Increasing sales is the key to stable business growth, but driving revenue into your business is no small task without a solid strategy. Hiring additional sales staff may seem like the obvious choice, but is this the most effective way to boost revenue?
If your business is flooded with more leads and customer enquiries than your workforce can cope with, hiring a salesperson may be the answer. However, if your business is over-dependent on outbound tactics to generate sales, hiring a digital marketing agency such as JDR to assist with inbound marketing strategy is a more cost-effective alternative.
The Cost Of Sales
Not all sales are of equal, even if your products are evenly priced. Wages, commissions, lead purchase, phone calls and the travel costs associated with cold calling, all contribute to a variable net profit. A successful salesperson requires motivation, excellent communication, empathy, knowledge of the market and the ability to pinpoint a need. Such qualities come at a price and in a field with a high staff turnover, selecting and training such an individual is a costly investment.
Inbound Marketing: A Cheaper Way To Build Your Business
Inbound marketing, whereby interested prospects come to you, costs 61% less to convert than outbound leads. Investing in your website and optimising your content for lead generation will increase the quantity and, more importantly, the quality of your inbound leads. Approximately 80% of prospects will conduct online research prior to making a purchase, so it’s vital they find your website over a competitor’s.
We can provide you with the professional support you need to do this; offering a range of services to increase your online performance. Strategies for increasing inbound leads include:
- SEO – Improved website architecture, effective implementation of keywords to increase Search Engine rankings
- Pay-Per Click (PPC) – Paid search marketing to increase the visibility of your website on Google. Get onto page one of Google and you’ll get noticed by prospects.
- Social Media – Engage and interact with your customers across social platforms, while boosting SEO.
- Content Marketing – Add value with informative, quality content to increase repeat visitors, build trust, increase shares/inbound links and improve your Google rankings. Our marketing team are experts in providing quality content, matched to the needs of your customer base, through market research. Content marketing is an effective way to engage with visitors until they become interested prospects.
- Landing pages – Capture contact details of interested prospects, ready for conversion.
These methods performed by, or in conjunction with, a digital marketing agency will establish strong foundations for ongoing inbound lead generation. A digital marketing agency, such as JDR, will understand the mindset of your online audience and be sure to match your products and services with their needs. All the content generated will be designed to attract, engage with and inform your prospects. With online content, you have total control over the messages being promoted, so you can be sure the tone is right for your business. The same can’t always be said for your sales force!
Digital marketing has the added benefit of longevity, remaining available online until you’re ready to update your brand messages. Online gives your business a wider reach, taking you into new territories and providing new routes to market for increased profitability. Learn more about digital marketing with this great article - 5 Digital Marketing Myths That Are Harming Your Marketing & Lead Conversions.
Let Your Customers Come To You!
As the quality of your web content develops, your website becomes in effect the most valuable member of your sales team. Once you have a steady stream of inbound leads, you’re ready to take your business to the next level.
To introduce you to the possibilities available to B2B businesses through inbound marketing, we have written a free Guide On How To Get Clients Coming To You. The guide is crammed full of free tips and proven techniques that will help you transform your business development strategy to bring in more leads and sales. Click here to claim your copy.
