Is your inbound lead generation strategy ready for Brexit? If you’ve been neglecting it or don’t have one, now is the perfect time to focus your efforts on boosting your company’s sales presence through inbound marketing, with Article 50 looming.
If you’re as bored as we are with hearing ‘Brexit’ then you ain’t seen nothing yet. Article 50 is only days away from being triggered, and we’re beginning to see some serious panic as the reality of the referendum result begins to dawn on the UK.
Lush, for instance, is the latest multinational to hit the panic button, with the company mulling over whether to continue expanding in the UK or commit to Germany. This is due to concerns regarding a possible skills gap and the potential costs of a lack of free movement.
Brexit may be a success, or it may be a catastrophe. Uncertainty has been the biggest impact of the Brexit vote so far; the most irritating thing being that nobody still has any clue what is likely to happen over the next two years, or where we’ll end up.
It’s hard to make solid contingency plans one way or the other from a personal and commercial point of view.
There are some measures that companies can take, though, to improve their stability and increase their chances of success. One such step is integrating a modern inbound lead generation strategy into their sales team to boost the quality of their leads.
It’s a proven marketing strategy that has worked for countless companies, whether they’re part of the EU or not.
Brexit uncertainty is already throwing up theories and possibilities on what may happen in the near and distant future. With the pound collapsing to a 31-year low, many experts believe the UK will again experience a recession.
Since the referendum, businesses have frozen hiring and investing plans, food and petrol prices have risen and home owners have slashed the asking prices on their homes. Worst of all, the price of cocoa has gone up. Talk about being kicked while you’re down…
Despite the uncertainty, inbound marketing and a well-researched inbound lead generation strategy can help add some steel to any sales floor and lay the foundations for potentially serious future business growth.
One story that’s recently emerged post-Brexit referendum revolves around ITV. The company is expected to blame Brexit for a huge drop in advertising sales, its first decline since 2009 representing a 7% dip in sales.
One of the most suspected reasons for this decline is that companies have been cautious to invest in TV advertising with Brexit on the horizon. Another way to look at it is that these same companies may be looking at more interactive and unobtrusive inbound marketing techniques to grow their audience, instead of relying on traditional expensive and disruptive TV ads.
Being in media sales, it’s also likely that the ITV sales floor will rely heavily on outbound calls and other outbound processes to try and attract and nurture leads. Could an inbound lead generation strategy have improved ITV’s results and strengthened their media sales with Brexit looming?
Possibly one of the worst outcomes for the UK in two years’ time would be the prospect of there being no deal at all. Theresa May is threatening to fall back on World Trade Organisation rules if she doesn’t feel negotiations have been as adequate as her Government may like.
It’s a chilling thought with some very real, negative consequences for the British commercial landscape. No matter what happens, though, trade will still happen between the UK and other nations. Terms may be different, but local, national and international markets won’t simply vanish overnight.
It’s also looking increasingly like, no matter what happens in regards to Brexit, that the UK will be aligning with the EU Commission’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to give people across the continent more power than ever before when it comes to handling their own data and allowing firms access to it.
You may know that GDPR is something we’re passionate about. Early last year, we outlined how the introduction of GDPR may be the final nail in the coffin for the traditional call centre and other outbound techniques, which bother people with an unscheduled marketing call when they least expect it.
According to HubSpot, only 17% of marketers believe outbound marketing gives them the highest quality sales leads, while a third of marketers thinkthatoutbound techniques are overrated. On top of this, 31% also believe that paid outbound services are the largest waste of their time and resources.
With Theresa May announcing a tour of the UK before she triggers Article 50 to try and dampen Nicola Sturgeon’s call for a second Scottish referendum, it’s fair to say that the nation has rarely been in a position where it’s so divided, yet worried about its collective future at the same time.
Businesses can’t afford to be distracted by Brexit, though, and CEOs and sales managers also shouldn’t be trying to pin their future growth on an outbound marketing model that’s set to go the way of… well, our legal relationship with the European Union.
Companies can and should be doing more than just holding their nerve as the realities of Brexit bite. By introducing an inbound lead generation strategy to your existing sales efforts, you can better discover and target the people you wish to reach out to through immersive and interactive digital lead generation solutions, which incorporate the best of social media profiling and organic search marketing.
Brands can use inbound techniques to improve their internal and external communications and, most importantly, attract fresh leads and expand into new market. A great inbound growth strategy is transparent with data and constantly evolves with your business as you reach the next stage of growth.
Brexit or not, the future of your company and the performance of your sales floor always has been and will be in your hands. Improving its performance with the right inbound lead generation strategy is the best two fingers up you can give to the sleepless nights Brexit is causing you.
Brands that perfect their inbound lead generation strategy see falling marketing costs, better quality leads, greater client engagement and other benefits that outbound methods simply can’t provide. If you want to know more about inbound lead generation, take a look at our blog 'Everything you need to know about Inbound lead generation.'