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of STATEINBOUND2014THE DATA YOU NEED TO BUDGET, PLAN, EXECUTEAND MEASURE INBOUND MARKETING AND SELLING.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 2 
Introduction 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
CH. 1 
CH. 2 Budgeting for Inbound 
CH. 3 Planning for Inbound 
Executing for Inbound 
Measuring for Inbound 
Survey Methodology 
CH. 4 
CH. 5 
CH. 6
IntroductionCHAPTER ONE1
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 4 
For the past five years, HubSpot has published 
the findings from its annual survey, which probes 
marketers on their challenges, priorities, tactics 
and results, in a popular report branded “The 
State of Inbound Marketing.” The series tracks 
the practice of inbound marketing – the art and 
science of drawing visitors to your company on 
their own terms versus obtrusively pushing your 
messages onto them – from its humble “two guys 
in a garage” (or, in this case, two guys in business 
school) beginning up through last year’s 164- 
page leviathan. 
For this year’s report, we followed many 
of the same processes as in the past. We 
surveyed thousands of marketers (see “Audience 
Composition” graphic) and asked a blend of 
repeat questions (for trending data) and new ones 
(to keep pace with emerging marketing trends). 
We produced nearly a hundred graphs, which 
we winnowed down to 40 or so compelling “data 
narratives” that we believe will help readers 
improve top-line performance. 
Yet as similar as our objectives and methodology 
were, there are two significant differences in this 
year’s report – beginning with the title itself. 
We’ve dropped “marketing” from the title to 
reflect a sea change. “Inbound” is no longer limited 
to marketing. Businesses now turn to inbound 
methodologies to power sales (25%) and even 
customer service (10%). Certainly the marketing 
use-case remains foremost, but make no mistake: 
Inbound has become an interdepartmental 
phenomenon. The report also straddles calendar 
years, 2014 to 2015. It is comprised of data from 
INTRODUCTION 
About “State of Inbound” 
a mid-year survey that posed questions about 
full-year programs. As such, the findings and 
guidance remain current well into 2015. 
As much as we hope you enjoy reading this report, 
it’s even more important that you use it. It’s meant 
to be a functional document. Print it and mark it 
up. Share it with your boss, your head of sales, the 
rep who always beats her numbers (or, better still, 
the rep who is struggling to hit quota), maybe even 
your customer support team. Please remember 
that the data is based on self-reported survey 
responses. Consider the findings to be directional. 
We’ve organized the data into four self-contained 
sections: budgeting, planning, execution and 
measurement. There’s no need to read the report 
linearly. Dive into whichever section corresponds 
to your greatest needs, and save the rest for later. 
You want to understand how to maximize your 
budget? Read the Budgeting chapter. Looking 
to report to your leadership the same metrics 
top performers report to theirs? The Execution 
chapter has you covered. 
Audience Composition 
If there exists a modern marketing report that’s 
based on survey data from a larger, more diverse 
audience, then we’d like to know about it. We 
believe State of Inbound is the definitive report 
on inbound business in large part because of the 
audience composition, which we’ve visualized in 
the graphic below.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 5 
Executive and above 
Manager and below 
State of Inbound – Audience Composition 
68% B2B 
21% B2C 
5% NONPROFIT 
$250,001 - $1M 
$1M - $10M 
$10M - $500M 
$500M - $1B 
Prefer not to say 
Less than $250,000 
COMPANY SIZE BY 
ANNUAL REVEUE 
COMPANY SIZE BY NUMBER 
OF EMPLOYEES 
TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS 
RESPONDENTS BY CAREER 
Marketers 
Sales 
Professionals 
VERTICAL MARKETS 
RESPONDENT JOB LEVEL 
11 to 25 
26 to 200 
201 to 1000 
More than 1000 
Less than 10 
Information 
Technology & Services 
Marketing Agencies 
Education 
Healthcare & Medical 
Remaining 11 Industries 
Represented 
Software 
1,723 
631 
69% 
31% 
Less than $250,000 
$250,001 - $1M 
$1M - $10M 
$10M - $500M 
$500M - $1B 
Prefer not to say 
Less than 10 
11 to 25 
26 to 200 
201 to 1000 
More than 1000 
HubSpot 
Partner 
HubSpot 
Customer 
Not a HubSpot 
Partner 
Not a HubSpot 
Customer 
Software 
Information 
Technology & Services 
Marketing Agencies 
Education 
Healthcare & Medical 
Remaining 11 
Industries 
Represented 
Executive and above 
Manager and below 
5% NONPROFIT 
21% B2C 
68% B2B 
78% 
15% 
1% 
6% 
3,570 
RESPONDENTS 
5% 
44% 
4% 
34%
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 6 
The Six Most Important Takeaways 
If you are pressed for time, here’s the TL;DR-style executive summary: We 
noticed six clear and consistent trends when analyzing the data. They are: 
Inbound unlocks ROI; ROI unlocks budget. If you are running an 
inbound marketing program and not tracking ROI, you are doing your 
company – and your career – a disservice because inbound marketers who 
measure ROI are more than 12 times more likely to be generating a greater 
as opposed to lower year-over-year return. 
1.) 
INBOUND ROI IMPACT YEAR OVER YEAR 
Inbound marketers that measure ROI are enjoying major impact 
Inbound Marketing ROI 
% of Respondents 
Greater ROI than 
the previous year 
Lower ROI than 
the previous year 
About the same as 
the previous year 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
40 
Proving that you are increasing return is important for several reasons, 
most notably the positive impact it has on budget. No single factor had a 
greater impact on budget – positive or negative – than did “past success 
with inbound.” Improving ROI may even safeguard your budget against 
factors beyond your control, like the economy itself.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 7 
FACTORS INFLUENCING INBOUND BUDGET CHANGE 
Proving success is key to securing more budget 
Reasons for Change 
% of Respondents 
Lower Inbound 
Marketing Budget 
Higher Inbound 
Marketing Budget 
Economy Change in management Past success with 
inbound marketing 
Past failure with 
inbound marketing 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
“Getting found” is priority #1 (and #2 and #3) for high performers. 
We zoomed in on the segment of inbound marketers who are generating 
positive ROI (“high performers”) to see if they prioritized different types of 
projects than low performers. As you will see in the “Measurement” chapter, 
high performers are emphasizing programs designed to get their content, 
and by extension their company, found. In order, blogging, organic search, 
and content amplification top the list. Blogging appears to have the most 
substantial impact on performance. 
Given that marketers who blog are 13x more likely to drive positive ROI, 
it shouldn’t be a surprise that the tactic tops high performers’ lists of most 
important inbound projects. 
2.) 
THE IMPACT 
OF BLOGGING 
ON INBOUND ROI 
Marketers who have prioritized 
blogging are 13x more likely to 
enjoy positive ROI 
13x
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 8 
Data facilitates alignment. If inbound marketing were a sports 
team, data would be the coach. The chart below depicts remarkably tight 
alignment between marketing practitioners and their leaders (director and 
above title). Data is objective. It’s immune to the feelings and instincts that 
drove the previous era of “arts and crafts” marketing. 
3.) 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY ROLE 
Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders 
Marketing Priorities 
% of Respondents 
Reducing the cost of contacts/ 
leads/customer acquisition 
Increasing revenue derived 
from existing customers 
Reaching the 
relevant audience 
Converting contacts/ 
leads to customers 
Increasing number 
of contacts/leads 
Proving the ROI of our 
marketing activities 
0 5 10 15 20 25 
Leadership Practitioner
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 9 
Agencies are leading the pack. Inbound marketing performance is up 
across the board. More companies are running inbound than ever before. 
More are measuring ROI and more are enjoying improved ROI. Inbound 
is expanding into other lines of business, and those departments are 
experiencing positive results. It’s even driving revenue globally. But the 
group that’s setting the standard is marketing agencies, who are outpacing 
vendors by sourcing nearly half (47%) of all leads through inbound channels. 
The era of “inbound selling” has arrived. Inbound is no longer limited 
to “just” marketing. More than 25% of respondents reported that their 
organizations’ sales teams practice inbound, and it’s not just lip service. 
Contrast the two charts below, and you’ll see that sales professionals are far 
more “inbound” than are marketers who favor outbound practices. 
4.) 
5.) 
AGENCIES VS. VENDORS 
Marketing agencies are most effective at driving leads through inbound channels 
% of Respondents 
Industry 
Vendors 
Agencies 
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 
Primary Lead 
Source = Outbound 
Primary Lead 
Source = Inbound 
WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME 
MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) 
Outbound marketers are placing minimal importance on core inbound channels 
Lead Source 
% of Respondents 
Social 
Media 
Blogs SEO Email 
Marketing 
PPC Trade 
Shows 
Traditional 
Advertising 
Direct 
Mail 
Telemarketing 
0 
20 
40 
60 
80 
100 
Outbound Marketers 
Inbound Marketers
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 10 
The belief that European marketers trail their North American 
counterparts is unfounded. Many marketers believe that the U.S. leads 
the world in terms of marketing innovation. Prior to analyzing the data, 
even the author of this report may have made a statement or two to 
that effect. As it turns out, this statement doesn’t hold water. Data from 
respondents in North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa 
(EMEA) showed minimal variance. 
6.) 
WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME 
MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) 
Sales gravitates toward outbound channels whereas marketers lean inbound 
Lead Source 
% of Respondents 
Social 
Media 
Blogs SEO Email 
Marketing 
PPC Trade 
Shows 
Traditional 
Advertising 
Direct 
Mail 
Telemarketing 
0 
20 
40 
60 
80 
100 
Sales Professionals 
Marketing Professionals
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 11 
North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
Do you do 
inbound 
marketing? 
YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
ROI of 
inbound 
marketing: 
GREATER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
LOWER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY 
Increasing 
number of 
contacts/leads 
Converting 
contacts/leads 
to customers 
Reaching 
the relevant 
audience 
Increased 
revenue derived 
from existing 
customers 
Reducing the 
cost of contacts 
leads/ customer 
acquisition 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
Blog content 
creation 
Growing 
SEO/organic 
presence 
Content 
distribution/ 
amplification 
Longform/ 
visual content 
creation 
Product 
how-to 
videos 
Webinars Online tools Fremium 
trials 
Interactive 
content 
creation 
COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE 
INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY 
The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth 
North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
Do you do 
inbound 
marketing? 
YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
ROI of 
inbound 
marketing: 
GREATER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
LOWER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY 
Increasing 
number of 
contacts/leads 
Converting 
contacts/leads 
to customers 
Reaching 
the relevant 
audience 
Increased 
revenue derived 
from existing 
customers 
Reducing the 
cost of contacts 
leads/ customer 
acquisition 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
Blog content 
creation 
Growing 
SEO/organic 
presence 
Content 
distribution/ 
amplification 
Longform/ 
visual content 
creation 
Product 
how-to 
videos 
Webinars Online tools Fremium 
trials 
Interactive 
content 
creation 
COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE 
INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY 
The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth 
North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
Do you do 
inbound 
marketing? 
YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
ROI of 
inbound 
marketing: 
GREATER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
LOWER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY 
Increasing 
number of 
contacts/leads 
Converting 
contacts/leads 
to customers 
Reaching 
the relevant 
audience 
Increased 
revenue derived 
from existing 
customers 
Reducing the 
cost of contacts 
leads/ customer 
acquisition 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
Blog content 
creation 
Growing 
SEO/organic 
presence 
Content 
distribution/ 
amplification 
Longform/ 
visual content 
creation 
Product 
how-to 
videos 
Webinars Online tools Fremium 
trials 
Interactive 
content 
creation 
COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE 
INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY 
The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 12 
What Do We Mean By “Inbound” Anyway? 
When HubSpot coined the term “inbound marketing” back in 2006, the 
company had loosely defined it as meaning: “a methodology that focuses 
on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and 
product.” In other words, inbound is the superset of quality content and 
other “magnetic” tactics. 
Since that time, a similar methodology called “content marketing” has taken 
root. Perhaps because content marketing wasn’t championed by a single 
organization, it tends to have a less “ratified” definition. Nevertheless, it’s 
become a popular term of art. In fact, Google Trends data shows search 
volume is considerably higher for “content marketing” (red line) than for 
“inbound marketing” (blue line). 
So are we even using the proper terminology when we refer to inbound 
marketing? Do the thousands who completed the survey and the tens of 
thousands who will read this report perceive inbound marketing in the 
same way that HubSpot does? It turns out, yes. 
Average 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 
Inbound Marketing Content Marketing 
GOOGLE SEARCH TRENDS: INBOUND MARKETING VS. CONTENT MARKETING
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 13 
Marketers concluded that content marketing is a subset of inbound at 
nearly twice the rate (59% to 33%) as all other options combined. While 
the data showed less variance for sales and services professionals, “content 
marketing is a subset of inbound” was still clearly the most popular answer 
even for groups newer to inbound. 
