Inbound Marketing
Attracting prospects by publishing material they seek out, rather than by interrupting them.
Why it compounds
Outbound spend produces results while it runs and stops when it stops. Published material that ranks continues producing without additional spend, so the cost per lead falls over time while an advertising channel's rises with competition.
What it requires
Patience and consistency more than budget. Inbound programmes are usually abandoned in the window between the investment and the return, which is long enough that the decision to stop always looks locally rational.
The honest expectation
RELATED TERMS
Top of Funnel (TOFU)
The awareness stage, where a prospect becomes aware of a problem or a category rather than a product.
Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL)
A lead that marketing considers ready for sales attention, according to a definition both teams have agreed. Without that agreement it is a marketing activity metric wearing a pipeline costume.
Attribution
The methodology connecting marketing touchpoints to revenue outcomes, so investment can be allocated on evidence rather than on preference.
Demand Generation
The discipline of creating awareness and interest in a category and a product, as distinct from capturing demand that already exists.
Learn how to apply this: RevOps 101: Revenue Operations Foundations
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