer acquisition cost is comparatively lower than competition • Pioneer of Digital Inbound marketing • Do a good job of creating traffic • Decent demand for Hubspot’s freeware programs in market • Passionate employees • Good online buzz and positive press Weaknesses • Dependency on content marketing component of inbound marketing, which makes it...
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...customers to the company and maximize the profitability of existing customers. 3. Decide whether to supplement their inbound programs with traditional, interruptive outbound programs (targeted telemarketing and advertising). 4. Widely attract different types of customers or to narrow their focus to a particular target market (B2C/B2B or Owner Ollies/Marketer Marys). Customer Analysis • HubSpot customers came from many different industries, including B2B and B2C • Two different types of customers: Small Business Owners (Owner Ollie) Marketing Professionals (Marketer Mary) • 73% of HubSpot’s customer portfolio • Owned small businesses (1-25 employees) • Busy; managing HR, ops, sales, finance and marketing • Primary objective: generate more leads • 27% of HubSpot’s customer portfolio • Work for companies with 26-100 employees • Supported by a marketing team and/or consultants • Interested in the analytics and reports provided by HubSpot • Owner Ollies want quick, simple solutions to help them generate leads since time and resources were scarce. These customers usually don’t have a vendor management policy in place, and therefore don’t shop around for competition. The buying process is fairly simple: if Owner Ollie sees potential value in the software, they will give you their credit card number and buy. • Marketer Marys run more inbound marketing programs and need more robust and sophisticated tools to design them and measure their results. These customers have...
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...9-509-049 REV: JANUARY 24, 2011 THOMAS STEENBURGH JILL AVERY NASEEM DAHOD HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0 None of [the old rules of marketing] are true anymore. The Web has transformed the rules, and you must transform your marketing to make the most of the Web-enabled marketplace of ideas. — David Meerman Scott, author of The New Rules of Marketing and PR Business was good at HubSpot. Founders Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah were thrilled with the progress their young company had made in the two years since they began their journey to convince corporate America that the rules of marketing had changed. To be successful in the marketplace, HubSpot needed to be much more than just a software company. Its founders had to become evangelists, preaching a new way of doing business that would fundamentally change how marketers reached their customers. To their great pleasure, Halligan and Shah were finding a willing audience for their ideas. HubSpot was now considered a thought leader in the Web 2.0 space, coining the term “inbound marketing” to describe marketing strategies and practices that pulled prospective customers toward a business and its products, through the use of Web 2.0 tools and applications like blogging, search engine optimization, and social media. Halligan and Shah realized that their business was at a crucial juncture. They had just reached the noteworthy milestone of 1,000 customers, attaining this level of critical mass by practicing...
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...HubSpot: Inbound Marketing and Web 2.0 Contents Introduction 3 HubSpot Background 4 Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing 4 Product & Pricing 6 Marketplace & Competition 10 Marketing Strategies 14 Customers & Segmentation 16 SWOT Analysis 22 CRM Implications 23 Problem Statement 25 Appendix A – Exhibits 27 References 30 Introduction HubSpot founders, Brian Halligan and Dharmesh Shah, were selling more than software—they were selling a philosophy. They believed that Web 2.0 was a game changing technology that could be leveraged to fundamentally change the way marketers attracted customers. At the same time, typical push marketing techniques were becoming ineffective. Greg Stuart, x-CEO of Interactive advertising bureau, estimates that advertisers spend roughly $112 billion (just over half of total spending in 2006) on sending messages that reach the wrong audience or none at all (Anonymous, 2006). HubSpot designed their products to fill and manage the customer funnel using techniques termed Inbound Marketing. Using the same techniques and products they were selling, HubSpot was able to attract 1,000 customers in a little over a year which showed that their philosophy was sound. In fact, their philosophy was “sold” even before they had a single customer because they were able to raise $17M in venture capital. They attracted a diverse group of customers using the inherent characteristics of inbound marketing techniques. However...
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...meant to be broken, else changed. In this fast moving, ever transforming world the only thing permanent is 'change'. With the onset of technology the rules of marketing have obviously changed, purpose of marketing remaining the same though. The masses are growing smarter and it takes a lot more to trigger an interest from their end. With the onslaught of increased number of communication mediums, people's lives have been infiltrated more than ever before. Apart from the mass media, there are several ways of interacting with potential customers. And here is where the problem arises. People feel that their privacy is being regularly compromised when they see that they are interrupted and bothered with advertisements which they are not even interested in. Traditional marketing rules proactively tries to engage a person without his/her consent. Not that this is a bad thing, because this system has been working for decades now and shall continue to do so in the near future. Difference being that since the number of communication mediums have increased, the frequency of engagement of people has increased drastically. That could work negatively. Specific to the Hubspot case; the crux of the Hubspot company was to capitalize on the positives of inbound marketing strategies and prove that the traditional outbound marketing approach was in for a change, completely. The difference in plan of approach was that Hubspot as a company did not advertise their offerings directly to all target...
