Inbound Marketing. The Key to Accelerating Your Company s Growth? hellomarketingagency.com

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1 Inbound Marketing The Key to Accelerating Your Company s Growth? info@hellomarketingagency.com hellomarketingagency.com

2 The fundamental way the internet has changed buyer culture is by empowering them to choose what, when and how they want to engage the purchase process. Today, U.S. Internet users spend three times the minutes on blogs and social networks, than on --a simple fact that illustrates how much buyers prefer engagement with platforms and processes that allow them to drive things, rather than the other way around. 86 % people who skip TV ads 46 % decline in trade show spending 44 % of direct mail never opened

3 INBOUND MARKETING 3 What is inbound marketing? Know how moths are always drawn to a flame? That, in a nutshell, is inbound marketing using something compelling to draw qualified prospects to your business. In this case, the something compelling is relevant content that naturally attract leads you can continue to engage over time. Gone are the days of buying ineffective lists and wishful thinking. Inbound marketing is not a tool or a technology, but rather a methodology to be integrated into your organization s overall business strategy. You re not just grabbing sales; you re creating a valuable relationship with a consumer by earning their interest and their trust not something that happens overnight. The four pillars of inbound marketing Inbound marketing makes prospects more receptive because they re engaging with you on their own terms. Wondering how this all works? Here s a quick step-bystep overview: 1. Attract qualified visitors. Effective websites generate traffic from people who are most likely to become your customers. So, using relevant content to draw in visitors who are searching for what you offer makes perfect sense. How do you do it? Some of the most important tools to attract ideal customers are: Blogging Educate them with content that provides answers to their questions. This is the single best way to attract new users to your site. Social media Interact with prospects in the places where they spend the most time. Keywords Choose keywords around most frequently searched terms. User-focused web pages Construct web pages from a prospect s perspective so design and content speak directly to his/her needs. 2. Convert leads to customers. If the traffic to your site is qualified, ideally a high percentage of these visitors will convert to customers. Inbound marketing encourages continued interest with tailored messages, landing pages and calls to action to draw prospects deeper into the purchase process. This can be accomplished by providing high-value resources such as white papers, research reports, e-books or webinars. 3. Close sales by delivering qualified leads to your sales team. Imagine filling your team s sales funnel with leads that are already deep into the sales cycle. Closing tools like a lead scoring and qualification process or a marketing automation system help keep prospects engaged and primed for the sale, while ensuring you re closing the right leads at the right time. 4. Analyze, measure and report. Inbound marketing is a long-term investment that requires regular analysis, testing and optimization to keep driving results. Effective content generates leads on a consistent basis and improves the rate at which leads are produced over time. Imagine filling your team s sales funnel with leads that are already deep into the sales cycle.

4 4 INBOUND MARKETING The importance of the buyer persona Inbound marketing is all about your prospective buyer, not your company or product. That s why developing what s called a buyer persona is critical to the inbound marketing process. The buyer persona or personas if you re selling to multiple audiences or decision makers is not just a vague description of your ideal customer. It s a detailed snapshot that also uncovers why they act and how they buy. The factors that drive the purchasing decision form the basis of every strategic inbound marketing plan, because they re used to develop pitch-perfect marketing messages and positioning. Take a minute and ask yourself, Can I answer these questions about my potential buyer(s)? 1. What triggers a buyer s search for the solution(s) we offer? 2. What results or outcomes do they expect, both tangible and emotional? 3. What might prevent the buyer from choosing us? 4. What criteria are they using to make a buying decision? 5. What role does this particular buyer play, and at what stage of the process? Are others involved in the final decision? 6. What resources will a buyer turn to for information? Thanks to the Internet, buyers are now in the driver s seat when it comes to the purchasing process. More than ever, your organization s success depends on just how well you understand their needs and motivations.

