Looking for better ways to market your products and services? Not having much luck using traditional outbound approaches? Here’s a quick look at inbound marketing, and why you should start focusing more on it if you want to close more sales and transform your business to be more successful.
Inbound vs. Outbound Marketing
“Inbound marketing is about giving before taking, while outbound marketing takes before giving.”
Outbound marketing is the traditional approach to marketing that uses interruptive techniques such as ads to convince customers to purchase products or services. On the other hand, inbound marketing attracts individuals through content creation (blog posts, YouTube videos, social media) by turning potential customers into regular consumers of their content. Businesses then take advantage of this relationship to convert visitors into paying customers.
Inbound marketing focuses on giving value. Inbound marketing is about giving before taking, while outbound marketing takes before giving.
Why should you focus more on inbound marketing instead of outbound marketing?
Inbound marketing has dramatically grown in popularity, and is the way of the future due to many benefits over traditional approaches.
- It’s more efficient; you don’t have to fight for the attention of customers over 5,000 other shiny ads and banners.
- It costs less than traditional approaches since you don’t have to pay extra to land top ad spaces.
- Research shows that it converts potential customers to paying consumers much more effectively than traditional approaches.
- It allows you to receive compounded benefits from your efforts. Once you create valuable content, it continually draws in new potential customers (leads) without further effort.
- It creates a strong community around your business that draws in new customers, turns customers into loyal consumers, and transforms existing customers into powerful promoters
How can you implement inbound marketing?
Easy, simply give value to your target audience. Find ways to answer the burning questions, and satisfy the needs and wants that individuals have.
For example, if you are a personal trainer, you can create YouTube videos demonstrating how to work out and explaining how to effectively lose weight. If you love cooking and want to be a best-selling cookbook writer, consider offering quick, tasty, and healthy recipes for free through blogging. Trying to expand your outdoor gear store? Perhaps you can create gear reviews, travel guides, and post tips on social media for outdoor adventures.
Inbound marketing marketing is far more efficient and effective than traditional outbound marketing. If you are still focusing your efforts on traditional approaches or not giving due attention to more modern approaches, it’s time to reevaluate your efforts to ensure the success of your business.
Megaphone image under Creative Commons by Manco Capac, modified.
Magnet image under Creative Commons by ClkerFreeVectorImages, modified