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTENT MARKETING 
AND INBOUND MARKETING BY DEPARTMENT 
Front-office professionals, particularly marketers, 
see content marketing as a subset of inbound marketing 
Department 
% of Respondents 
Marketing Sales Services 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
Content marketing 
is a subset of 
inbound marketing 
They are synonyms 
Inbound marketing 
is a subset of 
content marketing 
The two are 
fundamentally 
different 
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Budgeting for InboundCHAPTER TWO2
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 15 
This fact may cause your CFO to groan, but spending money is one of 
marketing’s most important jobs. Whether it’s licensing technology, 
sourcing and distributing content, procuring development resources, or 
commissioning specialty skills like SEO and video production, spending 
wisely is a prerequisite for marketing success. But for many marketers, 
securing funds can feel like a Catch-22: If budget contributes to results, 
then how do you get budget before you are able to demonstrate success? 
We asked several budget-related questions in hopes of collecting data that 
would help marketers better understand how to secure the resources they 
need. Fortunately, it appears most of the means are within marketers’ span 
of influence and, in some cases, are even within their immediate control. 
Here are some of the patterns that emerged: 
BUDGETING FOR INBOUND 
INBOUND MARKETING ROI BY COMPANY TYPE 
Companies of all types enjoying greater ROI from inbound 
Inbound Marketing ROI 
% of Respondents 
Greater ROI than the previous year Lower ROI than the previous year 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
B2C 
Nonprofit 
B2B 
Inbound marketing budgets are up for all types of companies (chart above). 
In fact, more than 5 times as many marketers reported higher 
budgets than claimed budgets had been cut this year. The majority of B2B 
companies surveyed are enjoying a lift in budget, with 74% reporting the 
same or increased budget in this year (the 27% “unchanged” segment is not 
reflected i n t he above chart). If your budget i s down f rom last year, t hen 
odds are the cause is as simple as a lack of demonstrated success.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 16 
The chart above reveals that no single factor has a greater impact 
on budget than previous success with inbound marketing. 
Remarkably, the financial upside of prior inbound success exceeds even 
the downside of adverse economic conditions. Simply put, success – best 
expressed in terms of return on investment (ROI) – unlocks budget 
and insulates marketers against economic vagaries. Proving marketing 
effectiveness can also be valuable during leadership changes. Executive 
turnover often has an adverse impact on budget. Quantifying inbound 
success can steel marketers against the whims of new management. 
FACTORS INFLUENCING INBOUND BUDGET CHANGE 
Proving success is key to securing more budget 
Reasons for Change 
% of Respondents 
Lower Inbound 
Marketing Budget 
Higher Inbound 
Marketing Budget 
Economy Change in management Past success with 
inbound marketing 
Past failure with 
inbound marketing 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 17 
But what about marketers who are new to inbound? How can they secure 
ample budgets before they’ve collected enough data to prove success? The 
chart below shows an encouraging trend. Inbound budgets positively 
correlate to the presence of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) 
between marketing and sales. 
ANNUAL MARKETING BUDGET BY SLA 
Marketing budget size positively correlates to having an SLA 
No, we don’t have an SLA 
Yes, we have an SLA 
Annual Marketing Budget 
Less than $25,000 $25,001 - 
$100,000 
$100,001 - 
$500,000 
$500,001 - 
$1M 
$1M - $5M More than $5M 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
% of Respondents 
Ratifying an SLA with sales demonstrates credibility. For example, if 
marketing commits to delivering a certain number of leads that meet a 
measurable quality score, and sales is accountable for following up on those 
leads in a documented amount of time, then the two groups are signaling 
to leadership that they are focused on driving business results, not just 
intradepartmental metrics. Establishing an SLA also doubles as a forcing 
function – it requires marketers to measure consistently, which, as we will 
see in subsequent chapters, is a prerequisite to becoming a high performer.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 18 
INBOUND MARKETING BUDGET BY SLA 
SLA positively correlates to higher year over year inbound budget 
SLA 
% of Respondents 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
Lower Inbound 
Marketing Budget 
Higher Inbound 
Marketing Budget 
It appears the “magic number” for an SLA is $500,000. That is, if your 
marketing budget exceeds a half-million dollars, then you are 
expected to have an SLA with sales. Surprisingly, 29% of marketers 
with a budget greater than $500,000 don’t have a sales SLA. If the patterns 
detected in this report continue, metrics-centric high performers will likely 
replace those marketers. 
The chart below suggests that the presence of an SLA has a positive impact on 
even the inbound portion of the total marketing budget.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 19 
Because an SLA applies to large and small companies alike, doesn’t 
require a track-record of success, and is “free” to create, holding oneself 
accountable to an SLA is a prudent move for any marketer. It even 
holds true for marketers who need to loosen finance’s grip on purse strings, 
despite not yet having demonstrated ROI. 
For marketers at mid-sized companies, another straightforward way to earn 
a bump in budget is simply to run an inbound-driven marketing program 
(chart below). 
MID-SIZED COMPANIES MARKETING BUDGET 
BY INBOUND VS. OUTBOUND 
Running inbound correlates to larger budget 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
Less than $25,000 $25,001 - 
$100,000 
$100,001 - 
$500,000 
$500,001 - 
$1M 
$1M - $5M More than $5M 
Doing Outbound Marketing 
Doing Inbound Marketing 
Annual Marketing Budget 
% of Respondents
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 20 
Running inbound positively correlates to higher marketing 
budgets for mid-sized companies. As annual marketing budgets 
approach $100,000, the balance of attention begins to flip from outbound 
to inbound practices. The larger the budget, and by extension the company, 
the more budget tilts in the favor of inbound marketers. 
But what should your budget be? The answers to this question varied greatly, 
and were influenced by many factors, several of which we discussed in this 
report. The benchmarking graphic below visualizes the most commonly 
cited budgets for companies of various sizes. If you are well below the 
band for your size company, presenting this chart to leadership may be an 
effective way to initiate budgetary discussions, but remember that the keys 
to funding can be found in demonstrating success, establishing an SLA, and 
running the inbound playbook. 
MARKETING BUDGET 
Budgets are most variable for mid-size companies 
More than 1000 
201 to 1000 
26 to 200 
11 to 25 
Less than 10 
20% 
40% 
60% 
80% 
100% 
Less than 
$25,000 
$25,001 - 
$100,000 
$100,001 - 
$500,000 
$500,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M 
# OF EMPLOYEES 
BUDGET 
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Planning for InboundCHAPTER THREE3
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 22 
Because “Planning for Inbound” is the longest chapter in the report, 
we’ve broken it into an introduction, followed by four sub-sections, each 
corresponding to a frequently asked question. Specifically, the chapter 
provides practical guidance to marketers who are (1) struggling to strike the 
right balance between inbound and outbound, (2) peeking around corners 
to see what unexpected challenges might be coming their way, (3) trying to 
identify the highest return projects, and (4) thinking about the best way to 
partner with their sales counterparts. If you are wrestling with any of these 
questions, there’s a good chance you’ll find your answer in this chapter. 
The planning chapter is the most comprehensive by design, because 
planning is the first building block of any effective marketing program – 
and that includes inbound programs. A smart plan is more than a collection 
of tactics neatly organized in outline form. A smart plan is actionable – it 
reflects both what should be done and what should be avoided, drawing from 
the successes and failures of others to accelerate progress and avoid pitfalls. 
A smart plan isn’t cobbled together on January 1st, archived on January 2nd, 
and dusted off again on December 31st. No, a smart plan is bedrock. 
Before we apply data to popular planning questions, let’s begin by debunking 
a couple of myths. The first has to do with perceptions of marketing 
sophistication and geography. 
PLANNING FOR INBOUND
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 23 
The takeaway is clear: The next time someone says, “Europe trails 
North America in inbound marketing by about a year,” don’t nod 
in agreement. Instead present them with the above four-chart image, 
because by virtually all measures, Europe (specifically Europe, Middle 
East, and Africa, though our data set skewed Western European) and North 
America parallel one another’s inbound programs. An identical number 
(86%) of marketers in EMEA and North America say they run inbound 
marketing programs, and of those that do, both share similar priorities, 
emphasize similar projects, and enjoy similar results. 
North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
Do you do 
inbound 
marketing? 
YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, 
and Africa (EMEA) 
ROI of 
inbound 
marketing: 
GREATER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
LOWER THAN 
PREVIOUS YEAR 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY 
Increasing 
number of 
contacts/leads 
Converting 
contacts/leads 
to customers 
Reaching 
the relevant 
audience 
Increased 
revenue derived 
from existing 
customers 
Reducing the 
cost of contacts 
leads/ customer 
acquisition 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
Blog content 
creation 
Growing 
SEO/organic 
presence 
Content 
distribution/ 
amplification 
Longform/ 
visual content 
creation 
Product 
how-to 
videos 
Webinars Online tools Fremium 
trials 
Interactive 
content 
creation 
COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE 
INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 
INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY 
The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 24 
The world is getting smaller. Social media and the rise in corporate 
transparency have combined to nullify the geographic boundaries that once 
divided marketers. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, webinars, and blogs, what 
works for one company is instantly accessible to others. It’s merely a matter 
of listening to the right people, and there are influencer identification tools 
to ease that process as well. 
The second myth has to do with terminology. Some argue that inbound 
and content marketing are at odds. They are opposite pressures, or, at 
the very least, one movement is inferior to the other. The terminology 
vendors, agencies, and consultants use matters only if it resonates with and is 
perpetuated by the practitioners who listen to them. So we included a question 
about terminology in the survey, and the response (below) was unambiguous. 
TOP MARKETING PROJECTS 
FOR AGENCIES BY GEOGRAPHY 
International marketing agencies are going "all in" on producing discoverable content 
0 5 10 15 20 25 
Blog content 
creation 
Growing SEO/ 
organic presence 
Content distribution/ 
amplification 
Longform / visual 
content creation 
Interactive 
content creation 
Product 
how-to videos 
Online tools 
Freemium trials 
Webinars 
% of Respondents 
Inbound Marketing Projects 
International 
Marketing Agencies 
North American 
Marketing Agencies 
In fact, according to the following chart, European marketing agencies are 
outpacing their North American counterparts when it comes to producing 
top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) content. Why does this trend merit highlighting? 
Because as you will see in later chapters, these types of TOFU content 
positively correlate to ROI.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 25 
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTENT MARKETING 
AND INBOUND MARKETING BY DEPARTMENT 
Front-office professionals, particularly marketers, 
see content marketing as a subset of inbound marketing 
Department 
% of Respondents 
Marketing Sales Services 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
Content marketing 
is a subset of 
inbound marketing 
They are synonyms 
Inbound marketing 
is a subset of 
content marketing 
The two are 
fundamentally 
different 
Front-office professionals perceive “content marketing” and “inbound 
marketing” as co-existing, with the former being a subset of the latter. 
Predictably, the greatest variance is seen with marketers, where the roots for 
both concepts run deepest. Nearly six of ten marketing professionals 
consider content marketing to be a subset of inbound marketing, 
whereas only 10% consider the reciprocal to be true. Reassuringly, 
85% of marketers believe the two concepts are related, whereas only 7% 
conclude the terms are fundamentally different. 
As a practical matter, what does it mean that content marketing is a subset 
of inbound marketing? There are a few considerations. First, marketers 
should think in terms of “and” not “or” when it comes to content 
and inbound. Success relies on both. Second, content – from a blog to 
webinars, from email nurturing to customer videos – is one of the levers 
marketers can pull to drive their inbound engine. Inbound marketers 
produce greater results and enjoy larger budgets, yet without quality content, 
the inbound machinery stalls.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 26 
How Should I Think About the Inbound/Outbound Balance? 
Unlike the harmonious relationship between content and inbound 
marketing, there is discord between outbound and inbound. This conflict is 
reflected in many of the graphics to follow. 
Before you can determine what the ideal inbound/outbound balance is for 
your organization, let’s begin by zooming out to spot patterns in inbound 
adoption. 
Most notably, an increasing number of marketers are practicing inbound 
(below). The number of marketers who state they are practicing inbound 
rose from 60% last year to 85% this year, while the percentage of marketers 
who concede they don’t run inbound was nearly halved to 13%. 
% OF MARKETERS THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING 
Growth of inbound marketing spiking year over year 
Year 
% of Respondents 
2013 2014 
0 
20 
40 
60 
80 
100 
No, we don't do 
inbound marketing 
Yes, we do 
inbound marketing
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 27 
Now let’s zoom in a little closer and look at the relationship between 
budget and inbound marketing practices (chart below). 
