Inbound Marketing uses strategies that attract the right prospects and customers in ways that do not interrupt their lives. Inbound marketing complements the way buyers make purchasing decisions today – use of the Internet and related media to research prices and features of the products and services that best meet their needs, to find out how other consumers rate products or services.Inbound marketers seamlessly become part of the online conversation, offering their audiences useful information, tools and resources. The objective is to draw their audience to their site, while interacting and developing relationships with customers on the web. Inbound marketing tools include blogging, content publishing, search engine optimization, social media and social networks.
Inbound marketing directly contrasts with traditional outbound marketing since it uses media like telemarketing, direct mail, TV, radio and print. These tools interrupt consumer’s daily routine with their outbound messages, messages that are broadcast out to consumers in the form of ads.
Consumers have built a shield around them to protect them and only choose only to listen to what they want to hear. Some of the ways buyers have behaviorally and technologically tuned these interruptions are listed below:- Switching TV channels to avoid ads,
- Listening to their iPod and not the radio,
- Caller ID to take only those calls they want,
- Email spam protection and so get emails from only those they to.
Inbound marketing on the other hand is far more effective since the media and tools used are all permission based and do not interrupt the lives of the consumers. Consumers choose to be part of this space, be it LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and opt-in email or RSS feed of blogs. Because these are space consumers choose to be in, they are readily engaged and creative marketing messages can be effective in converting leads to clients.
D0 share with us how you block out traditional advertising or outbound marketing.
An interesting analogy with some good insights and advice. Thanks for sharing. If I may, I'd like to expand a little on what you suggest in terms of Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation, or what I call, Inbound Marketing Automation (IMA).
Some people believe that it's a fairly simple process to do what you suggest above and thus purchase IMA tools and systems and implement them. But here's the thing – a fool with a tool is still a fool – a more automated and perhaps faster fool, but a fool nonetheless. The secret – as with anything – is to know what you're doing and how to do it.
So, to achieve real results here's what I would do:
I'd begin with a marketing strategy. May seem “old fashioned” when thinking about Inbound, but unless you know what you are selling, to who, and how and when and where, and something about your competitors and a fair amount about your ideal prospects, your chances of success are not high.
Why? Choosing the right keywords, the ones which you hope your prospects type into Google, begins as a marketing exercise. These keyword phrases are in essence your online brand identity and must be based on the answers to the questions posed above. Armed with this strategy, then, it may be easier for you to think of the Process of using your Inbound Marketing Automation as consisting of 4 sub-processes. Each one focuses on a specific aspect:
1) Attract more visitors to your website through SEO, Social Media Marketing, and, if needed, PPC
2) Engage their attention with industry leading content (website copy, white papers, videos, podcasts). Design this content so that it matches a specific phase of the prospect's buying cycles. This is an essential piece of the puzzle as it's what allows you to use the content when you Nurture people (see below).
3) Convert them by getting their names and email addresses in return for valued content. Grade their profiles (each time they visit ask them a few more questions) and score their digital footprints (their activities on the site), to rack up points. Keep them in your funnel by automatically Nurturing them around their buying cycle, educating them automatically with multi-touch drip email campaigns cultivating them from cold lead to hot prospect.
4) And when their Grade and Score reach your target levels, automatically feed these prospects directly into your CRM and notify the assigned sales rep (based on product or territory or whatever…). Your sales reps will love this part – no more cold calls as they person they call knows them from the emails, and the sales person knows the prospect from his or her Profile and activity on site.
If you would like to know more, our website contains a library of white papers, tools, videos and an extensive glossary, all covering the above in more detail. http://www.inbound-marketing-automation.ca
An interesting analogy with some good insights and advice. Thanks for sharing. If I may, I'd like to expand a little on what you suggest in terms of Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation, or what I call, Inbound Marketing Automation (IMA).
Some people believe that it's a fairly simple process to do what you suggest above and thus purchase IMA tools and systems and implement them. But here's the thing – a fool with a tool is still a fool – a more automated and perhaps faster fool, but a fool nonetheless. The secret – as with anything – is to know what you're doing and how to do it.
So, to achieve reliable results, here's what I would do:
I'd begin with a marketing strategy. May seem “old fashioned” when thinking about Inbound, but unless you know what you are selling, to who, and how and when and where, and something about your competitors and a fair amount about your ideal prospects, your chances of success are not high.
Why? Choosing the right keywords, the ones which you hope your prospects type into Google, begins as a marketing exercise. These keyword phrases are in essence your online brand identity and must be based on the answers to the questions posed above. Armed with this strategy, then, it may be easier for you to think of the Process of using your Inbound Marketing Automation as consisting of 4 sub-processes. Each one focuses on a specific aspect:
1) Attract more visitors to your website through SEO, Social Media Marketing, and, if needed, PPC
2) Engage their attention with industry leading content (website copy, white papers, videos, podcasts). Design this content so that it matches a specific phase of the prospect's buying cycles. This is an essential piece of the puzzle as it's what allows you to use the content when you Nurture people (see below).
3) Convert them by getting their names and email addresses in return for valued content. Grade their profiles (each time they visit ask them a few more questions) and score their digital footprints (their activities on the site), to rack up points. Keep them in your funnel by automatically Nurturing them around their buying cycle, educating them automatically with multi-touch drip email campaigns cultivating them from cold lead to hot prospect.
4) And when their Grade and Score reach your target levels, automatically feed these prospects directly into your CRM and notify the assigned sales rep (based on product or territory or whatever…). Your sales reps will love this part – no more cold calls as they person they call knows them from the emails, and the sales person knows the prospect from his or her Profile and activity on site.
If you would like to know more, our website contains a library of white papers, tools, videos and an extensive glossary, all covering the above in more detail. http://www.inbound-marketing-automation.ca
You are so, so correct Eric. To quote you "a fool with a tool is still a fool – a more automated and perhaps faster fool, but a fool nonetheless" If we are serious about making a success of our business then we must have a business plan that is based on research – the business environment, strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of our business, is there a real need for what we do, who exactly is our target market, who is our competition? etc. Part of that business plan is a marketing plan that details the marketing strategy.
The marketing strategy details how best to reach our target market using the 4Ps – the right product/service, the right price, the right place/distribution network and the right promotion/communication methods. Search engine optimization, Social media and pay per click are merely tools in the overall promotional/communications mix.
If there is very little or no need for what have to offer, no matter how spectacular our marketing strategy, no matter how much money time and effort we pour into our business there will be no 'takers'.