5 INBOUND MARKETING 5 On average (and with little variation among industries) customers will contact a Sales rep when they independently complete about 60% of the purchasing decision process. -Ana Lapter, Marketing Leadership Council Blog Target Market The Old Way Defining the target market was, for many years, the commonly accepted method for identifying for whom, with what and how a business might go out to the world. Target market parameters typically include: Industry Company size Revenue Job title Geographic location vs. While all of this is important to understand about prospective buyers, they leave a lot to be desired for business owners who want efficient, effective marketing. Basic demographic information can t help you identify what occurred internally to make the purchase of your product or service a priority. Buyers are coming to the table educated and armed with information. They have a vast and unlimited source to go to learn about what they want, prior to ever having a conversation with a product or service provider. Buyer Persona The New Way Uncovering Buyer Personas, by comparison, is meant to create a fully-formed picture of your ideal customer. Beyond the basic demographic information listed above, a Buyer Persona will also include: Triggering Incidents for Priority Initiatives Crticial Buyer Success Factors Buyer Perceived Barriers to Purchase Your Customers Unique Buying Process Specific Decision Criteria Remember that your buyers should be the center of your universe. Armed with a strong buyer persona, you can feel confident about everything from the content you create, to the specific channels you use to share it, to the effectiveness of your infrastructure to support the needs of your buyer. Personas are powerful tools and a critical factor for long term marketing success.

6 6 INBOUND MARKETING Is inbound right for your business? While inbound marketing has proven successful for companies of all sizes, only you can determine whether or not it correlates with your specific objectives. A review of your goals and resources can help guide your thinking. Start with these eight questions to determine if an inbound marketing plan might be right for your company: Do you have quantifiable growth plans? Inbound marketing is rooted in long-term success not overnight miracles so it s important to be realistic when considering your expectations for growth. Having a clear objective and timeline is essential to the inbound process, because they drive every marketing initiative and help you clearly measure your progress. What are your plans to reach those goals? A formal marketing program is a smart investment for any business seeking to change the status quo. What strategies do you currently have in place? How are they performing? How does marketing fit into your overall strategic plan? Have you identified your company s barriers to growth? Inbound marketing can be a solution to help overcome the challenges your business is dealing with. But these same challenges can also hinder the success of an inbound marketing plan. Consider aspects like the competitive landscape, your company sales culture, technical capabilities, even your capacity to manage what can be a time-consuming effort. Do you have the right mindset and resources to support a full-on inbound marketing effort? Are there any negative aspects to reaching your goals? It may sound like a funny question, but too often business owners don t think about the downside of success. Can your current infrastructure everything from your sales staff to your phone or computer systems to your shipping department handle a significant sales boost? Will suppliers be able to come through with increased materials? Without a plan in place to manage sales growth, inbound marketing might not be a good fit for your business. What are the positive effects of reaching your goals? Inbound marketing takes a significant investment of time and resources, so consider what success looks like. Why have you set the goals you ve chosen, and what happens when you reach them? Is there a particular end game in mind? By identifying these next steps in advance, you can design an inbound strategy that grows with your business. Is your current sales process or culture a good fit for inbound? Inbound marketing helps you get in front of the right people and it gets you there early, consistently and throughout the buying process. In order to achieve

7 INBOUND MARKETING 7 Lead to Close Customer % by Channel Outbound, 2% Social Media, 4% SEO, 15% Paid Search, 7% Referrals, 9% Direct Traffic, 15% this, it relies on a tight relationship between sales and marketing. It s critical that your company s sales team is ready and willing to work closely with marketing to convert leads into customers as efficiently and effectively as possible. What is your time frame for reaching your goals? If you re new to a strategic marketing initiative, you may expect to double your website traffic in one month but that s not necessarily realistic. Timing is everything, and having a timeline rooted in reality helps manage expectations. It s important to discuss timing early as it can impact budgetary considerations, tactics and other aspects of your inbound strategy. Inbound Marketing costs 61% less per lead than traditional outbound marketing. - STATE OF INBOUND, HUBSPOT What type of budget is available to invest in an inbound marketing program? Inbound marketing is a comprehensive, long-term strategy, not a quick fix. To ensure sustainable success, every inbound marketing plan requires time, patience, testing and agility. Depending on your goals and current marketing efforts, you should be prepared to spend roughly between $3,000 to $8,000 per month. Remember, inbound marketing practices offer a solid return on investment. (Consider the value of a single customer acquired!) You re building a long-term relationship with your customers and that means increasing their lifetime value to your organization.