Most organizations are practicing inbound – including more than 80% 
of companies with an annual marketing budget below $25,000. The 
concentration of inbound marketers peaks (93%) at companies 
with a marketing budget between $1M and $5M annually, before 
dipping moderately (7%) at enterprises with the largest budgets. 
Taken together the above charts support the notion that failing to practice 
inbound puts marketers at an unfair disadvantage. Most obviously, 
it prevents them from realizing the benefits of inbound, but it also leads to them 
losing ground to competitors that are running inbound programs. 
While the above charts are useful in understanding how to not lose ground 
to competition, it’s equally important to identify ways to gain advantage. 
The secret may reside with your colleagues in sales and services. 
% OF COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE 
INBOUND MARKETING BY MARKETING BUDGET 
Majority of companies practice inbound marketing, particularly large companies 
Less than 
$25,000 
$25,001 - 
$100,000 
$100,001 - 
$500,000 
$501,001 - 
$1M 
$1M - $5M More than $5M 
80 
100 
Annual Marketing Budget 
% of Respondents
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 28 
The graph above presents encouraging data for companies that are 
considering doubling down on inbound. It reveals that sales (25%) and, to a 
lesser extent, services (10%) professionals have begun to employ 
inbound practices. These colleagues should be seen as extensions of the 
marketing team – both in terms of championing the inbound philosophy 
throughout the organization as well as contributing content to the engine 
that drives the program’s success. Being first to capitalize on willing talent 
outside of your marketing department could be a major competitive 
advantage for your company. 
R&D 
IT 
PRODUCT 
DEVELOPMENT 
RECRUITING 
SERVICES 
SALES 
MARKETING 
WHICH DEPARTMENTS 
IN YOUR COMPANY 
PRACTICE INBOUND? 
Inbound is not limited to marketing
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 29 
For the first time in the past four years, outbound as a primary lead source 
has dropped, and sharply – from 34% to 22%. Meanwhile, inbound has 
remained relatively stable, off just 1% from its previous three year average. As a 
result, in 2014, more than twice as many respondents cited inbound 
(45%) as their primary source of leads versus outbound (22%). 
Outbound Inbound 
PRIMARY LEAD SOURCE BY INBOUND/OUTBOUND 
Outbound’s loss is inbound’s gain 
Year 
% of Respondents 
2011 2012 2013 2014 
20 
30 
40 
50 
Ultimately, all marketing – whether for a B2B software vendor, a consumer 
products manufacturer, a nonprofit organization, or a consultancy – comes 
down to the team’s ability to grow revenue. For this reason, attributing 
new business leads to inbound or outbound practices is one of the most 
important considerations when determining the balance of inbound vs. 
outbound activities in your marketing plan. Let’s take a look at the data our 
survey produced in the area of “lead source.”
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 30 
Half of marketers across B2B, B2C, and nonprofit sectors 
ranked inbound as their primary lead source, exceeding the 
average (42%) of all other channels combined. (See above chart.) 
The disproportionate impact of inbound is enjoyed most by nonprofits, 
where inbound (58%) is responsible for procuring nearly twice as many 
leads as the roll-up of all other channels (31%). Given that nonprofits often 
face budget constraints, necessity is proving to be the mother of inbound. 
PRIMARY LEAD SOURCE BY COMPANY TYPE 
Inbound lead sourcing advantage is greatest for nonprofits 
Company Type 
% of Respondents 
B2B B2C Nonprofit 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
Self-sourced leads 
from sales team 
Paid media (e.g., PPC, 
Social Media Ads) 
Outbound practices (e.g., 
Cold Calling, TV/Outdoor Ads, 
Trade Shows, Purchased Lists) 
Inbound practices (e.g., 
SEO, Referrals, Social 
Media, Content/Blog)
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 31 
What Challenges Should I Anticipate? 
Regardless of the size of your team or budget, few marketers can afford to be 
inefficient. Spending time and money implementing flawed programs is the 
very definition of inefficiency. What are some of the challenges marketers 
should anticipate as they think through their inbound plans? Here are a few 
items to consider. 
With the significant exception of ROI, marketers are overcoming all major 
challenges (chart above). In fact, ROI is the only challenge cited by more 
marketers this year than last. The pressure to prove ROI may be mounting 
– management is likely expecting to see proof of marketing impact now 
that many pieces are in place. 
As you will see in the following subsection, although proving ROI is 
the top challenge, it’s incongruously ranked as a relatively low 
priority. That unthinkable disconnect needs to be reconciled – if leadership 
is expecting ROI, marketers need to prioritize its delivery. 
The below graph, which looks at top marketing challenges by company 
size, reinforces the universality of the ROI challenge. In fact, the larger the 
company, the more likely ROI is to be the organization’s top hurdle. 
TOP MARKETING CHALLENGES BY YEAR 
Marketers are overcoming many challenges, but ROI remains a hill to climb 
2014 
2013 
% of Respondents 
Marketing Challenges 
Training 
my team 
Finding an 
executive 
sponsor 
Hiring 
top talent 
Targeting 
content for an 
international 
audience 
Managing 
my website 
Securing 
enough 
budget 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 32 
There are some nuanced differences between small and large companies’ 
perceptions of marketing challenges. Small companies are more 
challenged by fundamental needs, like managing their website, 
whereas larger companies are hampered by more strategic 
issues, such as hiring and internationalization. 
Curiously, very large companies – those with more than 1,000 employees – 
appear to be struggling with issues that can, at least theoretically, be solved 
with money. For example, enterprises can hire consultants to help them 
select the right technology or pay a premium for talent, yet they lead all 
others in ranking technology selection and hiring as their top challenge. 
Despite the disconnect between marketing challenges and priorities (see 
next subsection), there is tight alignment between marketing practitioners 
(manager and below) and marketing leadership (director and above) as 
illustrated in the next chart. A similar alignment can also be seen in a 
forthcoming graph on marketing priorities by role. 
More than 1000 
201 to 1000 
26 to 200 
11 to 25 
Less than 10 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY COMPANY SIZE 
Smaller companies tend to prioritize lead gen, whereas larger companies 
prioritize ROI. Few focus on reducing cost per lead/customer 
Reducing the 
cost of contacts/ 
leads/customer 
acquisition 
Increasing 
revenue 
derived from 
existing 
customers 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
Converting 
contacts 
/leads to 
customers 
Reaching 
the relevant 
audience 
Increasing 
number of 
contacts/leads 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
% of Respondents 
Marketing Priorities
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 33 
This survey question provided an open-text option, allowing respondents to 
submit their own top challenge. Most centered on the difficulty of producing 
enough content, which is consistent with anecdotal feedback we hear in 
the market. Sophisticated funnel-related challenges began to establish a 
pattern this year. For example, targeted lead acquisition, lead management, 
lead-to-customer conversion, and even post-sale advocacy peppered the 
300+ written responses. Interestingly, the word “mobile” appeared 
only once. 
TOP MARKETING CHALLENGES BY ROLE 
Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders 
Practioner 
Leadership 
% of Respondents 
Marketing Challenges 
Hiring 
top talent 
Training 
my team 
Finding 
an executive 
sponsor 
Targeting 
content 
for an 
international 
audience 
Identifying 
the right 
technologies 
for my needs 
Managing 
my website 
Securing 
enough 
budget 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
OPEN TEXT 
RESPONSES TO 
“WHAT ARE YOUR 
TOP MARKETING 
CHALLENGES” 
Unaided emphasis on ‘mobile 
marketing’ is incredibly low 
1 319 
MOBILE CHALLENGES OTHER 
THAN MOBILE
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 34 
Although the ROI challenge/priority may be asynchronous, some patterns 
established in the previous challenges charts reappear in the above priorities 
graph. Specifically, smaller companies tend to focus on immediate, tactical 
objectives (e.g., generating leads); while larger companies have the resources 
to tackle more complex initiatives like calculating lead value. 
Where Should I Spend My Time & Budget? 
You would think marketing’s challenges would parallel marketing’s 
priorities, but, according to the below graph, that doesn’t appear to be the 
case. While ROI tops marketing challenges, the number one marketing 
priority (according to the below chart) is lead generation (24%) followed by 
lead conversion (21%). A modest 15% of marketers (across all company size 
categories) ranked ROI as their top priority. 
More than 1000 
201 to 1000 
26 to 200 
11 to 25 
Less than 10 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY COMPANY SIZE 
Smaller companies tend to prioritize lead gen, whereas larger companies 
prioritize ROI. Few focus on reducing cost per lead/customer 
Reducing the 
cost of contacts/ 
leads/customer 
acquisition 
Increasing 
revenue 
derived from 
existing 
customers 
Proving the 
ROI of our 
marketing 
activities 
Converting 
contacts 
/leads to 
customers 
Reaching 
the relevant 
audience 
Increasing 
number of 
contacts/leads 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
% of Respondents 
Marketing Priorities 
Either marketers feel they’ve solved mobile or, more likely, mobile hasn’t 
risen to the level of consideration (at least, not without aided consideration). 
In either case, marketers need to be thinking more about mobile – to keep 
pace with those who are, or leave behind those who aren’t.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 35 
It’s intuitive that smaller companies would over-index for lead generation. 
After all, the company’s very livelihood may rest on getting a sufficient 
number of leads to sales. Large companies, having moved beyond the volatile 
startup phase, likely consider total lead volume as a lower priority because 
they’ve already procured enough leads to grow the business. Instead, at this 
stage on the maturity curve, politics begin to emerge. As a result, we see the 
rise in importance of prove-your-worth metrics like conversion rates and 
lead unit economics. 
Similar to the “Top Marketing Challenges by Company Size” graph, the above 
graph depicts tight alignment between marketing practitioners (manager 
and below) and leaders (director and above). The rise of data-driven 
marketing provides a likely explanation for the extremely low variance in 
this chart. Unlike marketing that relies on “gut” and instinct, inbound is 
rooted in data. Unbiased, objective data facilitates alignment by 
providing marketing leaders and practitioners with a common 
pool of information upon which to base decision-making and 
prioritization. Data should be invited to every marketing meeting. After 
all, art may be subjective; science isn’t. 
TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY ROLE 
Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders 
Marketing Priorities 
% of Respondents 
Reducing the cost of contacts/ 
leads/customer acquisition 
Increasing revenue derived 
from existing customers 
Reaching the 
relevant audience 
Converting contacts/ 
leads to customers 
Increasing number 
of contacts/leads 
Proving the ROI of our 
marketing activities 
0 5 10 15 20 25 
Leadership Practitioner
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 36 
Inbound warms leads (chart above). Inbound-sourced leads are 
consistently more knowledgeable about the company prior to 
speaking with a rep than leads sourced through outbound means. 
Because the number of leads can be counted and the quality of leads can 
be scored, marketers understandably focus on these two dimensions of 
lead generation. Yet the familiarity a lead has with your company is also an 
important consideration when readying your marketing plan. 
In addition to making sure SLA metrics are factored prominently into 
the marketing plan, there are additional ways marketing can support its 
primary stakeholder. For example, marketing should make sure prospects 
are as informed as possible prior to their first interaction with a rep. 
HOW KNOWLEDGEABLE ARE PROSPECTS ABOUT 
YOUR COMPANY PRIOR TO SPEAKING WITH SALES? 
Inbound marketers create more knowledgeable prospects 
Prospects' Knowledge about Company 
% of Respondents 
Very knowledgeable Moderately 
knowledgeable 
Somewhat 
knowledgeable 
Not at all 
knowledgeable 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
Primary Lead 
Source = Outbound 
Primary Lead 
Source = Inbound 
How Should the Sales Team Factor Into My Plans? 
It is becoming imperative for marketing to factor sales into its plans. 
After all, sales is the primary beneficiary of marketing’s effort. If sales and 
marketing are aligned, then many performance metrics – like lead quality, 
lead volume, even marketing ROI – fall into place much more naturally. In 
other words, the sales/marketing SLA that opens the door to credibility and 
the budget that comes with it (see “Budgets” chapter) is only achievable if 
sales is a forethought, not an afterthought, in the planning process.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 37 
The below graph suggests that “good things happen” when marketing 
partners with sales. 
The presence of an SLA correlates to greater involvement by marketing 
in sales software selection. Forty nine percent is a key figure: 49% of 
companies with an SLA involve marketing in sales tech selection 
process; 49% of companies without an SLA do not involve 
marketing in this process. Why is it advantageous for marketing to play 
a role in sales software selection? Because marketers need to make certain 
the technology sales selects facilitates its ability to process the data required 
to demonstrate results. 
