While inbound marketing isn’t rocket science (at least we assume it isn’t), it’s true there are some aspects, concepts, strategies and tactics that have some complexity to them.
For example, while the right training and support makes an automated marketing platform like HubSpot easy-to-use, the technology itself is very sophisticated. And the metrics and analytics to track campaign performance need to be configured properly – or else the results can be misleading, unreliable or just plain wrong.
We could go on with other examples, but the point is a simple one: inbound marketing has a complex side, which should come as a surprise to absolutely nobody.
Inbound Marketing Doesn't Have to be Complex
With that being said, if there’s one thing here at Leap Clixx that REALLY bugs us, it’s when so-called consultants or agencies try and spin inbound marketing into some mysterious, magical force of nature that only a select few adepts could hope to possibly comprehend.
In other words: they want clients like you to believe that inbound marketing is The Force, and they are the hand-picked Jedi Knights who are assigned to keep it energized, safe and free from evil. Yet unlike Jedi Knights who appear to be fine with getting compensated in good karma (or maybe they have a really good commission structure at Disney these days), these consultants and agencies want to be paid in cash for their altruistic acts.
Now, we have absolutely no problem with people wanting and needing to get paid for their skilled efforts. But really, all of this mystique and mystery is unnecessary – because as its core, the fundamental concept of inbound marketing really isn’t that intricate or convoluted. In fact, it’s blatantly simple, and if you strip away all of the technology and tactics, you're left with this:
The Core of Inbound Marketing Explained
Inbound marketing is your business’s way of having relevant, engaging and agreeable conversations with your potential customers, but without actually speaking with or meeting them.
That’s it. That’s the alpha and omega of inbound marketing. If you’re ever on Jeopardy! and the above pops up as the final question, writing down “What is inbound marketing?” will send you home a champion.
Where Traditional Sales Ends and Inbound Marketing Steps In
Of course, the reason you aren’t speaking or meeting (qualified) customers isn’t because you’re uninterested in doing so – because you certainly are; or at least, the eager sales professionals in your business are.
Rather, it’s because there’s simply no feasible way for you to deploy a sales professional to reach out to every prospect who might be interested in your offerings. What’s more, the way today’s B2B and B2C customers behave and think, they wouldn’t want you to do this, anyway. They typically want to start the search process on their own – by reading blog posts, eBooks, Infographics, social media content, newsletters, and so on -- and then move into a deeper engagement via a call or meeting.
Inbound Marketing Gets the Conversation Started
Inbound marketing fully supports this mindset, because as noted above, it’s simply and fundamentally about starting and developing the all-important conversation. That sets the framework and lays the groundwork for the business-customer relationship to spark, grow, and ideally cultivate into a transaction that is a win for both parties.
So the next time a consultant or agency tries to make you believe that inbound marketing is far too complex for mere mortals to understand, feel free to tell them that it’s essentially about having relevant, engaging and agreeable conversations with customers.
And then feel free to send them an invoice.
Topics: Inbound Marketing
