For the last few years, much of the conversation around inbound marketing has focused on B2B (business to business) companies more than B2C companies. The reason for this is simple: B2B companies typically have long sales cycles that can last for weeks or months, and inbound marketing is exactly what they need to keep customers engaged, informed, and actively moving forward on the sometimes long and winding customer journey.
Of course, the fact that inbound marketing costs a fraction of conventional (“interrupt”) marketing and offers an array of results-based analytics, tracking and reporting options certainly helps!
However, the attention paid to B2B companies has some B2C companies wondering if they, too, can join the inbound marketing movement and reap the rewards. The answer to this question is an unqualified, definitive and very loud YES.
Below, we highlight the 3 reasons why inbound marketing isn’t just good for B2C companies, but is actually a must-have rather than an option:
3 Benefits of Inbound Marketing for B2C Companies
1. Engagement
While B2C customers often (though not always) have shorter sales cycles than B2B customers, they still want to be engaged prior to making a purchase – because they’re not just interested in a short product description and a “buy now” button. They want to forge relationships with businesses that they trust, admire, feel good about, and ultimately to recommend to their family, friends and network. Inbound marketing satisfies this core requirement in the B2C space, just as it does in the B2C space.
2. Branding
The worst thing that can happen to a B2C business is for its products to be perceived as a commodity. Because when that happens, customers focus solely on price, as they have no other way to differentiate offerings between one company and the next. This is a race to the bottom and invariably ends with a “going out of business” sale.
Inbound marketing prevents this nightmare by allowing B2C companies to proactively impress their brand and value propositions in the heads and hearts of their customers. In other words: companies want customers to trust them, and customers want to trust companies. Inbound marketing is the bridge that brings them together, and as noted above, this is just as beneficial in the B2C space as it is in the B2B space.
3. Analytics
Last but not least: B2C companies need analytics to identify much more than “how many hits their website is getting”. They need to know where customers are coming from, where they’re going, how they’re getting there, and where competitors have an advantage.
The back-end of inbound marketing is an extremely potent analytics platform that empowers B2C companies with the insight they need to make better and faster decisions regarding marketing, product development, sales strategies, and more. It’s essentially the same level of analytics that B2B companies access, which is the point: because B2C companies can’t afford to settle for second-rate analytics. It’s either enterprise-grade, or it’s unreliable and therefore dangerous.
The Bottom Line
At Leap Clixx, we help both B2B and B2C companies reap the rewards of inbound marketing. To learn more, contact our team today and schedule your free consultation. We live and breathe inbound marketing, and will help your business take the shortest, most sustainable, and most cost-effective path to ROI.
Topics: Inbound Marketing
