When it comes to marketing, your ability to effectively convert customers, consistently build relationships, AND save your business money is the hallmark of a great marketing strategy, especially in the realm of digital marketing. If you’ve heard the term “inbound marketing” but aren’t quite sure what it is and how it can help your business, keep in mind: it’s all about coming up with creative ways to serve and empower your customers at any stage of their journey. Why? Because your business can’t succeed if your customers don’t.
What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing is a strategic approach to attracting your target audience by supplying valuable content and providing experiences that are tailormade, just for them. Effective inbound marketing forms the connections your target audience is looking for, while giving solutions to problems they already have. These solutions come in the form of several types of content that can be characterized in three stages:
- Attract: drawing in the right people and establishing your business as a trusted advisor with whom your target audience wishes to engage with.
- Engage: giving insight and providing solutions that speak to the interests and pain points of your target audience, so they are more likely to do business with you.
- Delight: providing help and support to empower your customers to find success with their purchases and build long-term loyalty
How Inbound Marketing Works
Now that you know the three stages of inbound marketing and what they entail, you should also know that inbound marketing is dependent upon copious amounts of content; the more high-quality content you have, the more likely you are to attract those who fit within your target audience, nurture leads, and close deals.
Quick Guide to Inbound Marketing Strategies & Tools
Marketing the inbound way means you must implement strategies and tools during each stage that will result in a long-term relationship. Below is a quick reference guide to strategies you can use during each stage and the tools that are associated with each.
| Attract | Engage | Delight | |
| Strategies |
• Creating and publishing content that supply value • SEO strategy |
• Sending emails to customers who fit within your target audience ONLY • Sales calls |
• Thoughtful live chats and surveys that provide support and request feedback • Be responsive on your social media and customers’ social media platforms
|
| Tools |
• Ads • Videos • Blogs • Social Media Posts • Contests • Webinars |
• Email Marketing • Email Automation • CRM • Live Chat • Video Calls • Informative Articles |
• Smart Content • Email Marketing • Surveys • 24/7 Support • Giveaways • Analytics & Reports
|
Use Inbound Marketing; Your Customers are Bound to Love It...
And you will too! Using an inbound marketing strategy coupled with the right tools will help your business and your customer relationships thrive. If you’re unsure how or where to get started, a great place to start is with your budget. Although inbound marketing is known as one of the most cost-effective ways to market, if you don’t know how to implement it, this strategy won’t be much help to your business or your customers—that’s why enlisting the help of a marketing professional is always a smart option for getting started.
At Carlson Integrated, our team is knowledgeable about the inbound way of marketing, and we strive to empower businesses through every part of the process, even after you close the deal. If you are interested in putting an inbound marketing strategy into place, we can help. We’d love to talk about your inbound strategy today!