If you’ve been listening to those in the marketing circles discuss strategy over the past few years, you’re sure to have heard the term “inbound marketing.” This type of marketing allows you to attract internet users using helpful and interesting content and then to convert them into your own clients by showing them more of what you have to offer. Hubspot contrasts inbound marketing with outbound by explaining that “unlike outbound marketing, inbound marketing does not need to fight for potential customers’ attention. By creating content designed to address the problems and needs of your ideal customers, you attract qualified prospects and build trust and credibility for your business.”
Some examples of inbound marketing techniques are the use of created content on social media, blogging, use of online forms, and CRMs (centralized contact database). These stand in contrast to outbound marketing techniques such as billboards, radio advertisements, print advertisements, and television commercials.
To understand why inbound marketing is the right strategy for your business, see the following six reasons:
1. Inbound marketing is less expensive than traditional marketing strategies.
The cost of an inbound marketing strategy is significantly lower than outbound marketing strategies. Marketing experts at Hubspot point out in a 2017 article that the cost of inbound marketing leads are actually 61% less expensive than outbound marketing leads. According to Hubspot’s report, “The average cost per lead for outbound-dominated businesses was $346. In comparison, the average cost per lead for businesses leveraging primarily inbound techniques was $135.” Why wouldn’t you want a marketing strategy that saves you money while also generating more leads?
2. Inbound marketing offers qualified lead generation.
Compared to outbound marketing, inbound marketing generates 51% more leads, according to the 2015 State of Inbound Marketing Report. However, not only does it generate more leads in general, it also gives you a better, stronger platform on which to convert these leads into genuine clients and customers.
3. Inbound marketing helps you keep the customer as your primary focus.
Inbound marketing focuses on the customer’s needs and interests rather than solely on your business and what you have to offer. Inbound marketing is the wave of the future. Rather than focusing solely on ads that showcase your products and services, inbound marketing allows you to give both a broader and more in-depth look at your company and personnel and allows you to provide information and content that is generally helpful to those interested in companies like yours.
4. Inbound marketing allows you to quickly and easily receive valuable feedback from customers and clients.
When you begin using an inbound marketing strategy, you begin to develop an online community. Within this community, you have the ability to quickly and easily hear from your clients and user base about what they like and dislike about your company and products. This feedback, as Moz puts it, is “pure gold.” They give an example of how this feedback works for them: “Often here at Moz, we will ask our community team to help us understand what our customers really love about our PRO service. We can hear right from them what keeps them happy, and what we can do better. This helps drive our marketing messages and our product roadmaps. Sharing the customer feedback and voice is so important, and the value found in sharing that across multiple teams in the organization is huge.” Using inbound marketing within your company will allow you, also, to hear from your clients and use it to direct where you’re going with your marketing strategy and products and services.
5. Your competition is already using inbound marketing.
Sadly, if you’re not using inbound marketing, you’re already behind. According to the 2015 State of Inbound Report, 84% of small businesses are using inbound marketing! If you’re in the 16% that is not using this strategy, it’s high time that you get on board so that your business isn’t left in the dust. In addition, major businesses such as Google, Salesforce, and Sequoia are investing big bucks into inbound marketing, according to Moz.
6. Inbound marketing allows you to know very quickly when your marketing strategies are working.
According to Moz, “An awesome benefit to doing inbound marketing is the speed in which we can detect if something resonates. Where as before I might have used paid search budget to test an adjective or product description, I can now push out a targeted piece of content and see how the audience responds.” You no longer have to wait on data and analytics to come from long, detailed reports. With most inbound marketing tactics, results are immediately available. These quick results allow you to tweak your strategy to generate even more leads by following what’s working and avoiding what’s not.
Inbound marketing is a great strategy for moving your business forward. Using it can be simple but does require a level of expertise. If you want to discuss your inbound marketing strategy or would like to build a new one, contact the experts at VisionPath Marketing! We are happy to help and offer free consultations.