What is Inbound Marketing? A strategy to “nurture” customers from real values

Inbound Marketing is the leading marketing trend today. Although everyone has heard of it, not everyone clearly understands What is Inbound Marketing? The term Inbound Marketing appeared in 2005 by Brian Halligan of Hubspot – a company specializing in developing and providing marketing and sales tools on the Internet.

If implemented properly, the Inbound Marketing strategy will help businesses attract potential customers effectively and sustainably. Let’s learn about this prominent marketing trend with ADSMO.

1. What is Inbound Marketing?

According to Justin Champion’s bookInbound Content, Inbound Marketing is a focus on attracting customers through useful, relevant content that adds value at each stage of the customer’s buying journey. With Inbound Marketing, potential customers find you through channels like blogs, search engines, and social media.

The goal of Inbound Marketing is not instant conversions. Businesses will build trust and become an authority in their field in the eyes of customers.

2. 3 Key Phases of Inbound Marketing

Inbound Marketing Strategy is a user targeting process that includes 3 phases:

2.1 Stage 1: Attract – Attract

Businesses identify and attract the right potential customers with attractive, valuable content, which is what customers are interested in and looking for. Businesses will appear at the right time when consumers need it. Conversations and consultations will help businesses become trusted “advisors” to customers.

2.2 Phase 2: Engage – Approach

Through specific plans and tools, businesses will cleverly include in the content sent to customers information about products/services. How the business’s products/services solve difficulties and meet all customer needs. This makes customers generate needs and close sales naturally.

2.3 Stage 3: Delight – Satisfy

After customers have purchased, businesses will continue to take care of customers wholeheartedly to make a positive impression, keep customers longer and turn them into loyal customers. Even if businesses can build good, close relationships with customers, they will be willing to become referrals, spreading your products and services to other customers.

2.4 Flywheel model:

This business model is applied by Hubspot to illustrate the momentum that businesses can achieve by delivering optimal experiences throughout the customer journey.

Businesses can “spin” and create momentum for their flywheel by investing in customer acquisition and retention strategies.

If a business gives customers a bad experience, it will affect the search for new customers. This is the friction that “kills” the Flywheel rotation.

When a business’s flywheel is based on the Inbound method, the marketing, sales, and service functions will “increase thrust, reduce friction” in all 3 stages: Attract – Engage – Delight.

When a business attracts a certain number of customers and satisfies them. It is the customers who will keep the flywheel spinning by proactively sharing those products and services with everyone and bringing new customers to the business. Over time, the Flywheel will allow the business to grow without having to continuously invest in attracting customers.

3. Specific marketing strategies in each stage of Inbound Marketing

Specific strategies in each stage of Attract – Engage – Delight to keep the flywheel running effectively.

3.1 Attract Strategy

Inbound Marketing strategy to attract target audience is associated with content development. Start by publishing valuable content such as blog posts, social media. It could be product instructions, how they solve customer problems, customer reviews, or promotions and discounts.

To reach customers more effectively, optimize your content with SEO. SEO strategy requires businesses to target keywords related to their products or services. This allows the business’s content to rank naturally on the search results page. From there, it’s easy to reach target customers interested in these issues.

Read more:

• 8 steps to write standard SEO articles
• TOP 4 leading SEO trends in 2022

3.2 Engage Strategy

When using an Inbound Marketing strategy to reach customers, make sure to engage with potential customers in a way that makes them actively want to build a long-term relationship with your business. In the Engage strategy, businesses will provide valuable information to customers.

A specific Engage strategy includes how businesses handle and manage Inbound sales calls (inbound calls). Focus on how business representatives support, advise and answer customers’ questions. And always remember “Don’t sell products, sell solutions”. Provide value to the right customers.

3.3 Delight Strategy

The Delight strategy aims to effectively ensure customers are always satisfied and supported long-term after purchase. You will become an “expert” in supporting customers at any time.

Combine chatbots and surveys to get feedback and support customers quickly at the right times in their buying journey. For example, a customer satisfaction survey can be conducted 6 months after purchasing a product or service. Customer opinions will be ideas for businesses to improve the quality of products and services.

Social Media Listening is also an important strategy to satisfy customers. Followers can use the business’s social media platform to give feedback, ask questions or share their experiences with products and services. Re-engaging by advising, supporting and encouraging customers will demonstrate that the business is listening and caring.

The Delight strategy focuses on supporting customers in all situations, regardless of whether the business gains any value or not. Remember that when customers are satisfied, they become brand advocates and promoters.

This article helps you better understand what Inbound Marketing is. Inbound Marketing is a long-term strategy, requiring businesses to spend a lot of time attracting, approaching and nurturing potential customers. Plan and implement this trending Marketing strategy and look forward to outstanding development prospects in the future.

If you want more support or find a unit providing comprehensive Digital Marketing solutions.