--- title: "The Inbound Bubble: What it is, Why it’s Happening, and How You Can Overcome It.  Or “You can go down with the ship - or not - the choice is yours.”" description: If you’re not ready for the collapse of the inbound bubble, it could destroy your business. Learn how to avoid that. image: https://blog.maxtraylor.com/hubfs/blog_post_images/bigstock-sinking-ship-in-the-sea-18767774.jpg --- [![Content Marketing Blueprint](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Logo/cmb-logo-2017.png?width=140&name=cmb-logo-2017.png "Content Marketing Blueprint")](http://contentmarketingblueprint.com/) ## [Research as a Service: Selling the 3 Most Important Packages of Information](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/research-as-a-service-selling-the-3-most-important-packages-of-information) **Max Traylor** | Jan 8, 2018 9:11:56 PM **“A failure to plan is a plan for failure.”** ### [The Inbound Bubble: What it is, Why it’s Happening, and How You Can Overcome It.  Or “You can go down with the ship - or not - the choice is yours.”](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/sample-post-2) - [**](https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.maxtraylor.com%2Fcmb-blog%2Fsample-post-2) - [**](https://www.twitter.com/share?url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.maxtraylor.com%2Fcmb-blog%2Fsample-post-2) - [**](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/sample-post-2) [All Posts](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/all) # The Inbound Bubble: What it is, Why it’s Happening, and How You Can Overcome It.  Or “You can go down with the ship - or not - the choice is yours.” - [Tweet](https://twitter.com/share) We’ve recently seen “bubbles,” or sharp rises in value followed by drastic depreciation, in several popular industries. In the digital marketing world, we’re seeing another example of this economic phenomenon: The inbound services bubble. And whether you realize it or not, we’re already in the midst of the crash: If you’re not already looking for ways to mitigate its impact, you are running out of time. **What is it?** To put it simply: Because of the skyrocketing popularity of digital marketing, the inbound space is unsustainably crowded. New agencies and marketing consultants pop up every day, and the increased quantity of all these providers means the bubble is already popping: When was the last time you were able to raise your prices for services like blog posts or graphic design? Further, even while prices drop, competition grows. One of our CMB community members reported that 40% of one of his client’s online form submissions, intended to be for new customers, were from other agencies looking to poach the business.   **Why did the bubble happen?** There are 3 main reasons for the inbound services bubble (and resulting price drop): - **A technology explosion**: HubSpot is one of only [around 5,000](http://chiefmartec.com/2017/05/marketing-techniology-landscape-supergraphic-2017/) other marketing automation platforms that have exploded onto the scene in recent years. - **An expansion of the freelance labor force**: More and more companies are outsourcing marketing services tasks to low-cost international freelancers, who can charge a fraction of what someone in the western world would and still make a comfortable living. - **The rise of outsourcing** - Many U.S. corporations remember the painful layoffs of the recession and are still reluctant to add new full time jobs, especially when they could outsource to authoritative, successful performers. Deloitte says that today’s companies aren’t just outsourcing for cost savings - they are looking to [outsourcing as a way to drive innovation. ](https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/pages/operations/articles/global-outsourcing-survey.html) **How can I overcome the bubble?** Put simply: Instead of selling the same commoditized services as everyone else, you have to sell a unique business process - a strategy - that can get results for your clients. By selling a process or a strategy instead of a commodity, you can take your business out of the race to the bottom for inbound services. During the industrial revolution, the most successful and highly-paid professionals were the ones who created new business processes, not the employees who performed the work. You can either be a “factory worker” who provides an easily replaced, commoditized service, or you can pioneer new processes to capitalize on the true opportunity. Looking for more info on how to survive the inbound bubble? [CTA] ![Max Traylor](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/f10b95c08b2a0f4f02cab39ac4e3a7b6) ###### ABOUT THE AUTHOR | Max Traylor Max Traylor helps brilliant people turn their unique knowledge into repeatable systems (productized) consulting services, seeing value in others they cannot see for themselves. He has fallen in love with helping sales and marketing consultants discover what their knowledge is really worth: define it, package it and use it to improve their professional lives. Max has proven it's possible to move from selling commoditized services to selling proven strategies. The consultants he works with stand out from the competition, increase personal income and deliver value more efficiently to their clients. ![](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/2558854/hubfs/DreamPack/letter%20Icon.png?t=1496817989590&width=86&name=letter%20Icon.png) ## Subscribe Subscribe now and receive a box filled with hand-picked awesome items ** #### Subscribe to our newsletter [![Contact](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1746989/fe483ef5-fbe3-4587-b806-9ede5fcff173.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1746989/fe483ef5-fbe3-4587-b806-9ede5fcff173) ![](https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hub/2558854/hubfs/DreamPack/A4%20paper%20MM2.png?width=420&name=A4%20paper%20MM2.png) ### Landing Pages: The Do’s and Dont’s Improve your forms, page structure and overall leads. Fusce dapibus [![See Success Stories](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/1746989/2d6c44a9-8afe-41ec-9efb-85e8a4d12589.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/1746989/2d6c44a9-8afe-41ec-9efb-85e8a4d12589) Recent Posts ## [Research as a Service: Selling the 3 Most Important Packages of Information](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/research-as-a-service-selling-the-3-most-important-packages-of-information) #### “A failure to plan is a plan for failure.” It’s a cliche phrase heard in school classrooms all over the world. But as overused as it is, it’s true - i... [Read more](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/research-as-a-service-selling-the-3-most-important-packages-of-information) ## [Competitive Analysis: How to Not Pick a Fight With Goliath](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/competitive-analysis-how-to-not-pick-a-fight-with-goliath) #### Everyone knows the famous biblical story: The young shepherd David battles the fearsome warrior named Goliath, using his wits and cunning to defeat a ... [Read more](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/competitive-analysis-how-to-not-pick-a-fight-with-goliath) ## [Innovate or Die: The Importance of a Unique Content Strategy](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/innovate-or-die-the-importance-of-a-unique-content-strategy) #### To paraphrase the famous author Oscar Wilde: “Be yourself. Every other content strategy is taken.” Of course, Wilde never knew about blogging or nurtu... [Read more](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/innovate-or-die-the-importance-of-a-unique-content-strategy) ## [The 3 Elements of a Strategy and Why You Shouldn’t Sell Deliverables](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/the-3-elements-of-a-strategy-and-why-you-shouldnt-sell-deliverables) #### Napoleon. Rommel. Grant. These men are some of the most successful generals in history, and not always because they had the best equipment or largest ... [Read more](https://blog.maxtraylor.com/cmb-blog/the-3-elements-of-a-strategy-and-why-you-shouldnt-sell-deliverables) ###### © 2018 All Right Reserved.