How Much Does Inbound Marketing Cost for a Professional Service Firm?

Answer: It could be a lot less – or a lot more –than you think.

The other day I was talking to the marketing partner at a fairly good sized accounting firm about moving them into an inbound marketing strategy. We had gotten past all of the incredibly sound reasons and benefits of going inbound and then out came the inevitable question: how much does it cost?

“So, isn’t stuff like LinkedIn and Twitter free?” he opined (after all, I was talking to an auditor), “And can’t we just put our company brochure up on the website to generate leads? And our partners can write the blog and whitepapers to cut down costs. That doesn’t cost anything, right?”

Hoo, boy, I thought, it’s time for THE TALK.

Inbound Marketing is NOT free.

Well, that plopping sound you hear is the bursting of another bubble of a partner looking for a cheap, quick and hands free way to get new business. Reality check: there are a lot of moving pieces to inbound marketing, all of which come at some price.

It some cases, it may be possible to shift or eliminate budget from traditional marketing tactics, but if you are moving into an inbound marketing strategy, you need infrastructure, tools, technology and resources to make it happen.

Source: The Moz Blog, “Inbound Marketing Attracts Millions from Google, Salesforce and Sequoia

I can’t emphasize enough that we’re talking about a fundamental shift in the way you market the firm and develop new business. Firms that fail at inbound marketing do so because they try to wedge an inbound program on top of the firm’s current marketing program, instead of replacing what doesn’t work and adding new resources. The poor marketing staff becomes overtaxed (another accounting reference!) and overburdened as they try to juggle the not inconsiderable demands of inbound marketing on top of their current responsibilities.

That just doesn’t work. Just as you’ve got to break eggs to make an omelet, you’ve got to put money and resources into inbound marketing to make leads.

Are You Asking the Right Question? Objectives. Strategies. Tactics. Costs.

The most fruitful discussion about the costs of inbound marketing starts with a discussion of the firm’s objectives and strategies. How much in new business dollars do you need to get from your digital marketing efforts? How does that translate into numbers of website visitors, leads, pitches and closed deals?

Realizing an objective of $5 million in sales is going to take more money and resources than, say, a $500k sales objectives. It’s not only that a bigger objective is going to take more time; it’s also a matter of using more combinations of different strategies and tactics.

Maybe the question isn’t “how much does it cost”, but “how much should we invest?”

What Drives Costs in an Inbound Marketing World?

After planning work is done and specific strategies and tactics have been identified, the biggest cost drivers of inbound marketing are: (1) the amount of surgery you need on your website to get it ready for inbound marketing; (2) the technology and infrastructure you’ll need to purchase, like a subscription to HubSpot; (3) the mix of digital strategies and tactics needed to reach the goal, and (4) how much of your inbound marketing will be done in house or through consultants and other hired hands.

 “It Depends”

I’d be willing to be that there’s been a time or two – or ten – when a prospect has asked you a question about your fees, and you’ve replied, “It depends”.

So that’s how I answer the question when queried, because there’s so many variables involved in developing, launching and maintaining an inbound marketing program. But I can firmly say that it’s difficult to pinpoint costs until an inbound marketing plan is developed – a plan that starts with identifying objectives, and then moves to identifying the strategies and tactics for realizing those objectives.

It just may be that at the end of the day, an inbound marketing program won’t deliver the ROI that you’re seeking from your marketing spend. That means it’s back to working the referral and networking scene, and teaching those reluctant rainmakers in the firm the soft skills of “listening” and “finding prospect pain”.

Hoo, boy. How’s that worked out for you so far?