The notion of integration – specifically, the integration of sales and marketing 
software – was a prominent theme in the open-text feedback to a question 
about technology selection. The solution is refreshingly simple: Having a 
say in sales starts with an SLA. 
DOES MARKETING INFLUENCE 
SALES SOFTWARE SELECTION? 
Companies with a sales/marketing SLA are more likely to 
involve both groups in sales software selection 
SLA 
% of Respondents 
SLA No SLA 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
No, no Marketing 
influence 
Yes, Marketing 
influence 
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Executing for InboundCHAPTER FOUR4
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 39 
Where Do the Best Leads Hide? 
Inbound marketers are finding leads where outbound marketers aren’t. 
According to the below graph, 84% of inbound marketers – compared 
to only 9% of outbound marketers – cite organic, top of funnel 
sources (social media, blogs, SEO) as rising in importance. 
Implementing inbound is like skiing: It’s the perpetual state of gaining, 
losing, and regaining your balance – often in rapid succession. Inbound isn’t 
riding a bike; coasting isn’t an option. The “set and forget” mentality is rarely 
rewarded in inbound, because inbound is about constantly reallocating your 
resources based on performance. 
Because the best inbound programs are nimble, there’s no magic formula for 
success. Or, more accurately, today’s magic formula might not be so “magic” 
tomorrow. There’s no inbound-equivalent of the popular 4-1-1 Twitter “rule.” 
When executing your inbound program, it’s best to start with what’s worked 
for others, and then recalibrate based on performance feedback. 
EXECUTING FOR INBOUND 
WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME 
MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) 
Outbound marketers are placing minimal importance on core inbound channels 
Lead Source 
% of Respondents Social 
Media 
Blogs SEO Email 
Marketing 
PPC Trade 
Shows 
Traditional 
Advertising 
Direct 
Mail 
Telemarketing 
0 
20 
40 
60 
80 
100 
Outbound Marketers 
Inbound Marketers
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 40 
In fact, it appears the only lead source valued equally by inbound and 
outbound marketers is email. 
The graph below compares how marketing and sales professionals view the 
importance of different sources of leads. Notably, sales professionals 
(61%) are nearly seven times more likely to value organic, top of 
funnel sources than outbound marketers (9%). 
WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME 
MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) 
Sales gravitates toward outbound channels whereas marketers lean inbound 
Lead Source 
% of Respondents 
Social 
Media 
Blogs SEO Email 
Marketing 
PPC Trade 
Shows 
Traditional 
Advertising 
Direct 
Mail 
Telemarketing 
0 
20 
40 
60 
80 
100 
Sales Professionals 
Marketing Professionals 
As you might expect, the chart above shows that sales professionals still 
index higher than marketers when it comes to outbound lead sourcing 
techniques like tradeshows, direct mail, and telemarketing. But next to 
email, the three most important lead sources for reps are all decidedly 
inbound – social media, SEO, and blogs. Salespeople “get” inbound 
(often better than outbound marketers do), and as the inbound 
methodology becomes more deeply entrenched in sales, there’s 
likely to be even less variance between the two groups.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 41 
WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME 
MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) 
Small companies had a head start at inbound; large companies are closing the gap 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
70 
80 
Lead Source 
% of Respondents 
Social 
Media 
Blogs SEO Email 
Marketing 
PPC Trade 
Shows 
Traditional 
Advertising 
Direct 
Mail 
Telemarketing 
More than 200 Employees 
Less than 200 Employees 
Pivoting the same question [“Which lead sources have become more important 
(over last 6 months)?”] by company size (chart above) reveals something 
noteworthy: There’s minimal variance between smaller companies and 
larger ones, suggesting inbound isn’t a “big company” or “small company” 
priority. It’s not the size of the company that shapes inbound priorities, but 
rather the outlook of the marketing team. It’s universal.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 42 
What Projects Promise the Greatest Return? 
When venture capitalist Byron Deeter wrote, “If your sales and marketing 
teams are rational, quantitative, and have metrics in place, then on average 
the next dollar they spend will go to something that performs slightly worse 
than the dollar they spent before it – or their existing budgets are poorly 
allocated,” he was cheering the hyper-efficiency made possible by data-driven 
marketing. 
So what are the “first dollar” projects that deliver peak value? Certainly they 
vary by industry, but below is a snapshot of the projects high performers 
(vendors and agencies that drove greater year-over-year inbound ROI) 
prioritize. 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS 
High performing agencies and vendors doubled down on projects with the greatest ROI 
Blog content 
creation 
Growing SEO/ 
organic presence 
Content distribution/ 
amplification 
Longform/visual 
content creation 
Interactive content 
creation 
Product how-to 
videos 
Online tools 
Freemium 
trials 
Webinars 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
Inbound Marketing Projects 
% of Respondents 
High Performers 
Vendors 
Agencies 
High performers prioritize projects designed to help get the company and its 
content discovered. This pattern holds for both agencies and vendors. When 
considering which tactics to employ to establish or accelerate 
your inbound program, data would suggest blogging, SEO, and 
content distribution.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 43 
B2B and B2C companies tend to prioritize the same inbound tactics (see 
above), but with a few minor exceptions. B2B companies appear to 
place a higher value on educational formats (like webinars), 
whereas consumer businesses are slightly more willing to 
experiment with advanced digital formats (interactive content, 
online tools). The below graph, which visualizes Top Marketing Projects 
by Role, shows even tighter alignment. Similar to the earlier charts that 
segmented inbound challenges and priorities by role, marketing leaders 
and practitioners are closely aligned around which tactics to 
prioritize. Again, data-centricity is likely at the heart of this alignment. 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY COMPANY TYPE 
B2B companies prefer educational formats, whereas B2C companies prioritize engaging digital formats 
B2C 
B2B 
% of Respondents 
Inbound Marketing Projects 
Blog content 
creation 
Longform/visual 
content creation 
Interactive 
content creation 
Content distribution 
/amplification 
Webinars 
Online tools 
Freemium trials 
Product how-to 
videos 
Growing SEO/ 
organic presence 
0 5 10 15 20 25 
TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY ROLE 
Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders 
% of Respondents 
Inbound Marketing Projects 
Blog content 
creation 
Longform/visual 
content creation 
Interactive 
content creation 
Content distribution 
/amplification 
Webinars 
Online tools 
Freemium trials 
Product how-to 
videos 
Growing SEO/ 
organic presence 
0 5 10 15 20 25 
Practioner 
Leadership
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 44 
Who Should Create My Content? 
Content – blog posts, distributed broadly, and written to drive organic search 
results – tops the inbound projects lists for all segments (high performers, 
large/small companies, leaders/practitioners). Content is the lifeblood of 
inbound. Given its importance, the next logical question is, “Who should 
create our content?” Again, let’s begin at the end – with a look at how high 
performers address the issue. 
While internal authors – namely staff and executives – correlate to the 
highest ROI, they also happen to correlate to the lowest ROI. Why? Because 
every company that publishes content creates at least some of it internally. 
Few if any companies outsource all of their content creation. So instead of 
looking for guidance in the size of the bars for each segment, let’s instead 
zoom in on areas of change, specifically who created content for companies 
that enjoyed a lift in year over year ROI: guests and freelancers. 
WHO CREATES CONTENT BY ROI 
Guests, freelancers key to ROI improvement 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
Staff Executives Guests Freelancers Agency 
partner 
Writing 
panels 
Curation 
Content Creators 
% of Respondents 
Lower ROI than 
the previous year 
Greater ROI than 
the previous year
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 45 
It’s likely that guests and freelancers correlate to increased ROI because 
inbound success relies as much on content volume as it does on quality. 
Unless a company is producing a steady stream of (quality) content, the 
audience it earns will begin to decay. Guests and freelancers are relatively 
inexpensive sources of content. Procuring content from these groups 
allows companies to scale output while simultaneously increasing 
the marketing team’s capacity for measurement and optimization. 
The above chart is intuitive. Given resource constraints, smaller 
companies tend to produce more of their own content, whereas 
larger budgets allow enterprises to source content from 
specialists and agencies. Given that small company executives (19%) 
are more likely to produce content than large company leadership (12%), it’s 
possible for smaller companies to win the quality battle. 
Writer panels, like NewsCred, Contently and others, barely registered any 
responses. Again, as quality rises in importance, these types of organizations 
could emerge as a desirable option given that they combine the benefits of 
freelancers with a layer of vetting and management. 
WHO CREATES CONTENT BY EMPLOYEE COUNT 
Smaller companies are more likely to create content internally 
Content Creators 
% of Respondents 
More than 1000 
Less than 200 
Staff Executives Guests Freelancers Agency 
partner 
Writing 
panels 
Curation 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
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Measuring InboundCHAPTER FIVE5
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 47 
When it comes to inbound, measurement is the alpha and omega. It’s the 
first step in developing a plan and the last step in determining results. This 
is why data is such a central component of the inbound machine. 
As you can see in the below chart, that you measure your marketing is nearly 
as important as what you measure. 
Incredibly, marketers that measure inbound ROI are 17 times 
more likely to see the same or greater ROI over the previous 
year (chart above). It’s likely that selection bias is impacting the data. After 
all, higher performing marketers are more likely to measure results, thus 
they are also more likely to drive growth. Nevertheless, there’s a strong 
correlation between simply measuring ROI and achieving it. Marketers 
that are not currently measuring ROI should begin immediately, because 
eventually they will need a baseline against which to establish year-over-year 
performance. 
MEASURING INBOUND 
INBOUND ROI IMPACT YEAR OVER YEAR 
Inbound marketers that measure ROI are enjoying major impact 
Inbound Marketing ROI 
% of Respondents 
Greater ROI than 
the previous year 
Lower ROI than 
the previous year 
About the same as 
the previous year 
0 
5 
10 
15 
20 
25 
30 
35 
40
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 48 
Given the relationship between measurement and performance, it’s 
encouraging to note the rise in marketers tracking ROI (see chart above). 
The percentage of marketers measuring ROI rose by a modest 3% over 
2013; however, the percentage of marketers admitting they don’t measure 
ROI is down by 12%. 
Before we get too excited about this pattern, it’s worth noting that the 
image isn’t quite as rosy as it might seem. Marketers are still struggling to 
calculate return. Only slightly more than half (53%) are measuring 
ROI, which means that simply measuring ROI – regardless 
of your results – automatically puts you in the upper half of 
the profession. 
Now let’s raise the bar back to where it belongs: results. Which sectors are 
improving ROI? 
INBOUND ROI MEASUREMENT YEAR OVER YEAR 
Slightly more inbound marketers tracking ROI 
Do you measure inbound ROI? 
% of Respondents 
We measure ROI We don't measure ROI 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
60 
2014 
2013
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 49 
INBOUND MARKETING ROI BY COMPANY TYPE 
Companies of all types enjoying greater ROI from inbound 
Inbound Marketing ROI 
% of Respondents 
Greater ROI than the previous year Lower ROI than the previous year 
0 
10 
20 
30 
40 
50 
B2C 
Nonprofit 
B2B 
According to the chart above, inbound ROI is up for everyone, in particular 
nonprofits. This data reinforces an earlier graph (see “Primary Lead Source 
by Company Type” in the Planning for Inbound chapter) that revealed 
nonprofits source nearly twice as many leads via inbound channels as all 
other channels combined. Given nonprofits’ success at inbound lead 
generation, it’s natural that they would also outperform B2B and 
B2C companies in ROI growth. 
In the introduction to this report, we established that inbound is 20% more 
likely to be the primary lead source for agencies than it is for the aggregate 
of all vendors. Therefore, agencies should outperform vendors in terms of 
inbound ROI just as nonprofits eclipse B2B and B2C organizations. Let’s look 
at the chart below, which compares the inbound ROI of agencies to vendors.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 50 
Indeed the pattern is consistent: Organizations that source more 
leads through inbound tend to enjoy an ROI advantage. 
AGENCIES VS. VENDORS 
Marketing agencies are generating greater inbound ROI than all others 
% of Respondents 
Industry 
Vendors 
Agencies 
0 10 20 30 40 50 
Greater ROI than 
the previous year
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 51 
But what is driving inbound ROI? What single activity is most commonly 
associated with success? We looked at each inbound practice to find the 
one that had the strongest correlation to positive ROI and found that 
marketers who emphasize blogging are 13 times more likely to 
have increased ROI year over year. 
Clearly ROI is marketing’s ultimate goal. But to increase return, marketers 
need to improve performance of all initiatives that contribute to ROI. 
Although there are no universal funnel (e.g., how much should leads at 
different funnel stages cost) or budget (e.g., what size budget is appropriate 
for companies of different sizes) benchmarks, readers of previous “State of 
Inbound Marketing” reports have asked for deeper insights into how their 
fellow marketers perform at each buying stage. 
