The Inbound Growth Blog

The Inbound Growth Blog covers all topics relating to an integrated marketing strategy. We write about inbound marketing, social media, integrated marketing strategies and the sales process.

Technology Companies Increasing Inbound Marketing Budgets

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Posted by John Beveridge on Feb 11, 2013 9:04:00 AM

inbound marketing budgets blogIT research company Gartner predicts that CMOs will spend more on IT than CIOs by 2017. Gartner's VP of Marketing Strategy, Laura McLellan, opined that, "marketing is the central engine of growth for many companies" and that the marketing function in technology companies is "becoming more strategic than ever." McLellan describes the strategic role of marketing: "We believe that marketing is responsible to define and create, to grow and develop and to defend and own markets." These opinions are backed by research. Gartner's study, "Marketing Essentials: High Tech and Telecom Providers Marketing Budgets, 2012" showed that technology companies increased their marketing budgets from 4.8% of revenue in 2011 to 5.5% of revenue in 2012, an 11% increase. One-third of the budget was directed towards software and technology infrastructure while two-thirds was directed to marketing services.

How Can SMB Technology Companies Evolve To Meet The Digital Marketing Challenge?

Develop an Integrated Marketing Strategy

If you haven't already done so, I highly recommend that you develop an integrated marketing strategy that integrates traditional marketing efforts (PR, tradeshows, etc.) with inbound marketing and your sales process. This integrated marketing strategy will serve as your digital marketing roadmap. If you don't think creating an integrated marketing strategy is important, consider what your competition is doing:

  • 83% of technology companies have either fully or partially adopted digital marketing
  • 78% of technology companies have either fully or partially adopted marketing automation
Source:   Gartner Marketing Change survey with high-tech and telecom provider marketing executives conducted September 2011

If you don't have an integrated strategy, you're already behind and you're losing ground rapidly.

How to develop an integrated marketing strategy

 

Invest In Marketing Automation Software

My first recommendation to SMB technology companies who are implementing digital marketing strategies is to invest in marketing automation software. Marketing automation software is the engine of your digital inbound marketing machine. Unlike traditional marketing tactics like PR and advertising, every element of inbound marketing can be measured and evaluated for improvement with marketing automation software. One of the primary decision points for SMB companies is how well the software integrates digital marketing functionality. I really like the HubSpot software because it integrates social media, marketing automation, SEO, blogging, email marketing and lead generation in a single package with integrated analytics. Other inbound marketing software providers for SMB companies include Optify, InfusionSoft and Silverpop. You should plan on investing between $3,000 and $10,000 annually, depending on your requirements. Some SMB companies try to patch together disparate software packages to simulate the functionality of marketing automation software. Unless you have enterprise-level IT resources internally, an all-in-one internet marketing software package like HubSpot will likely be more cost-effective and produce better results.

To fully take advantage of your marketing automation software, you likely will need to invest some time and/or money in adding marketing functionality to your website, if not in a full site redesign.

The Essential Guide To Inbound Marketinginbound marketing website assessment

Invest In Digital Marketing Talent

The field of digital marketing is in its infancy. To be a successful digital marketing professional, you need the following competencies:

  • Search engine optimization/customer experience optimization
  • Social media marketing
  • Content creation and editing
  • Website design and management
  • Mobile marketing
  • PR
  • Digital and social media advertising
  • Email marketing
  • Marketing Analytics
  • Technology integration (e.g. - marketing automation software to CRM)

Inbound marketing professionals with these capabilities are a hot commodity. Most SMB technology companies lack the internal resources to effectively perform all of these critical functions.

To compete in the digital marketing arena, you have two choices:

  • You can hire a full-time employee or employees that have these core competencies; or
  • You can outsource the function to an inbound marketing agency.

For most SMB companies, outsourcing some or all of your inbound marketing program is more cost-effective and will produce better results. From a budgeting perspective, plan on spending $2,500 to $7,500 per month, depending on your needs and your internal capabilities.

 

Summary

Inbound marketing, also known as digital or interactive marketing, is becoming a strategic necessity for technology companies. The ability to make sure potential customers find you when they research solutions and to convert website visitors into leads and customers is increasingly becoming a major growth drive for SMB companies. If you're not already moving towards inbound marketing implementation, you are at a competitive disadvantage. The technology and talent to drive growth with inbound marketing is available, but it is most likely not available internally. Start by developing an integrated marketing strategy and then evaluate technology and talent options to move your digital marketing efforts foward.

Topics: Inbound Marketing, Technology Companies

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