Inbound Marketing Strategy for B2B Companies

Written by: Phillip Nones

Forget all of those irritating unsolicited phone calls that go unreturned. Or annoying pop-up advertising that appears on computer and smartphone screens at the most inopportune times. Interruptive sales and marketing are no longer how smarter companies do business.

Instead, they’re relying on inbound marketing, an approach that is more amenable to today’s workplace dynamics (and customer expectations).

Inbound marketing attracts customers through helpful content and interactions that are relevant. Unlike traditional forms of advertising and direct marketing, inbound marketing doesn’t need to fight for attention. By creating content that addresses the needs and challenges of your most desired targets, inbound marketing attracts qualified prospects even as it builds greater credibility for your business.

A successful inbound marketing initiative doesn’t need to be complex – but it does require discipline and focus. Its building blocks include offering interesting and relevant content, having methods in place to capture interest and leads that result from interaction with your content, and making sure your program is a multi-channel endeavor – reaching people where they are and where they’re most likely to interact with your business.

Of course, without relevant content inbound marketing wouldn’t exist. That content is what fuels the customer interactions that will follow. To that end, is your content falling on the most receptive ears?

You don’t want just any kind of traffic coming to your website. You want visitors who are the most likely to become leads – and ultimately, satisfied customers. It’s likely these leads have the same kind of characteristics you see in your better customers. They’re the kind of customers around which your business is built, and you want more of them.
Evaluate what those quality customers are like – inside and out. Think about their goals, challenges, and the pain points that get in the way of achieving their own goals. Consider the objections they may throw up about the products and services you offer. Overlay those psychographics on top of basic demographic information, and you’ll soon have a very good picture of who your target audience is and what you should be communicating to them.
Determine what tactics will get your content in front of people. Typical areas of focus include search engine optimization (relevant keywords), blogging, and social media posts that drive visitors to the places on the web where all of your great content resides.
The next big step is converting website visitors into leads. Call-to-action buttons and forms along with phone calls are the typical methods, but make sure you have good personalized “closing” tools in place so that you can engage with these prospects once they’ve become leads.

One more thing: Just because a prospect has converted to customer status doesn’t mean you can assume they’ll be an automatic repeat customer. Too many customers fall away simply because a company assumes they’ll be there forever, while what they’re actually doing is ignoring them to death!

If you’re interested in hearing more about inbound marketing, we’d love to share our perspectives and provide direction that’s tailored to your own specific company. Call us at 800-457-1099.