We asked a series of questions to help readers compare their funnel metrics 
to others’. We collected data on cost per lead and cost per customer, as 
well as website, blog, email, and landing page conversion rates. This effort, 
however, led to a single, unambiguous conclusion: Too few marketers can 
report reliably on the unit economics of their funnel to justify including much 
of the data in this report. For example, there’s simply no way marketers, on 
average, are converting 9% of their blog visitors into prospects. 
THE IMPACT 
OF BLOGGING 
ON INBOUND ROI 
Marketers who have prioritized 
blogging are 13x more likely to 
enjoy positive ROI 
13x 
We did find that leads sourced through inbound practices are 
consistently less expensive than outbound leads, regardless of 
company size. Below is a graph that looks at cost per lead for North American 
B2B companies. The absolute costs are less important than the relative cost 
between inbound and outbound leads.
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 52 
The information gathered on budgets is more reliable. The graphic below 
illustrates the most popular budget range for companies of various sizes. 
If your budget is a below-norm outlier, this data may be a useful catalyst 
for discussion with your executive team. (Conversely, if your budget is an 
above-norm outlier, you may wish to discard this page, immediately.) 
AVERAGE COST 
PER LEAD BY 
COMPANY SIZE 
Inbound leads are more 
cost-effective for North 
American B2B companies 
of all sizes 
1-25 51-200 1,000+ 
$37 
$102 
$70 
$220 
$27 
$45 
Inbound 
Outbound 
TYPE OF COMPANY 
COMPANY SIZE 
MARKETING BUDGET 
Budgets are most variable for mid-size companies 
More than 1000 
201 to 1000 
26 to 200 
11 to 25 
Less than 10 
20% 
40% 
60% 
80% 
100% 
Less than 
$25,000 
$25,001 - 
$100,000 
$100,001 - 
$500,000 
$500,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M 
# OF EMPLOYEES 
BUDGET 
WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE 
CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?
Survey MethodologyCHAPTER SIX6
HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 54 
HubSpot fielded our 2014 State of Inbound Survey between 10:00 AM 
EST on June 25, 2014 and 5:00 PM EST on July 15, 2014. The survey was 
administered online, where 6,432 respondents started the survey and 3,570 
completed it. To see the exact demographic breakdown of the completed 
survey respondents, please reference the Audience Composition graphic in 
the first chapter. 
The sampling method was a voluntary sample with the incentive being 
a chance to win one of ten available Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones. 
The audience was solicited through the following promotional channels: 
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Paid & Email. 
Participation in the State of Inbound Survey Giveaway was subject to ‘HubSpot’s 
“State of Inbound 2014” Survey Sweepstakes - Official Rules’ available here - 
http://hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-survey-sweepstakes-terms-conditions. 
Executive Sponsor: Mike Volpe 
Author: Joe Chernov 
Survey Creation: Abhinav Arora / Joe Chernov / Sara Davidson 
Survey Implementation: Abhinav Arora 
Data Analysis: Joe Chernov / Sara Davidson 
Chart Design: Doug Stone 
Report Design: Tyler Littwin 
Site Design: Anna Faber-Hammond 
SURVEY METHODOLOGY 
About the Team 
WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE 
CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?

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HubSpot State of Inbound 2014

  • 1. of STATEINBOUND2014THE DATA YOU NEED TO BUDGET, PLAN, EXECUTEAND MEASURE INBOUND MARKETING AND SELLING.
  • 2. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 2 Introduction TABLE OF CONTENTS CH. 1 CH. 2 Budgeting for Inbound CH. 3 Planning for Inbound Executing for Inbound Measuring for Inbound Survey Methodology CH. 4 CH. 5 CH. 6
  • 4. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 4 For the past five years, HubSpot has published the findings from its annual survey, which probes marketers on their challenges, priorities, tactics and results, in a popular report branded “The State of Inbound Marketing.” The series tracks the practice of inbound marketing – the art and science of drawing visitors to your company on their own terms versus obtrusively pushing your messages onto them – from its humble “two guys in a garage” (or, in this case, two guys in business school) beginning up through last year’s 164- page leviathan. For this year’s report, we followed many of the same processes as in the past. We surveyed thousands of marketers (see “Audience Composition” graphic) and asked a blend of repeat questions (for trending data) and new ones (to keep pace with emerging marketing trends). We produced nearly a hundred graphs, which we winnowed down to 40 or so compelling “data narratives” that we believe will help readers improve top-line performance. Yet as similar as our objectives and methodology were, there are two significant differences in this year’s report – beginning with the title itself. We’ve dropped “marketing” from the title to reflect a sea change. “Inbound” is no longer limited to marketing. Businesses now turn to inbound methodologies to power sales (25%) and even customer service (10%). Certainly the marketing use-case remains foremost, but make no mistake: Inbound has become an interdepartmental phenomenon. The report also straddles calendar years, 2014 to 2015. It is comprised of data from INTRODUCTION About “State of Inbound” a mid-year survey that posed questions about full-year programs. As such, the findings and guidance remain current well into 2015. As much as we hope you enjoy reading this report, it’s even more important that you use it. It’s meant to be a functional document. Print it and mark it up. Share it with your boss, your head of sales, the rep who always beats her numbers (or, better still, the rep who is struggling to hit quota), maybe even your customer support team. Please remember that the data is based on self-reported survey responses. Consider the findings to be directional. We’ve organized the data into four self-contained sections: budgeting, planning, execution and measurement. There’s no need to read the report linearly. Dive into whichever section corresponds to your greatest needs, and save the rest for later. You want to understand how to maximize your budget? Read the Budgeting chapter. Looking to report to your leadership the same metrics top performers report to theirs? The Execution chapter has you covered. Audience Composition If there exists a modern marketing report that’s based on survey data from a larger, more diverse audience, then we’d like to know about it. We believe State of Inbound is the definitive report on inbound business in large part because of the audience composition, which we’ve visualized in the graphic below.
  • 5. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 5 Executive and above Manager and below State of Inbound – Audience Composition 68% B2B 21% B2C 5% NONPROFIT $250,001 - $1M $1M - $10M $10M - $500M $500M - $1B Prefer not to say Less than $250,000 COMPANY SIZE BY ANNUAL REVEUE COMPANY SIZE BY NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES TYPES OF ORGANIZATIONS RESPONDENTS BY CAREER Marketers Sales Professionals VERTICAL MARKETS RESPONDENT JOB LEVEL 11 to 25 26 to 200 201 to 1000 More than 1000 Less than 10 Information Technology & Services Marketing Agencies Education Healthcare & Medical Remaining 11 Industries Represented Software 1,723 631 69% 31% Less than $250,000 $250,001 - $1M $1M - $10M $10M - $500M $500M - $1B Prefer not to say Less than 10 11 to 25 26 to 200 201 to 1000 More than 1000 HubSpot Partner HubSpot Customer Not a HubSpot Partner Not a HubSpot Customer Software Information Technology & Services Marketing Agencies Education Healthcare & Medical Remaining 11 Industries Represented Executive and above Manager and below 5% NONPROFIT 21% B2C 68% B2B 78% 15% 1% 6% 3,570 RESPONDENTS 5% 44% 4% 34%
  • 6. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 6 The Six Most Important Takeaways If you are pressed for time, here’s the TL;DR-style executive summary: We noticed six clear and consistent trends when analyzing the data. They are: Inbound unlocks ROI; ROI unlocks budget. If you are running an inbound marketing program and not tracking ROI, you are doing your company – and your career – a disservice because inbound marketers who measure ROI are more than 12 times more likely to be generating a greater as opposed to lower year-over-year return. 1.) INBOUND ROI IMPACT YEAR OVER YEAR Inbound marketers that measure ROI are enjoying major impact Inbound Marketing ROI % of Respondents Greater ROI than the previous year Lower ROI than the previous year About the same as the previous year 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Proving that you are increasing return is important for several reasons, most notably the positive impact it has on budget. No single factor had a greater impact on budget – positive or negative – than did “past success with inbound.” Improving ROI may even safeguard your budget against factors beyond your control, like the economy itself.
  • 7. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 7 FACTORS INFLUENCING INBOUND BUDGET CHANGE Proving success is key to securing more budget Reasons for Change % of Respondents Lower Inbound Marketing Budget Higher Inbound Marketing Budget Economy Change in management Past success with inbound marketing Past failure with inbound marketing 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 “Getting found” is priority #1 (and #2 and #3) for high performers. We zoomed in on the segment of inbound marketers who are generating positive ROI (“high performers”) to see if they prioritized different types of projects than low performers. As you will see in the “Measurement” chapter, high performers are emphasizing programs designed to get their content, and by extension their company, found. In order, blogging, organic search, and content amplification top the list. Blogging appears to have the most substantial impact on performance. Given that marketers who blog are 13x more likely to drive positive ROI, it shouldn’t be a surprise that the tactic tops high performers’ lists of most important inbound projects. 2.) THE IMPACT OF BLOGGING ON INBOUND ROI Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI 13x
  • 8. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 8 Data facilitates alignment. If inbound marketing were a sports team, data would be the coach. The chart below depicts remarkably tight alignment between marketing practitioners and their leaders (director and above title). Data is objective. It’s immune to the feelings and instincts that drove the previous era of “arts and crafts” marketing. 3.) TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY ROLE Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders Marketing Priorities % of Respondents Reducing the cost of contacts/ leads/customer acquisition Increasing revenue derived from existing customers Reaching the relevant audience Converting contacts/ leads to customers Increasing number of contacts/leads Proving the ROI of our marketing activities 0 5 10 15 20 25 Leadership Practitioner
  • 9. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 9 Agencies are leading the pack. Inbound marketing performance is up across the board. More companies are running inbound than ever before. More are measuring ROI and more are enjoying improved ROI. Inbound is expanding into other lines of business, and those departments are experiencing positive results. It’s even driving revenue globally. But the group that’s setting the standard is marketing agencies, who are outpacing vendors by sourcing nearly half (47%) of all leads through inbound channels. The era of “inbound selling” has arrived. Inbound is no longer limited to “just” marketing. More than 25% of respondents reported that their organizations’ sales teams practice inbound, and it’s not just lip service. Contrast the two charts below, and you’ll see that sales professionals are far more “inbound” than are marketers who favor outbound practices. 4.) 5.) AGENCIES VS. VENDORS Marketing agencies are most effective at driving leads through inbound channels % of Respondents Industry Vendors Agencies 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Primary Lead Source = Outbound Primary Lead Source = Inbound WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) Outbound marketers are placing minimal importance on core inbound channels Lead Source % of Respondents Social Media Blogs SEO Email Marketing PPC Trade Shows Traditional Advertising Direct Mail Telemarketing 0 20 40 60 80 100 Outbound Marketers Inbound Marketers
  • 10. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 10 The belief that European marketers trail their North American counterparts is unfounded. Many marketers believe that the U.S. leads the world in terms of marketing innovation. Prior to analyzing the data, even the author of this report may have made a statement or two to that effect. As it turns out, this statement doesn’t hold water. Data from respondents in North America and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) showed minimal variance. 6.) WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) Sales gravitates toward outbound channels whereas marketers lean inbound Lead Source % of Respondents Social Media Blogs SEO Email Marketing PPC Trade Shows Traditional Advertising Direct Mail Telemarketing 0 20 40 60 80 100 Sales Professionals Marketing Professionals
  • 11. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 11 North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Do you do inbound marketing? YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) ROI of inbound marketing: GREATER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR LOWER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR 5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY Increasing number of contacts/leads Converting contacts/leads to customers Reaching the relevant audience Increased revenue derived from existing customers Reducing the cost of contacts leads/ customer acquisition Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Blog content creation Growing SEO/organic presence Content distribution/ amplification Longform/ visual content creation Product how-to videos Webinars Online tools Fremium trials Interactive content creation COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Do you do inbound marketing? YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) ROI of inbound marketing: GREATER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR LOWER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR 5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY Increasing number of contacts/leads Converting contacts/leads to customers Reaching the relevant audience Increased revenue derived from existing customers Reducing the cost of contacts leads/ customer acquisition Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Blog content creation Growing SEO/organic presence Content distribution/ amplification Longform/ visual content creation Product how-to videos Webinars Online tools Fremium trials Interactive content creation COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Do you do inbound marketing? YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) ROI of inbound marketing: GREATER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR LOWER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR 5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY Increasing number of contacts/leads Converting contacts/leads to customers Reaching the relevant audience Increased revenue derived from existing customers Reducing the cost of contacts leads/ customer acquisition Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Blog content creation Growing SEO/organic presence Content distribution/ amplification Longform/ visual content creation Product how-to videos Webinars Online tools Fremium trials Interactive content creation COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth
  • 12. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 12 What Do We Mean By “Inbound” Anyway? When HubSpot coined the term “inbound marketing” back in 2006, the company had loosely defined it as meaning: “a methodology that focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product.” In other words, inbound is the superset of quality content and other “magnetic” tactics. Since that time, a similar methodology called “content marketing” has taken root. Perhaps because content marketing wasn’t championed by a single organization, it tends to have a less “ratified” definition. Nevertheless, it’s become a popular term of art. In fact, Google Trends data shows search volume is considerably higher for “content marketing” (red line) than for “inbound marketing” (blue line). So are we even using the proper terminology when we refer to inbound marketing? Do the thousands who completed the survey and the tens of thousands who will read this report perceive inbound marketing in the same way that HubSpot does? It turns out, yes. Average 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 Inbound Marketing Content Marketing GOOGLE SEARCH TRENDS: INBOUND MARKETING VS. CONTENT MARKETING
  • 13. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 13 Marketers concluded that content marketing is a subset of inbound at nearly twice the rate (59% to 33%) as all other options combined. While the data showed less variance for sales and services professionals, “content marketing is a subset of inbound” was still clearly the most popular answer even for groups newer to inbound. RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTENT MARKETING AND INBOUND MARKETING BY DEPARTMENT Front-office professionals, particularly marketers, see content marketing as a subset of inbound marketing Department % of Respondents Marketing Sales Services 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Content marketing is a subset of inbound marketing They are synonyms Inbound marketing is a subset of content marketing The two are fundamentally different WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?