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...Overview Hubspot provides an inbound marketing content management system (CMS) to help businesses get found on the Internet and convert leads into customers for maximum ROI. Have a successful track record for a startup. Hubspot has new reached crucial stage, where in order to accelerate the growth rate and to increase their profit, Hotspot need to decide the following: (1) target segment of their customers, (2) how to channel their product development resource, (3) reduce the churn rate with a new pricing strategy and (4) determine to use inbound marketing or outbound marketing or mix of both. Hubspot Analysis: Hubspot has a unique software tool that enabled its customers to market their products and services like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media, Blogs, Podcasts and social networking websites like Twitter, Facebook. Hubspot became popular for its inbound marketing strategies that pulled prospective customers toward a business. The software tools that it offered were also created also based on the same principle of inbound marketing. Hubspot provides three type of services: (1) content design, (2) Exposure optimization and (3) Lead tracking and Intelligence. In the Content design, Hubspot offer predesigned templates to companies build their own website. Exposure optimization consist of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tools and Link grader, which helps customer website identifiable via search engines. Lead tracking which offers marketing intelligence analytics. Hubspot...
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...(Question 1) The rules of marketing have change as we are now witnessing a shift from a push strategy to reach prospective customers to a pull world of commercial messaging. Traditionally, marketers in a B2C market used communication channels such as mass media with advertising campaigns to attract awareness and buying intentions from potential customers. In a B2B market, sales representatives were obligated to devote themselves in tasks such as telemarketing and direct marketing in order to identify leads. However, with the arrival of many useful web 2.0 tools, the declining popularity of traditional media, the easy access to information, and hence the change of habits in the consumers’ buying process, conventional marketing in both B2C and B2B markets aren’t sufficient anymore. Outbound marketing is out of date; inbound marketing is the new solution to the market trend. In the current environment, outbound marketing’s effectiveness is diminishing while inbound marketing strategies with search engines, blogs and social media are generating new business at higher rates. The phenomenon is logical because the outbound marketing tend to awaken a need, while the inbound marketing serves as a way to answer that need. In other terms, inbound marketing is centric into the prospective consumer’s buying process thus increasing the likelihood of purchasing. Also inbound marketing is very cost-effective. (Question 2). HubSpot has taken advantage of this market trend to impose its corporate...
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...conduct successful inbound and outbound telemarketing programs.We are now part of AnswerNet, one of the US leading Inbound and Outbound Telemarketing and outsourced teleservices firms so you can be sure that your telemarketing needs are handled with the utmost professionalism and care. | | | So why should you do telemarketing? Telemarketing is the most popular, dynamic, flexible and effective marketing and communications technique available. To get started, select the business situation & solution that best fits your needs: * Small Business Telemarketing Services – Telemarketing services tailored for the small business, startup business or the smaller budget. Learn more... * Business Telemarketing Services – Telemarketing services tailored for the mid-sized business or any business looking to implement full service telemarketing solutions. Learn more... * Enterprise Level Telemarketing and TeleSales Services – Advanced Telemarketing & Telesales services for larger businesses or corporations looking for more complex telemarketing and telesales solutions - up to the outsourcing of your inside sales or customer care teams. Learn more... Inbound Telemarketing Publish, display and mention your phone numbers in catalogs, direct mail, emails, faxes, print ads, on websites and in DRTV/radio spots to generate orders and leads. Cross-sell/up-sell callers to boost revenues. Make your CRM strategy gain results by presenting targeted offers on inbound telemarketing...
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..."rules of marketing" have changed? If so, how? Is inbound marketing the answer? Why or why not? Yes, I agree with HubSpot because with the use of the Internet to communicate information (i.e. marketing campaigns) being the norm now, people are able to verify the information and can look for competitors while on a cold call. Additionally, life has gotten a lot busier and when people are interrupted during a task by a marketer, they will most likely not buy from them. Cold calling and traditional advertising related to outbound marketing tried to catch people off guard and convince them to buy a product or service right at that moment. It was effective before the Internet and smartphones flourished because people did not have the luxury of searching for alternatives products and services at their fingertips at any time. Frequently, people agreed to an offer over the phone because it sounded reasonable. Now, with so many alternatives to a given product and easy accessibility to the market, people will buy a product if they can connect to it in some sort of way and find it online. If you have online marketing content that speaks to people – as is the goal with inbound marketing techniques such as blogging - then you will attract the right type of customer. The limit with inbound marketing is that only the people who can relate to your content will buy it. It is impossible to relate to everyone, yet even the segments of people that buy a certain product through inbound marketing are...
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