While there are all kinds of systems, methodologies, approaches and procedures in the marketing world, in essence marketing is a conversation between a business and its target audience. Or rather, it’s supposed to be.Often however, this is either a one-way lecture, or a self-absorbed soliloquy. When it’s the former, a business ends up talking to its audience, rather than with them. And when it’s the latter, a business basically talks to itself (“to sell or not to sell, that is the question….”).
Fortunately, there’s proven way for businesses to ensure that they authentically connect with their current and future customers vs. impose upon or ignore them: bring inbound marketing into the picture.
Here are 4 ways that inbound marketing dramatically improves communication strategy:
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Inbound Marketing Builds Communications Around Customer Wants and Needs
Inbound marketing compels businesses to take a step back from WHAT they want to say, and clarify WHO they reach in terms of buyer personas (demographic and psychographic profiles of key customer groups). This is a much more strategic approach, as all marketing communications — such as emails, blog posts, ebooks, white papers, infographics, and so on — are rooted in what customers actually want and need.
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Inbound Marketing Illuminates the Communication Landscape
It’s rare to find a business — specially a small firm — that exploits full value from all available properties and platforms on the communication landscape. For example, some businesses do a good job of pushing out fresh and targeted content through their active Facebook page, but their blog needs work, and their resource library has said “COMING SOON” for the last two years.
Inbound marketing shines a bright, broad light on the entire communication landscape, so that businesses know where all of their channels and touch points are (or should be), so they can optimize and exploit them accordingly.
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Inbound Marketing Maps the Customer Journey
One of the most common — and also the costliest — communication errors that businesses make is targeting the right content to the right customer, but at the WRONG time.
For example, customers who have just started a relationship are typically looking for information that helps them make a smart and safe buying decision (this is true of both B2C and B2B customers). If these customers start receiving communication that urges them to “buy now,” then they’re likely to exit and head to a competitor who has a better understanding of their current needs.
Similarly, customers who have been on the radar screen for a while are typically looking for information that helps them differentiate brands, while those who are ready to buy often need to overcome practical objections (e.g. risk, cost, etc.).
Inbound marketing maps the customer journey, so that businesses can ensure that the right content reaches the right customers — but at the RIGHT time. And that makes all the difference!
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Inbound Marketing is Data-Driven
Communication executives often dread trying to get more budget — or justifying their current one — because decision-makers want quantifiable numbers, yet all they have to present are qualitative impressions.
Inbound marketing completely changes this. It’s a data-driven approach that reveals what’s working (and should be dialed up) and what isn’t (and should be fixed or eliminated). In fact, there are so many practical metrics and KPIs in the inbound marketing world, that even the finance people will be envious of all the glorious, glorious data.
Learn More
Ready to discover how inbound marketing will dramatically improve your communications strategy? Then contact the Leap Clixx team today. Your consultation with us is free.
For more information on inbound marketing best practices, download our FREE eBook:
Topics: Inbound Marketing
