10 Rules of successful inbound marketing

Dave Macken and Tim Nichols from Proxi - a team of CMOs working with Kiwi SaaS companies share practical insights on building an inbound engine that pays back. They cover when inbound fits, how to get found, what makes a website convert, the martech you actually need, and how to scale demand without wasting budget. It’s a straight-talking session for founders focused on results.  

Key themes include:

1. Validate the problem
   “Not every idea is a business.” If the problem you solve isn’t both significant and frequent, inbound will struggle. 

2. Get found!
   Start early, build personas beyond budget holders; include the influencers who feel the pain. Use Google Ads to learn what converts, then double down on SEO.

3. Make your website do the work
   Build the site last, after you’re crystal clear on positioning, differentiators, features/benefits and competitors. Keep domain choices simple and literal; match company and URL where possible.

4. Martech stack and leadership metrics
   You can’t scale inbound without tech including SEO tools, a fast CRM + marketing automation and website intelligence to see who’s engaging. Make CRM the single source of truth and drive adoption across the team. Focus senior leadership team dashboards on a few headline metrics: traffic, CTA engagement, visitor→lead and visitor→customer conversion, and lead quality.

5. Social media, gating and brand for long-term demand
   Social’s job is reach, moving people from anonymous/low intent to known/high intent over time. Don’t judge it only on immediate leads and “don’t gate demo videos.” Invest in your brand to grow branded search and click-through; SEO alone won’t make you a household name, so layer in other channels over time.

Key takeaways:

• Pressure-test problem–market fit before scaling inbound.

• Start keyword research now; map personas and target long‑tails.

• Rebuild your site only after positioning is set; use clear CTAs and optimise for speed.

• Stand up a practical martech stack and review a simple dashboard weekly.

• Treat social media as an audience building tool; keep most content ungated and consider email‑to‑download for premium assets; invest steadily in the brand.

Watch the full discussion and explore these insights in depth.