Thanks to Steven Covey, we’ve all heard about the 7 principles of highly effective people (and all of the related books, workshops, videos, posters, coffee mugs, and t-shirts this brilliantly marketed franchise has spawned). But when it comes to the principles of inbound marketing, let’s just say t-shirts and posters aren’t flying off the shelves.
Why not? To start with, it’s not because inbound marketing isn’t profitable – because it most certainly is. We’ve experienced incredibly positive results here at Leap Clixx, and our customers nationwide are also reaping the rewards (feel free to check out our testimonials, and browse 100+ inbound marketing success stories over at HubSpot).
Rather, the problem is that many companies – and surprisingly, many marketing agencies and consultants – are failing to abide by all 3 principles inbound marketing. This sacred list includes:
Principles of Inbound Marketing # 1: It’s Not About Selling
The best inbound marketing doesn’t seem like selling – which makes sense, because it’s actually NOT selling. It’s about building relationships, establishing credibility, delivering value, developing trust, and helping the right prospects find the optimal solution. Inbound marketing that attempts to function as a sales team is doomed to fail – because that’s not what it’s supposed to do. Inbound marketing supports the sales team. It doesn’t replace the sales team.
Principles of Inbound Marketing #2: Consistent Excellence is Critical
Baseball players in the Hall of Fame aren’t those that necessarily had the best single seasons, or even handful of seasons. Rather, they demonstrated the rare capacity to be consistently excellent across many seasons – with some doing it for an astonishing 2+ decades.
Companies that pave their path to the Inbound Marketing Hall of Fame – and generate uncommonly high profits along the way -- are those that stick with the program for the long-term. Yes, they make adjustments along the way (just like the best athletes do). But they don’t pull the plug when they don’t get to page 1 of Google within 3 months, or when they don’t generate $100,000 in sales through PPC advertising within a quarter.
Of course, this isn’t to say that inbound marketing results take years to show up. Actually, they can sometimes emerge up within days. But real success is about being consistently excellent over the long haul.
Principles of Inbound Marketing #3: Automate & Adjust
While inbound marketing automates beautifully – truly, it’s enough to make a business process developer weep with joy – the fact is that it’s not a “set it and forget it”thing. Unfortunately however, that’s what many companies mistakenly think -- which is why their campaigns start out with a bang, but then fizzle to a whimper within a few months.
They key to keeping inbound marketing campaigns effective and profitable is to constantly monitor and regularly adjust. This could mean something simple, such as adding new keywords in order to lay claim to smarter, more strategic SEO real estate. Or it could be something more significant, such as developing and targeting new buyer personas (e.g. an office moving company may discover that in addition to reaching out to business owners, that it’s also good strategy to connect with facility managers and furniture dealers).
So yes, automation is a piece of the puzzle. But adjustment is a big piece, too. Companies that don’t have the knowledge or resources to handle the latter are setting themselves up for disappointment.
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At Leap Clixx, we embrace ALL of these inbound marketing principles in our work. Naturally, the tactics and strategies we implement are unique to each customer, and depend on factors such as marketplace, target audience, competition, business objectives, and more. However, these principles remain fundamental – which is what principles are supposed to do, after all!
To learn more, contact us today and schedule your free consultation. For more information on inbound marketing best practices, download our FREE eBook:
Topics: Inbound Marketing