  • 15. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 15 This fact may cause your CFO to groan, but spending money is one of marketing’s most important jobs. Whether it’s licensing technology, sourcing and distributing content, procuring development resources, or commissioning specialty skills like SEO and video production, spending wisely is a prerequisite for marketing success. But for many marketers, securing funds can feel like a Catch-22: If budget contributes to results, then how do you get budget before you are able to demonstrate success? We asked several budget-related questions in hopes of collecting data that would help marketers better understand how to secure the resources they need. Fortunately, it appears most of the means are within marketers’ span of influence and, in some cases, are even within their immediate control. Here are some of the patterns that emerged: BUDGETING FOR INBOUND INBOUND MARKETING ROI BY COMPANY TYPE Companies of all types enjoying greater ROI from inbound Inbound Marketing ROI % of Respondents Greater ROI than the previous year Lower ROI than the previous year 0 10 20 30 40 50 B2C Nonprofit B2B Inbound marketing budgets are up for all types of companies (chart above). In fact, more than 5 times as many marketers reported higher budgets than claimed budgets had been cut this year. The majority of B2B companies surveyed are enjoying a lift in budget, with 74% reporting the same or increased budget in this year (the 27% “unchanged” segment is not reflected i n t he above chart). If your budget i s down f rom last year, t hen odds are the cause is as simple as a lack of demonstrated success.
  • 16. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 16 The chart above reveals that no single factor has a greater impact on budget than previous success with inbound marketing. Remarkably, the financial upside of prior inbound success exceeds even the downside of adverse economic conditions. Simply put, success – best expressed in terms of return on investment (ROI) – unlocks budget and insulates marketers against economic vagaries. Proving marketing effectiveness can also be valuable during leadership changes. Executive turnover often has an adverse impact on budget. Quantifying inbound success can steel marketers against the whims of new management. FACTORS INFLUENCING INBOUND BUDGET CHANGE Proving success is key to securing more budget Reasons for Change % of Respondents Lower Inbound Marketing Budget Higher Inbound Marketing Budget Economy Change in management Past success with inbound marketing Past failure with inbound marketing 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
  • 17. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 17 But what about marketers who are new to inbound? How can they secure ample budgets before they’ve collected enough data to prove success? The chart below shows an encouraging trend. Inbound budgets positively correlate to the presence of a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between marketing and sales. ANNUAL MARKETING BUDGET BY SLA Marketing budget size positively correlates to having an SLA No, we don’t have an SLA Yes, we have an SLA Annual Marketing Budget Less than $25,000 $25,001 - $100,000 $100,001 - $500,000 $500,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 % of Respondents Ratifying an SLA with sales demonstrates credibility. For example, if marketing commits to delivering a certain number of leads that meet a measurable quality score, and sales is accountable for following up on those leads in a documented amount of time, then the two groups are signaling to leadership that they are focused on driving business results, not just intradepartmental metrics. Establishing an SLA also doubles as a forcing function – it requires marketers to measure consistently, which, as we will see in subsequent chapters, is a prerequisite to becoming a high performer.
  • 18. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 18 INBOUND MARKETING BUDGET BY SLA SLA positively correlates to higher year over year inbound budget SLA % of Respondents 0 10 20 30 40 50 Lower Inbound Marketing Budget Higher Inbound Marketing Budget It appears the “magic number” for an SLA is $500,000. That is, if your marketing budget exceeds a half-million dollars, then you are expected to have an SLA with sales. Surprisingly, 29% of marketers with a budget greater than $500,000 don’t have a sales SLA. If the patterns detected in this report continue, metrics-centric high performers will likely replace those marketers. The chart below suggests that the presence of an SLA has a positive impact on even the inbound portion of the total marketing budget.
  • 19. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 19 Because an SLA applies to large and small companies alike, doesn’t require a track-record of success, and is “free” to create, holding oneself accountable to an SLA is a prudent move for any marketer. It even holds true for marketers who need to loosen finance’s grip on purse strings, despite not yet having demonstrated ROI. For marketers at mid-sized companies, another straightforward way to earn a bump in budget is simply to run an inbound-driven marketing program (chart below). MID-SIZED COMPANIES MARKETING BUDGET BY INBOUND VS. OUTBOUND Running inbound correlates to larger budget 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 Less than $25,000 $25,001 - $100,000 $100,001 - $500,000 $500,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M Doing Outbound Marketing Doing Inbound Marketing Annual Marketing Budget % of Respondents
  • 20. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 20 Running inbound positively correlates to higher marketing budgets for mid-sized companies. As annual marketing budgets approach $100,000, the balance of attention begins to flip from outbound to inbound practices. The larger the budget, and by extension the company, the more budget tilts in the favor of inbound marketers. But what should your budget be? The answers to this question varied greatly, and were influenced by many factors, several of which we discussed in this report. The benchmarking graphic below visualizes the most commonly cited budgets for companies of various sizes. If you are well below the band for your size company, presenting this chart to leadership may be an effective way to initiate budgetary discussions, but remember that the keys to funding can be found in demonstrating success, establishing an SLA, and running the inbound playbook. MARKETING BUDGET Budgets are most variable for mid-size companies More than 1000 201 to 1000 26 to 200 11 to 25 Less than 10 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Less than $25,000 $25,001 - $100,000 $100,001 - $500,000 $500,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M # OF EMPLOYEES BUDGET WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?
  • 22. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 22 Because “Planning for Inbound” is the longest chapter in the report, we’ve broken it into an introduction, followed by four sub-sections, each corresponding to a frequently asked question. Specifically, the chapter provides practical guidance to marketers who are (1) struggling to strike the right balance between inbound and outbound, (2) peeking around corners to see what unexpected challenges might be coming their way, (3) trying to identify the highest return projects, and (4) thinking about the best way to partner with their sales counterparts. If you are wrestling with any of these questions, there’s a good chance you’ll find your answer in this chapter. The planning chapter is the most comprehensive by design, because planning is the first building block of any effective marketing program – and that includes inbound programs. A smart plan is more than a collection of tactics neatly organized in outline form. A smart plan is actionable – it reflects both what should be done and what should be avoided, drawing from the successes and failures of others to accelerate progress and avoid pitfalls. A smart plan isn’t cobbled together on January 1st, archived on January 2nd, and dusted off again on December 31st. No, a smart plan is bedrock. Before we apply data to popular planning questions, let’s begin by debunking a couple of myths. The first has to do with perceptions of marketing sophistication and geography. PLANNING FOR INBOUND
  • 23. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 23 The takeaway is clear: The next time someone says, “Europe trails North America in inbound marketing by about a year,” don’t nod in agreement. Instead present them with the above four-chart image, because by virtually all measures, Europe (specifically Europe, Middle East, and Africa, though our data set skewed Western European) and North America parallel one another’s inbound programs. An identical number (86%) of marketers in EMEA and North America say they run inbound marketing programs, and of those that do, both share similar priorities, emphasize similar projects, and enjoy similar results. North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Do you do inbound marketing? YES NO North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) ROI of inbound marketing: GREATER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR LOWER THAN PREVIOUS YEAR 5 10 15 20 25 30 5 10 15 20 25 TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY GEOGRAPHY TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY GEOGRAPHY Increasing number of contacts/leads Converting contacts/leads to customers Reaching the relevant audience Increased revenue derived from existing customers Reducing the cost of contacts leads/ customer acquisition Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Blog content creation Growing SEO/organic presence Content distribution/ amplification Longform/ visual content creation Product how-to videos Webinars Online tools Fremium trials Interactive content creation COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING BY GEOGRAPHY INBOUND ROI BY GEOGRAPHY North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) North America Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) INBOUND MARKETING TRENDS BY GEOGRAPHY The claim that Europe trails North America is a myth
  • 24. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 24 The world is getting smaller. Social media and the rise in corporate transparency have combined to nullify the geographic boundaries that once divided marketers. Thanks to Twitter, Facebook, webinars, and blogs, what works for one company is instantly accessible to others. It’s merely a matter of listening to the right people, and there are influencer identification tools to ease that process as well. The second myth has to do with terminology. Some argue that inbound and content marketing are at odds. They are opposite pressures, or, at the very least, one movement is inferior to the other. The terminology vendors, agencies, and consultants use matters only if it resonates with and is perpetuated by the practitioners who listen to them. So we included a question about terminology in the survey, and the response (below) was unambiguous. TOP MARKETING PROJECTS FOR AGENCIES BY GEOGRAPHY International marketing agencies are going "all in" on producing discoverable content 0 5 10 15 20 25 Blog content creation Growing SEO/ organic presence Content distribution/ amplification Longform / visual content creation Interactive content creation Product how-to videos Online tools Freemium trials Webinars % of Respondents Inbound Marketing Projects International Marketing Agencies North American Marketing Agencies In fact, according to the following chart, European marketing agencies are outpacing their North American counterparts when it comes to producing top-of-the-funnel (TOFU) content. Why does this trend merit highlighting? Because as you will see in later chapters, these types of TOFU content positively correlate to ROI.
  • 25. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 25 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CONTENT MARKETING AND INBOUND MARKETING BY DEPARTMENT Front-office professionals, particularly marketers, see content marketing as a subset of inbound marketing Department % of Respondents Marketing Sales Services 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Content marketing is a subset of inbound marketing They are synonyms Inbound marketing is a subset of content marketing The two are fundamentally different Front-office professionals perceive “content marketing” and “inbound marketing” as co-existing, with the former being a subset of the latter. Predictably, the greatest variance is seen with marketers, where the roots for both concepts run deepest. Nearly six of ten marketing professionals consider content marketing to be a subset of inbound marketing, whereas only 10% consider the reciprocal to be true. Reassuringly, 85% of marketers believe the two concepts are related, whereas only 7% conclude the terms are fundamentally different. As a practical matter, what does it mean that content marketing is a subset of inbound marketing? There are a few considerations. First, marketers should think in terms of “and” not “or” when it comes to content and inbound. Success relies on both. Second, content – from a blog to webinars, from email nurturing to customer videos – is one of the levers marketers can pull to drive their inbound engine. Inbound marketers produce greater results and enjoy larger budgets, yet without quality content, the inbound machinery stalls.
