Marketing is one of the most important elements that a business needs to get right. But getting marketing right is difficult, especially since people are bombarded with messages all of the time. Studies have shown that people are exposed to between 4000 and 10,000 advertisements in a single day.
So, how do you get your business to stand out from the crowd? The key is not to get your marketing in front of as many people as possible, it’s more about getting it in front of the right people. This is a concept known as inbound marketing, and it’s been gaining more and more traction over the past few years.
How many times have you thought back to the advertisement you saw for a product or service and gone back to that specific business? It’s likely that you completely forgot about which business it was, and did a quick Google search instead. People often go through a couple of the top results on a Google search and choose the one that appeals to them the most — we know you never venture into the second page of a Google search.
Inbound marketing ensures that you get leads that are looking specifically for your service, rather than showing thousands of people ads that aren’t relevant to them. Keep reading to find out more about inbound marketing, and how a CRM can help you to supercharge your marketing efforts.
What is inbound marketing?
So, what is inbound marketing all about? Inbound marketing focuses on providing value to potential leads before they become your customers. This might sound counterintuitive, but it really works when you’re solving a problem with your product or service.
Your goal should be to solve a problem by providing helpful insight or value to your leads. By doing so, your brand will be more valued, and this is more likely to convert leads into customers rather than putting some marketing material out there and hoping that someone sees it.
Inbound marketing works because you’re positioning your brand as an expert in your field. This allows you to become the point of contact for customers who need advice on solving a problem. At the same time, you can offer your product or service as the solution. In other words, you’re not forcing people to look at your products, but instead gently nudging them towards it.
Why inbound marketing is better than traditional marketing
As we’ve seen, there’s a big difference between inbound marketing and traditional marketing. Traditional marketing is about getting your brand in front of as many eyes as possible — like a billboard on the side of the road. But, the problem with that is that maybe one out of every hundred people who see your ad will take an interest in your brand.
To get started with inbound marketing, you will need to use the following tools to provide value for your leads and convert them into paying customers:
- Blog articles
- eBooks
- Infographics
- Interviews
- Social media posting
- Videos
- Website copy
- Podcasts
- Webinars
How inbound marketing can thrive with a CRM
Customer Relationship Management systems are ideal for getting the most out of your inbound marketing strategy. That’s because a CRM will allow your marketing and your sales team to align and get the right content in front of the right people.
CRMs can track which of your leads are interacting best with specific types of content. For example, you might have a CEO in the automotive industry who reads your blog every Monday, or you might have a restaurant owner who interacts with your social media posts on a regular basis.
You can use these metrics to identify which areas of your business are attracting different types of people. Then you can start to pinpoint the type of content that they are looking for and tailor your inbound marketing strategy to them. Your CRM will help you to present people with content that is relevant to them, making them more likely to convert into paying customers.
You can also use a CRM for marketing automation, which is another important piece of the inbound marketing puzzle. One of example is email marketing, where you can trigger your CRM to send a series of relevant emails to a customer as soon as they register their interest in your business.
Final Thoughts
Inbound marketing could be the key element that your business is missing when it comes to finding leads and converting them. If you want to make the most of your inbound marketing strategy, make sure to invest in a CRM that will help you in getting the best out of it. If you’re unsure of how to get started with an inbound marketing CRM, get in touch with a GoCRM expert for more details.