In the dynamic world of marketing and sales, finding the right balance between inbound and outbound strategies is crucial for success.
Tim Cakir, TaskDrive’s CEO joined forces with David Schneider, CEO of Shortlist in a recent webinar titled Cracking the Code: Unlocking Exponential Growth through the Ideal Inbound-Outbound Mix. Throughout their conversation, they explored the significance of both inbound and outbound approaches, the power of integrating the two, and concrete tips and strategies.
Together, they shed light on how these strategies can work together harmoniously to drive revenue growth.
Let’s talk outbound: what strategies work nowadays?
Sure, there is an ongoing recession, but outbound marketing still works! Here’s a quick recap of the outbound strategies Tim and David discussed:
1. Say goodbye to automated personalization
It’s a fact—thanks to automation tools, businesses can “mass-personalize” emails by using placeholders for first name, job title, company name, industry, and so on.
What’s the catch? As more and more companies took advantage of this feature, the more these emails became noise.
They were already considered personalized because they had the first name of the recipient and because they had the company name in the body of the email. However, the content itself was still very much generic. According to Tim, the outbound game has become a game of quantity—with brands sending out 700 to 800 emails a week.
The days of human connection are coming back, and it’s a time to dig deeper and embrace personalization for what it truly is—knowing a person more than just knowing their full name and job title.
2. Do the 5-5-5 Method
The 5-5-5 Method works like this: Take five minutes to find five facts about someone, then take five minutes to write a message to that person.
The overarching concept is really connecting with each individual at a personal level. The easiest way to do research is by Googling the person, then checking their LinkedIn profile or website.
Here are some examples of facts that you can weave into the message:
- You saw their recent podcast or webinar (“Hey, I just listened to [insert name of podcast] that you were a guest in. Something you said really stuck with me…”)
- You came across a recent LinkedIn post of theirs that you wanted to talk more about (I saw your post last week about time management tips, and I actually tried this out last week. I noticed that after I tried it…)
- You saw on their social media that they attended a face-to-face event that you also attended (I saw you attended [name of event] and wow, it was pretty packed! Looking forward to connecting in future events!)
Of course, you won’t be able to send 700 to 800 emails a week with the 5-5-5 Method. One SDR can probably handle around 150 emails a week—but compared to automated emails, these ones are on a much more personal level that will help your business create relationships with potential clients.
3. Implement the Revenue Growth System
The Revenue Growth System was developed by TaskDrive and it involves:
- Lead research – By conducting thorough lead research, you can identify the ideal customer profiles (ICPs) to target
- Pre-targeting – Target or start to zero in on audiences that meet your ICPs
- Website visitor identification – Track and understand who is visiting your website.
Consistent exposure to the brand breeds a sense of familiarity, and these three steps ensure that outreach is more effective since it is not 100% cold.
By consistently presenting the brand to potential customers through various channels, a positive perception of the brand is established before any direct communication occurs.
3 tips for inbound marketing in 2023 and beyond
According to David, “When it comes to inbound, it takes a good investment and time for it to materialize and pay off. Very few people achieve inbound success and traction right away.”
That being said, here’s an overview of the inbound strategies they talked about:
1. Target champions too, not just decision-makers
A lot of businesses create content targeted to decision-makers like CEOs, founders, CMOs, COOs, etc. However, while they have the power to close a deal, they don’t really spend a lot of time lurking on the Internet. That’s why it’s important to create content for those who can influence the decision-makers in some way.
Here’s an example from TaskDrive:
While TaskDrive sells lead research and lead generation services, we also create content for SDRs. This results in the following:
- SDRs tend to find us. Of course, they will not actually buy our services, but they can start discussing with their bosses about potentially getting our lead research services. SDRs need leads, and this will be a win-win situation.
- Companies who don’t know how to manage or support their SDRs find us. Eventually, the conversation starts to include lead research.
To further illustrate the importance of creating content for your champions, these are the three articles from the TaskDrive blog that continuously bring us traffic and leads:
- Work Smarter with these 23 SDR Time Management Tips
- 130+ Sales Statistics to Guide You This Year
- The Complete Cold Calling Guide for SDRs
2. Hone in on what people are looking for
In any marketing strategy, understanding the needs and desires of your target audience is crucial. By honing in on what people are looking for, you can tailor your content to meet what they’re looking for. Some reminders:
- Do research to understand your audience
- Develop high-quality, informative content that addresses their pain points and provides solutions.
- Create content in various forms (blog articles, videos, podcasts, e-books, and case studies). Listicles, especially, tend to work really well because they come across as easy-to-consume content.
- Continue staying in tune with your audience’s evolving needs by actively seeking feedback and monitoring their engagement with your content and campaigns.
- Analyze metrics like website traffic, click-through rates, conversion rates, and social media interactions to gauge the effectiveness of your strategies. Then, adjust and refine your approach as needed.
- Keep your content fresh by updating it every six months or so, especially content with data and statistics.
Currently, there’s a lot of interest in ChatGPT, AI, and prompts. So TaskDrive actually built a Prompt Library (which we’re continuing to populate!) to cater to the demand for this.
3. Find the value in repurposing your content
Content doesn’t have to be confined to one form. One webinar, for example, can be repurposed into an article—such as the one you’re reading right now! Then one article can be repurposed into 10 to 12 snippets to share on LinkedIn or Twitter.
Repurposing content extends the lifespan of the original content and maximizes its reach. One content piece can also be re-framed or re-angled to take on a different style.
For example, here are ten content categories you can work with:
- Actionable
- Motivational
- Analytical
- Contrarian
- Observation
- X vs Y
- Present vs future
- Listicle
- Upcoming week
- Highs and Lows
Inbound vs. outbound: Which one should you go with?
Why choose one when you can use both? The truth is, inbound and outbound strategies must not be seen as separate channels. In fact, combining the two efforts creates a more effective growth campaign.
Some reminders for an effective blend of inbound and outbound:
- While outbound can be used for short-term quick wins, inbound marketing is used for mid- to long-term wins that need to be sustained.
- Start with outbound, but prepare your inbound game beforehand.
- If you’re going to do an outreach campaign for a particular ICP, make sure you have content for them too.
- Align content and messaging across both inbound and outbound channels to create a cohesive brand experience.
By strategically utilizing both strategies, businesses can spark curiosity and interest in potential customers, even if direct responses are not immediately received.
Experience true growth when you fuse inbound and outbound strategies
Here’s something interesting that Tim and David discovered. In Tim’s words, “Shortlist sells amazing services for inbound, and TaskDrive sells amazing services for outbound. Yet, Shortlist grew with outbound, and TaskDrive grew with inbound.”
Incorporating both inbound and outbound strategies is key to driving success and growth. By leveraging the power of inbound marketing to attract and engage your target audience, while also utilizing outbound tactics to proactively connect, you can create a powerful and holistic marketing strategy.
Are you ready to take your revenue growth to the next level? TaskDrive and Shortlist have a close partnership and we often work together to offer our clients comprehensive and effective solutions. Book a free consultation and start your journey toward unlocking your business’s full growth potential.