  • 26. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 26 How Should I Think About the Inbound/Outbound Balance? Unlike the harmonious relationship between content and inbound marketing, there is discord between outbound and inbound. This conflict is reflected in many of the graphics to follow. Before you can determine what the ideal inbound/outbound balance is for your organization, let’s begin by zooming out to spot patterns in inbound adoption. Most notably, an increasing number of marketers are practicing inbound (below). The number of marketers who state they are practicing inbound rose from 60% last year to 85% this year, while the percentage of marketers who concede they don’t run inbound was nearly halved to 13%. % OF MARKETERS THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING Growth of inbound marketing spiking year over year Year % of Respondents 2013 2014 0 20 40 60 80 100 No, we don't do inbound marketing Yes, we do inbound marketing
  • 27. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 27 Now let’s zoom in a little closer and look at the relationship between budget and inbound marketing practices (chart below). Most organizations are practicing inbound – including more than 80% of companies with an annual marketing budget below $25,000. The concentration of inbound marketers peaks (93%) at companies with a marketing budget between $1M and $5M annually, before dipping moderately (7%) at enterprises with the largest budgets. Taken together the above charts support the notion that failing to practice inbound puts marketers at an unfair disadvantage. Most obviously, it prevents them from realizing the benefits of inbound, but it also leads to them losing ground to competitors that are running inbound programs. While the above charts are useful in understanding how to not lose ground to competition, it’s equally important to identify ways to gain advantage. The secret may reside with your colleagues in sales and services. % OF COMPANIES THAT PRACTICE INBOUND MARKETING BY MARKETING BUDGET Majority of companies practice inbound marketing, particularly large companies Less than $25,000 $25,001 - $100,000 $100,001 - $500,000 $501,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M 80 100 Annual Marketing Budget % of Respondents
  • 28. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 28 The graph above presents encouraging data for companies that are considering doubling down on inbound. It reveals that sales (25%) and, to a lesser extent, services (10%) professionals have begun to employ inbound practices. These colleagues should be seen as extensions of the marketing team – both in terms of championing the inbound philosophy throughout the organization as well as contributing content to the engine that drives the program’s success. Being first to capitalize on willing talent outside of your marketing department could be a major competitive advantage for your company. R&D IT PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT RECRUITING SERVICES SALES MARKETING WHICH DEPARTMENTS IN YOUR COMPANY PRACTICE INBOUND? Inbound is not limited to marketing
  • 29. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 29 For the first time in the past four years, outbound as a primary lead source has dropped, and sharply – from 34% to 22%. Meanwhile, inbound has remained relatively stable, off just 1% from its previous three year average. As a result, in 2014, more than twice as many respondents cited inbound (45%) as their primary source of leads versus outbound (22%). Outbound Inbound PRIMARY LEAD SOURCE BY INBOUND/OUTBOUND Outbound’s loss is inbound’s gain Year % of Respondents 2011 2012 2013 2014 20 30 40 50 Ultimately, all marketing – whether for a B2B software vendor, a consumer products manufacturer, a nonprofit organization, or a consultancy – comes down to the team’s ability to grow revenue. For this reason, attributing new business leads to inbound or outbound practices is one of the most important considerations when determining the balance of inbound vs. outbound activities in your marketing plan. Let’s take a look at the data our survey produced in the area of “lead source.”
  • 30. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 30 Half of marketers across B2B, B2C, and nonprofit sectors ranked inbound as their primary lead source, exceeding the average (42%) of all other channels combined. (See above chart.) The disproportionate impact of inbound is enjoyed most by nonprofits, where inbound (58%) is responsible for procuring nearly twice as many leads as the roll-up of all other channels (31%). Given that nonprofits often face budget constraints, necessity is proving to be the mother of inbound. PRIMARY LEAD SOURCE BY COMPANY TYPE Inbound lead sourcing advantage is greatest for nonprofits Company Type % of Respondents B2B B2C Nonprofit 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Self-sourced leads from sales team Paid media (e.g., PPC, Social Media Ads) Outbound practices (e.g., Cold Calling, TV/Outdoor Ads, Trade Shows, Purchased Lists) Inbound practices (e.g., SEO, Referrals, Social Media, Content/Blog)
  • 31. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 31 What Challenges Should I Anticipate? Regardless of the size of your team or budget, few marketers can afford to be inefficient. Spending time and money implementing flawed programs is the very definition of inefficiency. What are some of the challenges marketers should anticipate as they think through their inbound plans? Here are a few items to consider. With the significant exception of ROI, marketers are overcoming all major challenges (chart above). In fact, ROI is the only challenge cited by more marketers this year than last. The pressure to prove ROI may be mounting – management is likely expecting to see proof of marketing impact now that many pieces are in place. As you will see in the following subsection, although proving ROI is the top challenge, it’s incongruously ranked as a relatively low priority. That unthinkable disconnect needs to be reconciled – if leadership is expecting ROI, marketers need to prioritize its delivery. The below graph, which looks at top marketing challenges by company size, reinforces the universality of the ROI challenge. In fact, the larger the company, the more likely ROI is to be the organization’s top hurdle. TOP MARKETING CHALLENGES BY YEAR Marketers are overcoming many challenges, but ROI remains a hill to climb 2014 2013 % of Respondents Marketing Challenges Training my team Finding an executive sponsor Hiring top talent Targeting content for an international audience Managing my website Securing enough budget Proving the ROI of our marketing activities 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
  • 32. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 32 There are some nuanced differences between small and large companies’ perceptions of marketing challenges. Small companies are more challenged by fundamental needs, like managing their website, whereas larger companies are hampered by more strategic issues, such as hiring and internationalization. Curiously, very large companies – those with more than 1,000 employees – appear to be struggling with issues that can, at least theoretically, be solved with money. For example, enterprises can hire consultants to help them select the right technology or pay a premium for talent, yet they lead all others in ranking technology selection and hiring as their top challenge. Despite the disconnect between marketing challenges and priorities (see next subsection), there is tight alignment between marketing practitioners (manager and below) and marketing leadership (director and above) as illustrated in the next chart. A similar alignment can also be seen in a forthcoming graph on marketing priorities by role. More than 1000 201 to 1000 26 to 200 11 to 25 Less than 10 TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY COMPANY SIZE Smaller companies tend to prioritize lead gen, whereas larger companies prioritize ROI. Few focus on reducing cost per lead/customer Reducing the cost of contacts/ leads/customer acquisition Increasing revenue derived from existing customers Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Converting contacts /leads to customers Reaching the relevant audience Increasing number of contacts/leads 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 % of Respondents Marketing Priorities
  • 33. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 33 This survey question provided an open-text option, allowing respondents to submit their own top challenge. Most centered on the difficulty of producing enough content, which is consistent with anecdotal feedback we hear in the market. Sophisticated funnel-related challenges began to establish a pattern this year. For example, targeted lead acquisition, lead management, lead-to-customer conversion, and even post-sale advocacy peppered the 300+ written responses. Interestingly, the word “mobile” appeared only once. TOP MARKETING CHALLENGES BY ROLE Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders Practioner Leadership % of Respondents Marketing Challenges Hiring top talent Training my team Finding an executive sponsor Targeting content for an international audience Identifying the right technologies for my needs Managing my website Securing enough budget Proving the ROI of our marketing activities 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 OPEN TEXT RESPONSES TO “WHAT ARE YOUR TOP MARKETING CHALLENGES” Unaided emphasis on ‘mobile marketing’ is incredibly low 1 319 MOBILE CHALLENGES OTHER THAN MOBILE
  • 34. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 34 Although the ROI challenge/priority may be asynchronous, some patterns established in the previous challenges charts reappear in the above priorities graph. Specifically, smaller companies tend to focus on immediate, tactical objectives (e.g., generating leads); while larger companies have the resources to tackle more complex initiatives like calculating lead value. Where Should I Spend My Time & Budget? You would think marketing’s challenges would parallel marketing’s priorities, but, according to the below graph, that doesn’t appear to be the case. While ROI tops marketing challenges, the number one marketing priority (according to the below chart) is lead generation (24%) followed by lead conversion (21%). A modest 15% of marketers (across all company size categories) ranked ROI as their top priority. More than 1000 201 to 1000 26 to 200 11 to 25 Less than 10 TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY COMPANY SIZE Smaller companies tend to prioritize lead gen, whereas larger companies prioritize ROI. Few focus on reducing cost per lead/customer Reducing the cost of contacts/ leads/customer acquisition Increasing revenue derived from existing customers Proving the ROI of our marketing activities Converting contacts /leads to customers Reaching the relevant audience Increasing number of contacts/leads 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 % of Respondents Marketing Priorities Either marketers feel they’ve solved mobile or, more likely, mobile hasn’t risen to the level of consideration (at least, not without aided consideration). In either case, marketers need to be thinking more about mobile – to keep pace with those who are, or leave behind those who aren’t.
  • 35. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 35 It’s intuitive that smaller companies would over-index for lead generation. After all, the company’s very livelihood may rest on getting a sufficient number of leads to sales. Large companies, having moved beyond the volatile startup phase, likely consider total lead volume as a lower priority because they’ve already procured enough leads to grow the business. Instead, at this stage on the maturity curve, politics begin to emerge. As a result, we see the rise in importance of prove-your-worth metrics like conversion rates and lead unit economics. Similar to the “Top Marketing Challenges by Company Size” graph, the above graph depicts tight alignment between marketing practitioners (manager and below) and leaders (director and above). The rise of data-driven marketing provides a likely explanation for the extremely low variance in this chart. Unlike marketing that relies on “gut” and instinct, inbound is rooted in data. Unbiased, objective data facilitates alignment by providing marketing leaders and practitioners with a common pool of information upon which to base decision-making and prioritization. Data should be invited to every marketing meeting. After all, art may be subjective; science isn’t. TOP MARKETING PRIORITIES BY ROLE Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders Marketing Priorities % of Respondents Reducing the cost of contacts/ leads/customer acquisition Increasing revenue derived from existing customers Reaching the relevant audience Converting contacts/ leads to customers Increasing number of contacts/leads Proving the ROI of our marketing activities 0 5 10 15 20 25 Leadership Practitioner
  • 36. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 36 Inbound warms leads (chart above). Inbound-sourced leads are consistently more knowledgeable about the company prior to speaking with a rep than leads sourced through outbound means. Because the number of leads can be counted and the quality of leads can be scored, marketers understandably focus on these two dimensions of lead generation. Yet the familiarity a lead has with your company is also an important consideration when readying your marketing plan. In addition to making sure SLA metrics are factored prominently into the marketing plan, there are additional ways marketing can support its primary stakeholder. For example, marketing should make sure prospects are as informed as possible prior to their first interaction with a rep. HOW KNOWLEDGEABLE ARE PROSPECTS ABOUT YOUR COMPANY PRIOR TO SPEAKING WITH SALES? Inbound marketers create more knowledgeable prospects Prospects' Knowledge about Company % of Respondents Very knowledgeable Moderately knowledgeable Somewhat knowledgeable Not at all knowledgeable 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 Primary Lead Source = Outbound Primary Lead Source = Inbound How Should the Sales Team Factor Into My Plans? It is becoming imperative for marketing to factor sales into its plans. After all, sales is the primary beneficiary of marketing’s effort. If sales and marketing are aligned, then many performance metrics – like lead quality, lead volume, even marketing ROI – fall into place much more naturally. In other words, the sales/marketing SLA that opens the door to credibility and the budget that comes with it (see “Budgets” chapter) is only achievable if sales is a forethought, not an afterthought, in the planning process.
  • 37. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 37 The below graph suggests that “good things happen” when marketing partners with sales. The presence of an SLA correlates to greater involvement by marketing in sales software selection. Forty nine percent is a key figure: 49% of companies with an SLA involve marketing in sales tech selection process; 49% of companies without an SLA do not involve marketing in this process. Why is it advantageous for marketing to play a role in sales software selection? Because marketers need to make certain the technology sales selects facilitates its ability to process the data required to demonstrate results. The notion of integration – specifically, the integration of sales and marketing software – was a prominent theme in the open-text feedback to a question about technology selection. The solution is refreshingly simple: Having a say in sales starts with an SLA. DOES MARKETING INFLUENCE SALES SOFTWARE SELECTION? Companies with a sales/marketing SLA are more likely to involve both groups in sales software selection SLA % of Respondents SLA No SLA 0 10 20 30 40 50 No, no Marketing influence Yes, Marketing influence WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?
  • 39. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 39 Where Do the Best Leads Hide? Inbound marketers are finding leads where outbound marketers aren’t. According to the below graph, 84% of inbound marketers – compared to only 9% of outbound marketers – cite organic, top of funnel sources (social media, blogs, SEO) as rising in importance. Implementing inbound is like skiing: It’s the perpetual state of gaining, losing, and regaining your balance – often in rapid succession. Inbound isn’t riding a bike; coasting isn’t an option. The “set and forget” mentality is rarely rewarded in inbound, because inbound is about constantly reallocating your resources based on performance. Because the best inbound programs are nimble, there’s no magic formula for success. Or, more accurately, today’s magic formula might not be so “magic” tomorrow. There’s no inbound-equivalent of the popular 4-1-1 Twitter “rule.” When executing your inbound program, it’s best to start with what’s worked for others, and then recalibrate based on performance feedback. EXECUTING FOR INBOUND WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) Outbound marketers are placing minimal importance on core inbound channels Lead Source % of Respondents Social Media Blogs SEO Email Marketing PPC Trade Shows Traditional Advertising Direct Mail Telemarketing 0 20 40 60 80 100 Outbound Marketers Inbound Marketers
  • 40. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 40 In fact, it appears the only lead source valued equally by inbound and outbound marketers is email. The graph below compares how marketing and sales professionals view the importance of different sources of leads. Notably, sales professionals (61%) are nearly seven times more likely to value organic, top of funnel sources than outbound marketers (9%). WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) Sales gravitates toward outbound channels whereas marketers lean inbound Lead Source % of Respondents Social Media Blogs SEO Email Marketing PPC Trade Shows Traditional Advertising Direct Mail Telemarketing 0 20 40 60 80 100 Sales Professionals Marketing Professionals As you might expect, the chart above shows that sales professionals still index higher than marketers when it comes to outbound lead sourcing techniques like tradeshows, direct mail, and telemarketing. But next to email, the three most important lead sources for reps are all decidedly inbound – social media, SEO, and blogs. Salespeople “get” inbound (often better than outbound marketers do), and as the inbound methodology becomes more deeply entrenched in sales, there’s likely to be even less variance between the two groups.
