Halligan's final prediction on the future of inbound marketing strategy started with a discussion on search, but he believes that's only one example of a larger growing trend toward aggressive, growthdriven companies being favored over risk-averse, defensive companies.

A new Google Glass user, Halligan pointed out that when he uses Google Glass to search, the results simply return the answer to his question, not just a list of search engine links.

I think there's a massive shift going on," said Halligan. A shift from results that merely include a list of links to a search tool that gives you the answer, "and they're going to get better and better at that over time."

This shift comes with a warning though, Halligan noted. In the future, if Google doesn't pick your company or brand as the answer to a user's question, then you're invisible and it will be too late to change that.

Your company needs to be building links, making social media connections and letting the world (and Google) know that you're out there offering a relevant answer to the world's questions. Otherwise, you're going to be left behind.

"The Internet flattens the marketplace and rewards the company that truly delights their customers." And delighting customers is what Halligan believes makes all the difference, noting that when customers are happy, a company's reputation increases all across the web.

"It's the Yelp-ification of everything," said Halligan, using the popular review and ratings site as an example. "Everything is going to be rated, everything's going to be flat. Every doctor, [every car dealer, every cable provider] every company, and none of them can hide. You have to delight your customers or you're in trouble."

Halligan pointed out that even employers are receiving ratings now via sites like Glassdoor, so delighting employees becomes as essential as delighting customers .

Reflecting on how much has changed in the past few years, Halligan notes that it's much harder for companies to remain in control and operate defensively.

"It didn't used to be that way," Halligan mused. "You could pay your way through, you could advertise your way through and it didn't matter if you didn't delight your customers - you could fool them with TV ads. You can't do that anymore."

Halligan referenced a study that looked at companies on the Fortune 500 list from 1984 to 1994. In those 10 years, the list experienced about a 20 percent churn rate of some companies being added while others dropped off due to poor performance. The same study, conducted from 2003 to 2013, had shockingly different results: The Fortune 500 list for those years experienced an 80 percent churn rate, which Halligan attributes to increased competition via the Internet.

So what does this all mean for the future of marketing strategy? While many business leaders might find those statistics troubling, Halligan sees them as an opportunity for growth and a new approach to marketing strategies. "I think selling, marketing and servicing in a new way, is the way you disrupt," said Halligan.