Today we live in a world where we have more forms of communication than at any other time in history. Businesses that wish to connect with consumers take advantage of direct phone calls, text messaging, emails, YouTube advertising, TV, floor sales, and many other methods of connecting. Consumers often feel overwhelmed with this barrage of contact and as a result have developed a very negative view of modern marketing strategies. All of that changes when you use inbound marketing techniques that motivate the consumer to come to you through the clever use of online content. When consumers find that you have valuable expertise to offer, they will naturally be inclined to look closer to see what else they will be able to learn from you.
What Is Inbound Marketing?
Basically, inbound marketing is a strategy that draws potential customers directly to your doorstep. Even without a sales team making constant phone calls to lure customers in, you can automatically provide rich content applicable to their specific needs by utilizing blogs, websites, emails, social media and other online venues they frequent. You become a reliable source of valuable information and with marketing funnels already in place you can direct them to new content, capture their information, and nurture them into a lead where you can cultivate them into a customer. What makes this truly beneficial is that it is an automated process.
Creating Multiple Buyer’s Personas
The key to a successful inbound marketing plan is being able to create multiple Buyer’s Personas so that you have a very clear picture of who your target market might be. Once you have drawn them in, you need to determine where they are in regards to their readiness to buy. If you have designed specific content for each stage of the buyer’s journey, you will be able to provide them with the exact information they need when they need it. With the right inbound marketing strategy, you can motivate them to provide personal information in exchange for getting more of the resources you’ve made available. When you create the right Buyer’s Personas and know how to place the contact in the right funnel, you’ve pretty much mastered the art of inbound marketing, which is providing them with the content they really value.
From Marketing Qualified Lead to Sales Qualified Lead
Once you have placed your new-found contact into the proper sales funnel, the real work begins. It is at this point that you must start the nurturing phase of inbound marketing. By providing them with a plentiful supply of blogs, emails and social media content, you can start to create a vision of your business as a leader in your industry. Once they are convinced that you are a trustworthy, reliable source they want to learn more from you and will see enough value in your offer to give you personal information in exchange. Now you’ve got yourself what is called a Marketing Qualified Lead. This will be the first step of several calls to action that will lead them to even more valuable content, which they will exchange for even more personal information that will allow you to determine if they are a Sales Qualified Lead. By now, you’ve successfully lead your potential customer to exactly where you want them to be without ever having to pick up the phone.
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