Inbound marketing is a natural fit for small business. Inbound marketing is actually modeled after the way small businesses always thrived, by giving customers a go-to place to solve their problems.
Physical Main Street with its row of small businesses may be a fading memory, but inbound marketing is part of an evolutionary process of adapting the idea of a marketing village into modern international terms.
The Effects Of Inbound Marketing.
We can see the effects of inbound marketing on small business and larger businesses when we consider the natural questions:
- How has the world of marketing changed?
- Why does inbound marketing work for businesses?
- How do you make your website the center of your digital marketing presence?
- How do you make your customers the most important part of your business?
How To Make Inbound Work.
When you ask those questions you will find the nuts and bolts of making inbound marketing function involve building the skills and tactics to implement the following key points:
- To build an effective and powerful website.
- To make your website convert visitors into prospects and prospects into customers.
- To improve your rank on search engines (SEO) to bring potential customers to your website.
- To establish your expertise by creating great blog posts, eBooks, White Papers and other content.
- To use social media to grow your community online.
How Has Inbound Marketing Developed?
You can see it in:
- The growth of video marketing.
- The path website visitors take going from prospects to leads.
- The methods of extending the path from prospects into customers.
The inbound marketing revolution has to do with taking advantage of a sea change in the way people buy things and services. The sales professional used to try to be in control, sending advertising messages out to convince people to buy what they have to sell. That kind of advertising is gradually being superseded by the technique of sellers attracting customers by:
- Educating people.
- Providing value in your marketing content.
- Letting everyone know how you are expert at solving their problems.
- Then facilitating them finding you.
The Evolving Sales Funnel.
The idea of selling has changed. The sales funnel concept was invented as a philosophy by E. St. Elmo Lewis in 1898. The sales funnel has changed in the light of the changing role of advertising and the advent of digital potential. The old sales funnel was wider at the top. Today's sales funnel has the advantage of market segmentation that was not possible before. Inbound marketing is expected to convert a higher percentage of people.
Convincing Evidence.
There is a wealth of evidence that inbound marketing, as a business philosophy, can:
- Accelerate sales.
- Build a competitive advantage.
- Generate leads.
- Acquire customers and engage clients.
A Positive Point Of View.
In business, an owner needs a positive, encouraging point of view, but you can't coddle yourself. You have to know that inbound marketing takes time and a lot of work. You have to test the market to find the right mix and create quality content. You have to make the best use of your resources and get the best return on your investment (ROI). You have to invest time in exploring the recent growth of social media, live video and other tools used to get your message and your content out to the masses.
When you look at the facts they will relieve your doubts and increase your confidence.
As you know, I am a strong advocate of the benefits of inbound marketing. The expertise I've developed with experience is discussed in my recently released book. If you're ready to develop your own inbound marketing strategy, or just want to learn more, please contact us.
