I just looked at a list of all the blogs that we have posted over the last few years and could not help to notice how many of them have headlines with the words "Inbound Marketing" in them. Yet as I network with many business owners and business professionals in Petaluma and other cities in our area, I'm surprised to find how many of them are unfamiliar with the term. Some times we get so comfortable with the jargon of our industry that we think everyone else is. I plead guilty.
So in this article I am revisiting an earlier article "What is Inbound Marketing?" While the headline wasn't one of my more entertaining ones, it got to the point.
The main focus of the article is a video that BroadVision Marketing created to explain inbound marketing, specifically to Petaluma business people. In it the difference between Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing are explained.
What is Outbound Marketing?
In case you aren't familiar with the concept of "Outbound Marketing" it refers to the kind of marketing that has been prevalent since advertising became an attraction at the end of the 1800s. There are posters, news ads, classified and yellow page ads, television ads, billboards, ads on bus benches or on busess themselves, sponsoring event ads, trade shows and so the list goes on. However, the main point to know is that outbound marketing is also known as interruption marketing. Why? Because, to get your attention a marketer has to interrup your thoughts, or whatever you were busy doing...
Inbound marketing on the other hand adheres to the concept of "permission based" marketing. That means that you have a person's permission to market to them. When a person searches online for specific information you have their permission to serve them the information they are searching for, hence permission based marketing...
One of the main factors influencing the success of your inbound marketing is the value of the content that you provide. At BroadVision Marketing we refer to it as remarkable content. So, how do you know that your content is remarkable. We love to use the example of a great joke that a friend emailed you. What are you going to do the minute you recovered from your hysterical laughter. Yes, you send it to all your other friends. And that is how you know you have remarkable content. When someone reads your blog or guide and they can't wait to forward it to a friend or collegue, that's when you know you have created remarkable content.
What is ahead--
In this video you will learn why Inbound Marketing is more effective than Outbound Marketing. You will learn about sales funnels and how you can lead a person who is interested in your product or service to become a customer or client through lead nurturing and lead scoring.
You don't have to spend as much money as you did on expensive intrusive advertising. Actually, did you know that companies that focus on Inbound Marketing in Petaluma, in Sonoma County, in California, in the USA and even the rest of the world, have a 62% lower cost-per-lead.
Without further ado, enjoy our video. And if you would prefer, you can read the script below.
What is Inbound marketing? It's marketing with a magnet, not a sledgehammer — marketing based on great content that communicates to the world that you are an expert. The idea is to attract and nurture prospects, with exceptional content, data and customer service.
It’s no mystery that Outbound marketing is losing its effectiveness. Hitting your audience over the head with spam and other outbound interruptions is no longer the most cost effective, nor most productive way to get new business.
The great thing is that Inbound marketing strategies also tend to be cheaper than traditional Outbound marketing tactics. On average, companies that focus on inbound marketing have a 62% lower cost-per-lead.
So, how does inbound marketing work?
Think of your sales and marketing process as a funnel. Fresh prospects come in at the top of the funnel, happy customers go out the bottom. Your goal is to maximize both the number of people you attract at the top of your funnel as website visitors and the number that come out the bottom as customers.
We use several Inbound Marketing strategies to do this:
These days, with so many interruptions people are using technology to seek out the content that pertains to their particular need. They use search engines to find companies that have what they want or need. So.. what you need to do is to produce relevant digital content that makes sure that you get found.
Once found, it is critical that you capture your prospect’s attention. Offers are your lead generation ammunition. They're information and resources that your site visitors want to consume and are willing to give you their contact information in exchange for. Offers are simply the best ways to generate leads from your website.
The people who respond to your offers might not always realize it, but by providing that informational resource, they have turned themselves into leads for you and your sales team to follow up.
The next Inbound marketing step can be extremely automated, and it's a step where your offers can do a lot of the work for you. If you've got a lead that converts through a top-of-the-funnel offer, you should consider giving yourself the ability to put more middle-of-the-funnel offers in front of them by simply sending them some email.
We call this lead nurturing. The goal of these Inbound marketing lead nurturing campaigns should be to get other offers in front of your leads with the hope that they'll re-visit your site and convert on a lower funnel offer.
So, with two lead-conversion events under their belts and without having to use any actual manpower, your sales team is going to forget they ever had to make a cold call. Because you have nurtured your potential leads with relevant content, your leads will be better educated and versed in your product offerings and will be more likely to use your solution to solve their problem.
What’s next? They become customers!
Sounds cool? I know what you are thinking, though.. how are you going to generate all of the content? How will you automate the lead nurturing? How will you manage all of the campaigns? Don’t worry, that’s why we are here! Contact BroadVision Marketing today and schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our great inbound marketing experts and find out how we can help you to attract more sales ready leads and convert them in to returning clients!
If you are interested in hearing more about Inbound Marketing we would be happy to give you a Complimentary Inbound Marketing Session.
Jaco Grobbelaar is the owner of BroadVision Marketing. BroadVision Marketing works with business owners to put in place inbound and outbound marketing strategies that consistently secure new clients. The BroadVision Marketing Training Center is located in Petaluma, CA and primarily serves companies in the San Francisco Bay area.
Jaco can be reached at jaco@broadvisionmarketing.com or 707.766.9778 or connect with Jaco on Facebook - www.facebook.com/broadvisionmarketing - and LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/JacoGrobbelaar. He can also be found at Jaco+.