HubSpot, a Cambridge-based marketing software company, is one of the most influential players in the digital marketing industry. They are the original champions of the inbound marketing philosophy.
Every year HubSpot collects data from thousands of marketers and salespeople with different backgrounds to discover industry trends. Their State of Inbound report gathers their data into a succinct statement. Here are a few main takeaways from this year’s 45-page report that shed light on this year’s marketing trends.
Where does State of Inbound’s data come from?
HubSpot polled 1,500 respondents from B2B, B2C, and SMB backgrounds, residing in over 132 countries.
HubSpot’s State of Inbound Marketing Report 2021: 5 Key Takeaways
1. Organic Search, Social Channels and SEO Optimization are a Must
According to the State of Inbound marketing report for 2021:
The majority of marketers find that SEO and an optimized website help them achieve their marketing goals.
75% feel their SEO tactics are ‘extremely’ or ‘very effective’ at helping them achieve their marketing goals. 83% of respondents are either ‘very confident’ or ‘somewhat confident’ that their website is helping them reach their marketing goals.
Within the next year, many marketers plan on adventuring into new content distribution channels. The number one type of content people are thinking about investing in? Video. Forty-eight percent of respondents want to explore YouTube, while another 39% plan on shooting a Facebook video.
In 2021, the primary tactic for social media marketing is social listening. By establishing a direct relationship with your social media audience, you’ll learn exactly how to support, engage with, and convert them into loyal brand advocates.
2. Aligning your sales and marketing teams is crucial for success
Did you know that the average sales person’s close rate is less than 20%? State of Inbound reports that 23% of marketers close at a rate of 10% or less; another 9% don’t know their closing rate.
However, educating your customer can help sales team. Sixty-three percent of marketer say that prospects are somewhat or not knowledgeable at all about their company when they first interact with it. How can this be remedied? Line up your sales and marketing strategies to fill the knowledge gap.
Inbound marketing practices (blogs, content offers, etc.) provide 59% of the highest quality sales-qualified leads (SQLs).
3. There is a correlation between better ROI and larger marketing budgets
It’s essential for marketers to know how to measure and demonstrate their company’s return on investment for their marketing efforts. Forty-nine percent of marketers that do calculate ROI reported getting a bigger marketing budget in 2021 versus 2020. On average, when marketers demonstrate ROI, they are 1.6 times more likely to getting budget increases.
4. Marketers feel good about inbound marketing
Companies that implement an inbound marketing strategy are four times more likely to rate their marketing strategy highly. It’s important for your team to believe in the work that they’re doing. And it’s even better when they see it paying off in the form of prospects.
Eighty-one percent of marketers who felt their company’s marketing strategy was effective primarily rely on inbound marketing.
5. Marketers are finding integration issues with their CRM system
Many marketers have a troubled relationship with their company’s CRM:
Out of all survey respondents, 765 said their biggest challenge was still having to enter data in by hand.
Another 17% said their CRM isn’t working as planned because it doesn’t integrate will with other tools.
Some companies choose to go without CRM altogether due to budgetary reasons.
Download the 45-page report to read more valuable marketing data analysis.
