Today it is undeniable that Inbound Marketing has transformed the way of doing business in the world. However, there are still a large number of companies that do not know this concept, or do not know what are the necessary elements to draw up a good strategy. In this post I will explain to you what Inbound Marketing is, its methodology and why it is necessary for you to put it into practice.
Inbound Marketing vs Marketing tradicional
Keep in mind that in traditional marketing, companies focus on attracting customers. To do this, they use techniques that can be annoying. Surely more than once they have called you at home at lunchtime, when they get home from work or even on the weekend. Or they have overwhelmed you on the street based on flyers or brochures. You know what I mean.
However, current technological development is providing consumers with defense tools against brands, since they do not want to feel saturated with so much advertising. Some of these weapons could be the well-known antispam filters that prevent your email from spam. Or pop-up blockers, also known as pop-ups.
On the other hand, this entails an increase in spending and effort on the part of advertisers who tirelessly fight to reach their target audience in one way or another. In short, we could say that traditional marketing is focused on brands rather than customers, with a clearly one-way communication style.
Fortunately, this mentality is gradually changing, with the intention of creating pleasant experiences for users, giving them the floor and the right to talk. Therefore, unlike traditional marketing, Inbound Marketing is a model focused on customer satisfaction.
Why is it necessary to do Inbound Marketing?
In Inbound Marketing, it is the client who seeks information about the company, and not the other way around. Think about it, surely some of your favorite brands are because they satisfy your needs, carrying out a good Inbound marketing strategy. To do this, they generate interesting content, such as through their corporate blog or through opinions on social networks of other users. In addition, this allows companies to reduce costs, everyone wins.
Basically, Inbound Marketing focuses on the words “conversation” and “emotion.” I throw you a question, why is someone your best friend? Surely because at the beginning you had conversations with him and with the passage of time you increasingly liked his personality or his way of being, an emotional reference, right? The same thing happens in Inbound Marketing.
We currently live in an interconnected world, with more access to the information we need. In other words, you are more likely to search for what you want on social media than on the phone.
Inbound Marketing Methodology
Some companies, such as Hubspot, explain that the Inbound marketing methodology is summarized in 4 stages:
1. Attraction
The first step of Inbound Marketing is to attract quality users to your website in order to convert them into visitors. Why should they be of quality? Very simple, because they are the ones most likely to have after becoming leads or users who have been receptive to a possible purchase process.
Some tools that you can use in this phase are SEO positioning, blogging or social networks.
2. Conversión
Okay, they have already reached your website. And now that? As I explained before, now you must collect information about these users in order to strengthen emotional ties with them.
Obviously, the more information you get from your users, the easier it will be for you to adapt to their needs. Think that to get in touch with them in a more personalized way you should get, at least, their emails.
You might be thinking “sure, that’s very easy to say but… how do I do it?”. It’s true, users are often reluctant to hand over their personal information without getting anything in return. So you need to offer them something like a free download, a discount, an offer. Time to squeeze out the gray matter!
3. Closing
We have finally achieved it, we already have information from our potential clients compiled in our database. It’s time to take advantage of it! Use email marketing strategies or, if you have it, a good CRM system that analyzes the best moment to transform these leads into sales. You almost have it!
4. Please
Congratulations! You have obtained sales. Does that mean that your Inbound Marketing strategy is over? Not much less! Remember that it is more beneficial to retain a customer than to attract a new one.
Now you must make sure that your customer is satisfied and happy with the purchase made. You have to follow the process, who knows, the same they even share on their social media profiles the good treatment you have given them or how much they like your product.
A good way to make sure of this is through satisfaction surveys that help you improve the purchasing processes of your company and ultimately improve the customer experience.
Have you already decided to create your own Inbound Marketing strategy to grow your business? Do we put these tips into practice? Maybe I can help you in the comments.