It’s time to consider just what your latest business lead is costing you. The days of traditional advertising means are clearly changing and you don’t want to miss the boat, and the prospects! Take a look at your marketing budget and see where YOU are spending your advertising dollars.

Outbound marketing used to be the norm for building a brand, advertising your company or getting the word out about your business. Cold calling, email list rentals, yellow page ads, direct mail, and events like trade shows used to be the mainstays in most organization’s marketing strategy. If you are still using these types of lead generation tactics, don’t panic…just reconsider. These strategies are not bad, but alone are no longer going to get the job done in today’s web based economy.

Consider your companies INBOUND marketing strategy. Consumers are smart and know where to look for the products, services and information they want. By employing some inbound marketing strategies to your business, you will see those leads begin to come to you and your cost-per-lead numbers begin to drop. If you are not using marketing techniques like Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Social Media networking, blogging, or opt-in email lists you are truly missing out. Any business with a website must be using inbound marketing to get the consumers attention and raise their conversion rates.

Consider these facts. Studies have shown that businesses that use inbound marketing strategies are spending around 60% less per lead with blogging being one of the most cost effective ways for lead generation. Nearly half of direct mail that is sent is not even looked at.

If you are not investing in any inbound marketing strategies for your business, now’s the time to make that change. Don’t try to dive in all at once as the inbound marketing options are many. Get some advice and figure out where the best place to start for your company might be. Inbound marketing takes time and effort and over time can take your business to places you never imagined it might go.