Just Another Trend or Wave of the Future? 5 Reasons Why Inbound Marketing Needs to Be Part of Your Marketing Strategy Today
by Josette Millar
Marketing strategies have evolved. The Don Draper marketer of today may still have the tailored suits but his pitch meetings revolve more around social media and viral marketing than television and print. Today’s consumers aren’t interested in intrusive ads or forced mailings. They want information. Inbound marketing focuses on drawing consumers to the message, not the other way around. Read ahead for five reasons why inbound marketing needs to be part of your marketing strategy.
Outbound Marketing is Increasingly Irrelevant
With 44 percent of direct mail landing directly in the trash can and 86 percent of television watchers skipping over the commercials, the old standbys of advertising are becoming more and more archaic. Companies that focus their efforts on outbound marketing are finding it costs more cash to produce a message while fewer consumers are being exposed to it. As consumers arm themselves against intrusive marketing tactics, outbound marketing is increasingly becoming a financially foolish way to spend marketing dollars.
Inbound Marketing is Cost Effective
The simple answer to why inbound marketing needs to be part of your marketing strategy hinges on dollar signs. Inbound marketing requires minimal time and minimal upfront costs. A hosted website, a couple of hours setting up website accounts, and your business is ready for marketing greatness. Whereas a commercial requires expensive equipment, experienced professionals, and days or months of concept meetings, a simple blog post takes an hour and a click of a button. It’s no contest. Instead of asking, “Why inbound marketing?” companies should be asking “Why haven’t we implemented an inbound marketing strategy sooner?”
Your Fans will Love You For It
Nothing is more frustrating to a loyal customer than to find their complaints or compliments fall on deaf ears. Larger businesses have the capital and manpower to hire dedicated marketing groups. If smaller businesses don’t prioritize their inbound marketing they may decrease the amount of interaction with their customer base. Inbound marketing is a great strategy for businesses because it increases conversation and trust. Your customer base may not recognize your presence on social media as an inbound marketing strategy but you will know why inbound marketing increases customer ratings and satisfaction.
Inbound Marketing is Personalized
Traditional outbound marketing can feel like a trap. Companies want to appeal to the broadest customer base possible but in the process, they can alienate their niche markets. A national commercial featuring a family of four as a centerpiece doesn’t play well to a customer base of singles in the cities but parsing out each fan base, creating a commercial, and buying the ad space for each is too expensive. Inbound marketing removes that barrier by providing a broad platform that allows customized messages for every niche customer group.
You Can Track It
Inbound marketing has a leg up on traditional outbound marketing methods by giving businesses a way to track each method’s influence. No longer do you need to stop customers at the door to figure out if they saw the news ad or the local commercial. Instead web analytics can be set up, monitoring what tweet, post, or share generated each customer sales and documenting why inbound marketing isn’t just another flash-in-the-pan trend.
Making inbound marketing part of your marketing plan is a low-cost, high return on investment strategy that is built to last. Since inbound marketing drives consumers to your message, rather than the other way around, consumers become more invested in the brand. The multiple platforms for inbound marketing allow businesses to cater to every market. Stop reading why inbound marketing is the go-to strategy for successful businesses and start implementing today.