There are a few golden opportunities in marketing. When a potential customer starts off researching a business, it opens the door to one of those massive marketing opportunities.
Through skillful inbound marketing techniques, a business can drive interest in what it does and facilitate the potential customer’s questions about their company. Inbound marketing, however, does require a bit of effort, and can easily stray off course. There are a lot of customers that a company can target, and narrowing it down to the relevant ones takes careful planning and considerable skill.
Below, 13 members of Forbes Agency Council explain some of the best techniques that a business looking to increase its inbound marketing presence can implement.
Members share their best inbound marketing tips.
Photos courtesy of the individual members
1. Advertise Your Value, Not Your Cost
If you compete with cost, prices drop and clients leave. If you compete with value, prices soar and clients line up. Don’t advertise the problem; that is just teeing up the competition to close your sale. Position behind your value, which can’t be stolen from you. Let price be your competitors’ problem. – Kirk Westwood, Glass River Media
2. Create Meaningful And Helpful Content
When potential customers are searching for your business online, the only way you can end up in their search results is by having meaningful content that answers their questions and helps solve their problem. The first step in the inbound methodology is to create content that is helpful and delights your audience, while taking them on a journey that moves them through the buyer’s journey. – Elyse Flynn Meyer, Prism Global Marketing Solutions
3. Understand Where Your Leads Are Coming From
One of the most critical pieces of success or failure is making sure that you understand where your leads are coming from. What that means is that you have taken the time and done a full analysis that will allow you to know what to expect in terms of what people are searching for and why they find you. This is a great way to plan new areas that are untapped for marketing. – Jon James, Ignited Results
4. Talk Less, Listen More
In the incredible musical “Hamilton,” Aaron Burr advises young Hamilton, “Talk less. Smile more.” When it comes to opening dialogue with potential customers, too many businesses spew all of their capabilities, products and services before thoroughly understanding what prompted the inbound call in the first place. So, not unlike Aaron Burr’s advice, mine is simple: “Talk less. Listen more.” – Dave Wendland, Hamacher Resource Group
5. Spotlight Your Current Customers
Leverage the success of current customers and your solution to target new customers through case studies, webinars, media coverage or Q&As. Strategically share these stories in the sales process to demonstrate how customers addressed the same pain points your prospects have. You can even narrow your outreach to specific industries, showcasing a collection of relevant customer success stories. – Michaela Dempsey, Scout RFP
6. Answer Your Audience’s Questions
Take advantage of the questions people are asking. You can even use a Q&A format in your content. For example, if you sell electric bikes, questions like, “How far does an electric bike go?” or “Are electric bikes safe?” should be asked and answered within your content (including videos) to capture the attention of your inbound audience. If they have questions — be sure you have the answers. – Bernard May, National Positions
7. Think Like The Buyer
It is hard for companies to see their business from the perspective of the potential customer. Even the words that companies use to describe their business are phrased in their words and not the buyer’s words. Two ideas are to consider the buyer as having a job-to-be-done in searching out a service or product, and role-play this potential buyer to get that buyer’s perspective. – Jim Caruso, M1PR, Inc. d/b/a MediaFirst PR – Atlanta
8. Leverage Your Good Reviews
Be sure to highlight and leverage all the good reviews that others are leaving for you. If you want more inbound leads, then help them find the social proof they are looking for. Say thank you and share the great reviews others leave. The social proof that comes from others tooting your horn is powerful and will lead more people to want the same great experience for themselves. – Katie Harris, Spot On Solutions
9. Have A Strong Website
Many businesses still have a complicated or outdated website. It needs to be a welcome mat that is easily navigated with call-to-action points that are not annoying. It’s the same as welcoming guests to a local business. Guide them to the information or products they need and be available to answer questions. It costs too much to drive prospects to your website; you can’t fumble on the goal line. – T. Maxwell, eMaximize
10. Rank High In Search
The best leads are always referrals, but the second best are leads from inbound marketing. The key is ranking high in search not just for your company name, but also your services and products. Moreover, once clients know your name, they are going to research you. You must have a full social profile with positive reviews, awards, badges, etc. online. – Peter Boyd, PaperStreet Web Design
11. Be Present In Industry And Business Outlets
Know where your audience goes when they are researching products and services. Then ensure your company/brand has a presence in those outlets, whether it be simple business listings, advertising on industry/fan websites, reviews from influencers or users and steady flow of fresh content that improves your SEO. – Katie Schibler Conn, KSA Marketing + Partnerships
12. Target Your Competitors In AdWords
If you’re looking to quickly up your inbound marketing campaign, targeting your competitors in AdWords will do the trick. Bidding on the branded search terms for competitors in your industry is an easy way (and cheap) to grab traffic and leads from people researching your competitors. Just make sure to follow specific rules set by Google and trademark laws to ensure everything is done legally. – Randy Soderman, Soderman SEO
13. Align Your Marketing With The Customer Journey
The potential customers you reach through inbound marketing will be at different stages of their journey. Make sure you align your messaging and tactics accordingly. Early in the journey, “informational” search terms and content will work best to drive awareness and traffic. Closer to conversion, focus on more “transactional” search terms and content that are likely to result in leads. – John Keehler, RUNNER Agency
