.
“People shop and learn in a whole new way compared to just a few years ago, so marketers need to adapt or risk extinction.“
– Brian Halligan
What is Inbound Marketing?
The old ways of marketing are gone. Outbound sales techniques come off as too aggressive and put people on edge. Cold calls either end with voicemails or annoyed leads. Today’s customers want and expect their interactions with businesses to be impactful and artfully done — not disruptive and outdated!
Thanks to the sheer amount of information online, potential customers can discover products, services or competitors at their own pace; without the aid of a sales person. Rather than waiting for you to reach out, leads research their options on their own and often make decisions about what they need long before they contact you. Inbound marketing addresses the independent, inquiring nature of modern, informed customers by providing focused, helpful information at the right time, in the right place.
Combining several marketing techniques, methods and platforms into a scientific process for engagement, inbound marketing creates an avenue for your content to be found and proactively address your customer’s questions and problems. Whether your industry has fully embraced this approach or is just coming around to it, customer-focused marketing is the way to differentiate, build customer loyalty and become irreplaceable. If done correctly , it also drives more traffic, converts more leads and closes more deals.
Successful inbound marketing includes a range of different types of content. In fact, a variety ensures you’re reaching leads at different points of the buyer journey, giving them resources they need, and allows them to experience your expertise in different ways. This can include:
By sharing these resources through an inbound marketing approach, businesses can prove their expertise and earn the trust of potential customers. If you address the specific needs of your different types of buyers (also known as buyer personas), you can position your business as the perfect, irreplaceable solution to your customer’s problems.