When we think about traditional marketing methods, we typically think about outbound marketing… buying radio and TV ads, running print ads, buying email lists, cold-calling, advertising on billboards, or sponsoring a booth at a tradeshow. We are pushing our marketing message OUT to a given audience hoping for a response, a lead, and new business. Of course, there is still a huge need for outbound marketing and inbound isn’t meant to replace this form of advertising… but instead is meant to enhance and supplement it.

Inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people IN to your business and brand. They are already searching for answers online, researching your industry, checking out your competitors, and trying to decide if they really need your service or product. So, the goal is to have content that speaks to all of these scenarios and stages of the buying process in order to capture these interested prospects where they naturally are online.

By aligning the content you publish with your customer’s interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert, close, and delight over time. 

The Inbound Marketing Methodology 

ATTRACT:

We want to attract the right strangers (your target persona) to your website and to your brand with quality, compelling content that answers the questions they have. We’ll use blogging, social media, keyword and SEO strategy, and even outbound advertising to do this.

CONVERT:

With optimized landing pages, forms, and compelling calls-to-action we’ll convert these visitors into qualified leads. Contact information is the most valuable currency there is to the online marketer so we’ll give them premium content in exchange for it. This includes eBooks, whitepapers, infographics, webinars, case studies, and tips sheets.

CLOSE:

With the help of tools like lead scoring, closed-loop reporting, lead nurturing, and vast lead intelligence, paired with lead follow up best practices and sales tactics, you’ll then work to transform those leads into new business.

DELIGHT:

This sometimes overlooked component of inbound marketing can be your secret weapon in ensuring referrals and renewals. Once someone becomes a customer, you don’t want to forget about them, and you’ll continue to publish and share content that helps them better use your product or services and delight them as a partner and thought leader.

Chuck Reynolds
Contributor