  • 41. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 41 WHICH LEAD SOURCES HAVE BECOME MORE IMPORTANT (OVER LAST 6 MONTHS) Small companies had a head start at inbound; large companies are closing the gap 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 Lead Source % of Respondents Social Media Blogs SEO Email Marketing PPC Trade Shows Traditional Advertising Direct Mail Telemarketing More than 200 Employees Less than 200 Employees Pivoting the same question [“Which lead sources have become more important (over last 6 months)?”] by company size (chart above) reveals something noteworthy: There’s minimal variance between smaller companies and larger ones, suggesting inbound isn’t a “big company” or “small company” priority. It’s not the size of the company that shapes inbound priorities, but rather the outlook of the marketing team. It’s universal.
  • 42. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 42 What Projects Promise the Greatest Return? When venture capitalist Byron Deeter wrote, “If your sales and marketing teams are rational, quantitative, and have metrics in place, then on average the next dollar they spend will go to something that performs slightly worse than the dollar they spent before it – or their existing budgets are poorly allocated,” he was cheering the hyper-efficiency made possible by data-driven marketing. So what are the “first dollar” projects that deliver peak value? Certainly they vary by industry, but below is a snapshot of the projects high performers (vendors and agencies that drove greater year-over-year inbound ROI) prioritize. TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS High performing agencies and vendors doubled down on projects with the greatest ROI Blog content creation Growing SEO/ organic presence Content distribution/ amplification Longform/visual content creation Interactive content creation Product how-to videos Online tools Freemium trials Webinars 0 5 10 15 20 25 Inbound Marketing Projects % of Respondents High Performers Vendors Agencies High performers prioritize projects designed to help get the company and its content discovered. This pattern holds for both agencies and vendors. When considering which tactics to employ to establish or accelerate your inbound program, data would suggest blogging, SEO, and content distribution.
  • 43. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 43 B2B and B2C companies tend to prioritize the same inbound tactics (see above), but with a few minor exceptions. B2B companies appear to place a higher value on educational formats (like webinars), whereas consumer businesses are slightly more willing to experiment with advanced digital formats (interactive content, online tools). The below graph, which visualizes Top Marketing Projects by Role, shows even tighter alignment. Similar to the earlier charts that segmented inbound challenges and priorities by role, marketing leaders and practitioners are closely aligned around which tactics to prioritize. Again, data-centricity is likely at the heart of this alignment. TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY COMPANY TYPE B2B companies prefer educational formats, whereas B2C companies prioritize engaging digital formats B2C B2B % of Respondents Inbound Marketing Projects Blog content creation Longform/visual content creation Interactive content creation Content distribution /amplification Webinars Online tools Freemium trials Product how-to videos Growing SEO/ organic presence 0 5 10 15 20 25 TOP INBOUND MARKETING PROJECTS BY ROLE Strong alignment exists between marketing practitioners and leaders % of Respondents Inbound Marketing Projects Blog content creation Longform/visual content creation Interactive content creation Content distribution /amplification Webinars Online tools Freemium trials Product how-to videos Growing SEO/ organic presence 0 5 10 15 20 25 Practioner Leadership
  • 44. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 44 Who Should Create My Content? Content – blog posts, distributed broadly, and written to drive organic search results – tops the inbound projects lists for all segments (high performers, large/small companies, leaders/practitioners). Content is the lifeblood of inbound. Given its importance, the next logical question is, “Who should create our content?” Again, let’s begin at the end – with a look at how high performers address the issue. While internal authors – namely staff and executives – correlate to the highest ROI, they also happen to correlate to the lowest ROI. Why? Because every company that publishes content creates at least some of it internally. Few if any companies outsource all of their content creation. So instead of looking for guidance in the size of the bars for each segment, let’s instead zoom in on areas of change, specifically who created content for companies that enjoyed a lift in year over year ROI: guests and freelancers. WHO CREATES CONTENT BY ROI Guests, freelancers key to ROI improvement 0 10 20 30 40 50 Staff Executives Guests Freelancers Agency partner Writing panels Curation Content Creators % of Respondents Lower ROI than the previous year Greater ROI than the previous year
  • 45. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 45 It’s likely that guests and freelancers correlate to increased ROI because inbound success relies as much on content volume as it does on quality. Unless a company is producing a steady stream of (quality) content, the audience it earns will begin to decay. Guests and freelancers are relatively inexpensive sources of content. Procuring content from these groups allows companies to scale output while simultaneously increasing the marketing team’s capacity for measurement and optimization. The above chart is intuitive. Given resource constraints, smaller companies tend to produce more of their own content, whereas larger budgets allow enterprises to source content from specialists and agencies. Given that small company executives (19%) are more likely to produce content than large company leadership (12%), it’s possible for smaller companies to win the quality battle. Writer panels, like NewsCred, Contently and others, barely registered any responses. Again, as quality rises in importance, these types of organizations could emerge as a desirable option given that they combine the benefits of freelancers with a layer of vetting and management. WHO CREATES CONTENT BY EMPLOYEE COUNT Smaller companies are more likely to create content internally Content Creators % of Respondents More than 1000 Less than 200 Staff Executives Guests Freelancers Agency partner Writing panels Curation 0 10 20 30 40 50 WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?
  • 47. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 47 When it comes to inbound, measurement is the alpha and omega. It’s the first step in developing a plan and the last step in determining results. This is why data is such a central component of the inbound machine. As you can see in the below chart, that you measure your marketing is nearly as important as what you measure. Incredibly, marketers that measure inbound ROI are 17 times more likely to see the same or greater ROI over the previous year (chart above). It’s likely that selection bias is impacting the data. After all, higher performing marketers are more likely to measure results, thus they are also more likely to drive growth. Nevertheless, there’s a strong correlation between simply measuring ROI and achieving it. Marketers that are not currently measuring ROI should begin immediately, because eventually they will need a baseline against which to establish year-over-year performance. MEASURING INBOUND INBOUND ROI IMPACT YEAR OVER YEAR Inbound marketers that measure ROI are enjoying major impact Inbound Marketing ROI % of Respondents Greater ROI than the previous year Lower ROI than the previous year About the same as the previous year 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
  • 48. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 48 Given the relationship between measurement and performance, it’s encouraging to note the rise in marketers tracking ROI (see chart above). The percentage of marketers measuring ROI rose by a modest 3% over 2013; however, the percentage of marketers admitting they don’t measure ROI is down by 12%. Before we get too excited about this pattern, it’s worth noting that the image isn’t quite as rosy as it might seem. Marketers are still struggling to calculate return. Only slightly more than half (53%) are measuring ROI, which means that simply measuring ROI – regardless of your results – automatically puts you in the upper half of the profession. Now let’s raise the bar back to where it belongs: results. Which sectors are improving ROI? INBOUND ROI MEASUREMENT YEAR OVER YEAR Slightly more inbound marketers tracking ROI Do you measure inbound ROI? % of Respondents We measure ROI We don't measure ROI 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 2014 2013
  • 49. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 49 INBOUND MARKETING ROI BY COMPANY TYPE Companies of all types enjoying greater ROI from inbound Inbound Marketing ROI % of Respondents Greater ROI than the previous year Lower ROI than the previous year 0 10 20 30 40 50 B2C Nonprofit B2B According to the chart above, inbound ROI is up for everyone, in particular nonprofits. This data reinforces an earlier graph (see “Primary Lead Source by Company Type” in the Planning for Inbound chapter) that revealed nonprofits source nearly twice as many leads via inbound channels as all other channels combined. Given nonprofits’ success at inbound lead generation, it’s natural that they would also outperform B2B and B2C companies in ROI growth. In the introduction to this report, we established that inbound is 20% more likely to be the primary lead source for agencies than it is for the aggregate of all vendors. Therefore, agencies should outperform vendors in terms of inbound ROI just as nonprofits eclipse B2B and B2C organizations. Let’s look at the chart below, which compares the inbound ROI of agencies to vendors.
  • 50. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 50 Indeed the pattern is consistent: Organizations that source more leads through inbound tend to enjoy an ROI advantage. AGENCIES VS. VENDORS Marketing agencies are generating greater inbound ROI than all others % of Respondents Industry Vendors Agencies 0 10 20 30 40 50 Greater ROI than the previous year
  • 51. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 51 But what is driving inbound ROI? What single activity is most commonly associated with success? We looked at each inbound practice to find the one that had the strongest correlation to positive ROI and found that marketers who emphasize blogging are 13 times more likely to have increased ROI year over year. Clearly ROI is marketing’s ultimate goal. But to increase return, marketers need to improve performance of all initiatives that contribute to ROI. Although there are no universal funnel (e.g., how much should leads at different funnel stages cost) or budget (e.g., what size budget is appropriate for companies of different sizes) benchmarks, readers of previous “State of Inbound Marketing” reports have asked for deeper insights into how their fellow marketers perform at each buying stage. We asked a series of questions to help readers compare their funnel metrics to others’. We collected data on cost per lead and cost per customer, as well as website, blog, email, and landing page conversion rates. This effort, however, led to a single, unambiguous conclusion: Too few marketers can report reliably on the unit economics of their funnel to justify including much of the data in this report. For example, there’s simply no way marketers, on average, are converting 9% of their blog visitors into prospects. THE IMPACT OF BLOGGING ON INBOUND ROI Marketers who have prioritized blogging are 13x more likely to enjoy positive ROI 13x We did find that leads sourced through inbound practices are consistently less expensive than outbound leads, regardless of company size. Below is a graph that looks at cost per lead for North American B2B companies. The absolute costs are less important than the relative cost between inbound and outbound leads.
  • 52. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 52 The information gathered on budgets is more reliable. The graphic below illustrates the most popular budget range for companies of various sizes. If your budget is a below-norm outlier, this data may be a useful catalyst for discussion with your executive team. (Conversely, if your budget is an above-norm outlier, you may wish to discard this page, immediately.) AVERAGE COST PER LEAD BY COMPANY SIZE Inbound leads are more cost-effective for North American B2B companies of all sizes 1-25 51-200 1,000+ $37 $102 $70 $220 $27 $45 Inbound Outbound TYPE OF COMPANY COMPANY SIZE MARKETING BUDGET Budgets are most variable for mid-size companies More than 1000 201 to 1000 26 to 200 11 to 25 Less than 10 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Less than $25,000 $25,001 - $100,000 $100,001 - $500,000 $500,001 - $1M $1M - $5M More than $5M # OF EMPLOYEES BUDGET WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?
  • 54. HUBSPOT • State of Inbound • 2014 54 HubSpot fielded our 2014 State of Inbound Survey between 10:00 AM EST on June 25, 2014 and 5:00 PM EST on July 15, 2014. The survey was administered online, where 6,432 respondents started the survey and 3,570 completed it. To see the exact demographic breakdown of the completed survey respondents, please reference the Audience Composition graphic in the first chapter. The sampling method was a voluntary sample with the incentive being a chance to win one of ten available Beats Solo2 On-Ear Headphones. The audience was solicited through the following promotional channels: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Paid & Email. Participation in the State of Inbound Survey Giveaway was subject to ‘HubSpot’s “State of Inbound 2014” Survey Sweepstakes - Official Rules’ available here - http://hubspot.com/state-of-inbound-survey-sweepstakes-terms-conditions. Executive Sponsor: Mike Volpe Author: Joe Chernov Survey Creation: Abhinav Arora / Joe Chernov / Sara Davidson Survey Implementation: Abhinav Arora Data Analysis: Joe Chernov / Sara Davidson Chart Design: Doug Stone Report Design: Tyler Littwin Site Design: Anna Faber-Hammond SURVEY METHODOLOGY About the Team WANT TO USE A STATE OF INBOUND DOWNLOAD ALL OF THE GRAPHS HERE CHART IN YOUR NEXT PRESENTATION?