When it comes to your business, it can be complicated to figure out what parts need work. Even when you can identify some problem areas, it can be difficult to know what to do. Sometimes all that needs to change are your marketing practices.
Marketing has been changing. Now the buyer is in control of the process, from search to purchase. Because of this, your business needs to change, too. A digital marketing strategy, like Inbound Marketing, could be the key to future success.
Why Inbound Marketing? Traditional marketing makes customers feel like they’re being chased, which is a turn off. Alternatively, Inbound Marketing is centered around creating educational and helpful content designed with your buyer persona in mind. They opt in to get content that allows you to resolve a need or problem your customers have and you become a trustworthy resource.
Still not convinced a marketing shift would make a difference in your business? Here are 9 signs that an Inbound Marketing Strategy is just what you need:
1. Outbound Initiatives Not Working. Traditional marketing practices just aren’t as successful as they used to be. As I said before, the buyer has all of the power. They can search online for anything they want or need and find the answers right away. The key to finding these customers is not regular spam emails and cold calling. The way to their hearts is through inbound practices, like creating content with your customers needs in mind. And, if they like it, ask them if they want more.
An inbound strategy will give you direction. Instead of wasting your efforts on actions that just aren’t working, your new strategy will draw in new leads.
2. Unsure of What to do With Content. So you’ve started to create content and are posting it on your blog. Or maybe you’ve just come up with some great ideas for videos and visuals. What do you do next? An inbound marketing strategy includes a organized content calendar that sets a direction and purpose for everything you create.
3. Lead to Customer Rate too Low. The outbound practices you may be used to could be damaging you here as well. You probably aren’t nurturing any of your leads. Outbound marketing would say you try and close sales right away, but inbound is more about keeping people involved. Through every stage of a buyer’s decision, from just beginning to search for answers to narrowing down choices to making a purchase, you need to be taking part. Keep communication going. Inbound marketing strategies help you know who to contact when.
4. Customers Don’t Know Your Business. If your marketing practices really are ineffective, then your customers might not even know everything that you offer. They might either only know one aspect of your business, or not understand any of it. Without continually interacting with your target audience, your existence could go completely unnoticed. Inbound marketing strategies guide you to communicate with your customer in an effective way.
5. Not Enough Sales. Sometimes your reaching potential customers but aren’t set to follow through to the sale. It can be tough when there are so many people out there online with great businesses. You need to optimize your content, offer a variety of calls-to-action, and organize your lead nurturing to be set up for conversions. You can’t make sales if you can’t lead customers all the way through the buyer’s journey.
6. Can’t Keep Up with Interactions. When your community continues to grow, it can be tricky keeping up with all of the interactions that happen every day with your business. People are contacting you through many different channels and in many different ways. Some might just be commenting on blog posts while others might be retweeting or following you on social media. No matter how they interact, you need to respond and engage. Having an inbound marketing strategy will give you access to needed tools, like HubSpot‘s dashboard, that will give you focus and help keep up with all the moving pieces to keep them, well, moving.
7. Competitor Pages Outranking You. Your competitors have experience, and many are already using inbound marketing practices. They outrank you on Google and other search sites. You need to create new content, involving topics and keywords that connect with your buyer personas. This will boost your ranking, making it easier for potential customers to find your business. Inbound marketing is a very important way to get your business and brand out there and ahead of your competitors.
8. Trouble Tracking Metrics. You don’t know what metrics to track. There are too many options: how many people are viewing your content, what are they looking at, how long are they looking at each piece, do they click on anything? All of these questions can be answered through metrics. An inbound marketing strategy will give you focused goals and establish what metrics matter.
9. Don’t Know What To Do Next. The future is now and an inbound marketing strategy is apart of it. So take the next steps to get your business and brand out there and ahead of your competitors.