8 8 INBOUND MARKETING We need to stop interrupting what people are interested in, and be what people are interested in. -CRAIG DAVIS, CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, WORLDWIDE at J. WALTER THOMPSON

9 INBOUND MARKETING 9 Choosing the right inbound partner Interested in inbound but don t know where to start? Deciding on the right agency can be difficult, especially if you re new to the marketing landscape to begin with. A few key tips can help you make a choice that s right for your company, budget and goals. First, understand that you re not looking for a generalist you re looking for specific inbound marketing expertise. There are a lot of moving parts to inbound marketing and many of them bleed into other eachother. For example, SEO, marketing and content strategy are all components of an inbound strategy. However, here the whole really is greater than the sum of the parts. Remember, inbound marketing is not a technology or a tool. It s a methodology designed Inbound marketing doesn t just generate leads. It generates revenue. Plain and simple. to generate real, actionable, and measurable leads. You re about to make a significant investment, so make sure you consider the differences between a technician and a strategist. Second, lots of companies claim to be inbound specialists. But can they articulate a clear process step by step? Do they ask the right questions? Point out potential barriers to success? Focus on uncovering deep insights about your buyers before ever writing a word of content? Finally, know that you ll develop a close working relationship with the inbound agency you choose. So it s important that they re a cultural fit as well as technically proficient. Look for an agency that shares your professional values, your work ethic and your priorities, and you may just find the inbound marketing process personally enjoyable as well as professionally rewarding.

10 10 INBOUND MARKETING About Hello Marketing As seasoned marketing pros, the HELLO team brings proven expertise and a resultsfocused mindset to every inbound marketing engagement. Whether you re trying to triple your site views or acquire more customers from your blog, success starts with knowing your audience. That s where HELLO Marketing shines. By taking the time to understand the specific behaviors, triggers and pain points of your audience, your business will gain multiple benefits: better leads, lower costs and no more frustrating random acts of marketing. Say HELLO to new leads What makes us stand out from the rest? HELLO Marketing uses a unique five-step process to help businesses like yours build their brand and cost-effectively capture leads: 1. Understanding you (your brand). 2. Understanding them (your buyer). 3. Developing solid marketing assets. 4. Being where your buyers are. 5. Delivering leads and reporting results. We hope you found this guide to be a valuable introduction to inbound marketing. Interested in exploring the potential of inbound marketing for your business? Visit HelloMarketingAgency.com or give us a call at (973) to see if inbound might be your company s ticket to accelerated business growth. These days, inbound marketing is the elephant in the room. Web: Tel: info@hellomarketingagency.com

11 INBOUND MARKETING 11 If you re ready for a hard-charging and unforgettable inbound marketing strategy that can help make you king of your industry jungle, you ve come to the right place. Lauren Canning CEO Inspired and energized by the entrepreneurial spirit, Lauren Canning loves working with, learning from and supporting the goals of business owners and they certainly seem to love her in return. Says one longtime client, Smart, likeable and perceptive only start to describe what Lauren brings to the table. She quickly understands and connects with a client s mission and adds value to every thing she touches. With 25+ years of experience developing, implementing and maintaining business process, customer service and marketing strategies, Lauren enjoys getting to know people and helping them think differently. She is a firm believer in the power of collaboration and is fueled by dynamic conversations and exchanging of ideas. An in-demand speaker on leveraging social media tools like LinkedIn, Lauren sums up her business philosophy like this: If you re not having fun, then you shouldn t be doing it. Connect with Lauren on LinkedIn Evan Elizabeth Harder COO Known for designing processes that deliver results, Evan Elizabeth Harder is convinced that marketing has an unfair reputation as a dark art. But at its core, marketing is really about understanding people and their problems, and communicating a solution effectively which explains why HELLO Marketing focuses on getting to know its clients buyers and their motivations. Evan s wide-ranging experience from non-profit and medical technology to industrial and professional services taught her that the most successful marketing initiatives are goal oriented, results driven and measurable. She credits her upbringing for her innate problemsolving and people skills, and captures her business philosophy in a single word: grit. Says Evan, Plain and simple, you have to believe in what you re doing, dedicate yourself to the process, and understand that your success is as great as your willingness to keep at it. Connect with Evan on LinkedIn