• by Jack Loechner , Staff Writer @mp_research, September 5, 2014

According to the Inbound Marketing Survey by Ascend2 and our Research Partners, 90% of companies are now integrating social media, search engine optimization, content and other tactics for Inbound Marketing purposes, and most are doing it successfully. The findings presented in the Summary Report represent the average of all market segments responding to the survey.

N.B. According to Wikipedia, Inbound marketing is promoting a company through blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks, enewsletters, whitepapers, SEO, social media marketing, and other forms of content marketing which serve to bring customers in closer to the brand

Improving the quality of leads trumps the importance of increasing the quantity of leads as top objectives. Most important is increasing the rate at which leads convert. 23% of all companies rate Inbound Marketing “very successful”, compared to only 8% that are “not successful” achieving important objectives.

The lack of an effective strategy and the creation of content are the most challenging obstacles to reaching the next level of Inbound Marketing performance.

A majority (58%) of companies outsource all or part of their Inbound Marketing campaigns to supplement internal capabilities and improve campaign performance

Resources Used for Inbound Marketing Campaigns (% of Respondents)

• In-house resources only   42%
• Combo In-house & outsourced   54%
• Outsourced to agency or consultancy   4%

Source: Ascend2/ResearchPartners, August 2014

Original content created to generate inbound traffic is most effective when combined with search engine optimization, the second most effective tactic. Content creation is not only the most effective tactic for Inbound Marketing purposes, it is also the most difficult tactic to execute.

Used by 69% of companies to manage inbound programs, marketing automation saves time and resources, and creates a highly personalized experience for customers. Inbound Marketing integration is a good example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts, and 90% of companies integrate tactics to some extent.

• Limited Use Of Marketing Automation   53%
•    Extensive use   16%
•    Do not use   31%
• Limited Integration Of Inbound Tactics
•    Extensive use   25%
•    No integration   10%

Source: Ascend2/ResearchPartners, August 2014

Ascend2 Research Surveys are conducted online from a panel of more than 50,000 US and international marketing and sales decision-makers and practitioners representing a range of contact roles, company types, sizes and geographic regions.

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