What can inbound marketing do for you
Increasing your generation of leads by 54% while saving money at the same time? Does that sound appealing to you? Then keep reading. I’ll introduce you to 4 main benefits of inbound marketing. Also, I’ll tell you why you should switch to inbound marketing today rather than tomorrow.
(Read also: All you ever wanted to know about Inbound Marketing)
First things first: What’s inbound marketing?
Per definition, Digital Inbound Marketing “represents the process of reaching and converting qualified consumers by creating and pursuing organic tactics in online settings”. This all sounds a bit stuck up and confusing, doesn’t it? Actually, what marketers are doing when engaging in inbound marketing is the following: instead of forcing their product upon people, they identify those already hunting for an answer and make it easier for them to reach their business.
The opposite of inbound marketing is – you probably guessed – outbound marketing. The latter is also known as traditional marketing in the form of billboards, ads, press releases and so on. Its main characteristic is that it interrupts people in whatever they are doing by trying to catch their attention. However, in today’s digital world, the average customer is exposed to so many outbound marketing distraction attempts on a daily basis that they are, simply put, not effective anymore. They’re actually annoying.
What inbound marketing does on the other hand, is providing the customer with content that is relevant to them because it is either enjoyable (hedonic principle) or valuable (utilitarian principle). Thus, it’s closely associated with the commonly known concept of content marketing and combines the strategies of Website optimization, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Marketing, Email Marketing, Lead Generation, and valuable Content Creation.
Shah first cornered the term inbound marketing in 2005. He coincidentally made a very interesting observation when he created a blog and realized that his website created significantly more traffic than those managed by professional marketers.
This is how I’d summarize the main benefit of inbound marketing: it moves away from creating awareness to creating preferences. Yes, of course, if you see 200 ads of Lipton Ice Tea per week, you will be aware of the product’s existence. But will it be really your drink of choice? On the other hand, let’s say you’re looking up the best Ice Tea brands. And at the same time, you get an email from Lipton linking you to a blog post. They tell you how they use fairtrade methods to harvest their tea and why it is the best possible quality you could ever get. Well, then you might be inclined to try it the next time, wouldn’t you?
Back to the roots
I hope I’ve managed to get you excited about inbound marketing by now. But not too quick! Because for your inbound marketing to work, you need to set your goals and mission straight.
In order for something to be communicated convincingly, it has to be clearly defined and aligned with the rest of your colleagues. Your identity and purpose should be crystal clear to everyone working for your business. Give your marketers something specific to work with that will be able to differentiate you from your competitors.
Only then will your inbound marketing strategy be able to reach its full potential. But what is its full potential exactly, you might wonder by now. Let’s clarify this. There are 4 main benefits of Inbound Marketing.
Inbound Marketing Benefit 1: Generating (more) website traffic and qualified leads
Remember the initial promise of 54% more leads thanks to inbound marketing? Because an inbound marketer studies their customer base, they know exactly which content to expose them to, where and when to show it to them. Of course, the content will be much more relevant that a randomly put-out generic email newsletter that gets moved to the trash immediately after being sent.
Inbound Marketing Benefit 2: Creating brand authority
Ever wondered how you can differentiate from your competitors and stand out? Well, of course you have. But finally, here’s the answer: Personalization. This might sound like old news to you, but as a matter of fact, outbound marketing and traditional advertising containing general messages are still a status quo.
Therefore, you need to be the one relevant and customized email that shows the customer exactly the information they have been hunting for. Then you create a brand authority that will clearly put you on top of the race with your competitors. Facts speak for themselves: 80% of business decision-makers prefer to get information in a series of articles versus in the shape of a traditional advertisement.
Inbound Marketing Benefit 3: Getting more revenue
We thought the solar system was geocentric for the longest time, just like we thought that the customer was an adjacent planet, or simply an outcome or goal of the business strategy system. But as we came to realize that our planet earth, just like our business, is not the center of the universe, so we became aware of the fact that the customer was the central body, energy giver and symbolic sun of a business strategy.
Therefore, the customer should be considered as the central element in a business strategy. The traditional business strategy visualization was in the shape of a funnel with the customer as a result. It has now evolved into a flywheel, where Services, Sales and Marketing are arranged around the customer. Research led by Hubspot has shown that this rethinking can create up to 11.2% more revenue.
In addition to this revenue increase, Inbound marketing also cause a decrease in spending! By targeting specific customers and not just randomly putting out a message, money and resources can be saved. A lot of money: According to Mashable, inbound marketing costs 62% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing.
Inbound Marketing Benefit 4: Enhancing company culture
It gets even better: Inbound marketing not only has great benefits towards external units such as the customer but also company-internal advantages. Having a functional and accessible CRM can enhance the cohesion of your team. Further, it will re-align all employees and enable them to work more efficiently towards the common, clearly defined goal and purpose of your business.
After this hymn of praise dedicated to Inbound Marketing, what is keeping you from implementing it into your business strategy, like, right now? I promise you that, proven to be ten times more effective than traditional outbound marketing, it will convert your business and make it even more successful than it already is today!
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