Over the past twenty years, consumer behavior has changed radically. What worked in the 1980s and 1990s to get customers is not the same as what works today.
With the possibilities offered by technology, you can attract new customers by offering them attractive content and accompanying them throughout the entire purchasing process.
Inbound marketing , known in Spanish as attraction marketing , is a strategy dedicated to the creation of relevant content capable of creating added value.
The goal is to create satisfying customer experiences at every stage of the sales cycle, from the first time they search for information about your products to post-sales support.
Customer-focused marketing
The current business philosophy states that it is not enough to attract customers to your channels, but you must also help them, guide them and retain them even after the sale has been closed.
In this way you create valuable relationships that last over time.
One of the pillars of inbound marketing is teamwork between sales, marketing and customer service departments.
By being aligned, you have the opportunity to cover all of the client's needs to offer them a personalized experience that invites them to stay with you and build loyalty in others.
Differences between inbound marketing and traditional marketing
The most important difference between inbound marketing and traditional marketing is the way in which customers are attracted.
Both strategies have value when it comes to increasing your company's sales, however, they have different approaches in the way of approaching your potential customers.
Traditional marketing or outbound marketing has a unidirectional character where your brand sends the message and consumers are the receivers without any major relationship with you.
Traditionally, companies use mass media and offline media as channels. This type of strategy has a clear focus on sales in most cases.
Added value for your clients
Inbound marketing, on the other hand, is based on a simple premise: if you create quality content for your ideal clients, you can attract qualified prospects while generating trust and credibility for your brand.
Outbound marketing can be intrusive, especially when it uses techniques such as phone calls or leaving information in mailboxes. Whereas inbound marketing seeks to be as non-invasive as possible.
A solid inbound marketing strategy allows you to better leverage your company's resources to create stronger ties with each of your customers.
For example, you can receive real-time feedback on what they like and dislike about your products.
Increase in sales
Phases of Inbound Marketing
Every inbound marketing strategy consists of providing information, support and assistance to the customer at each stage of the marketing funnel.
This process is divided into four different stages: attraction, acquisition, conversion and loyalty.
Some experts also divide them into attract, convert, close and delight.
1) Attraction
When creating content, you should do so thinking about the type of clients you want to attract.
To do this, you need to know who your ideal clients are and what type of content might be useful to them.
It is important that you offer relevant information at the right time to connect with your audience.
In the case of this first stage, you can spread the content with paid ads on search engines, SEO, blogs, social networks and specific strategies.
One of the advantages of inbound marketing is that content continues to generate visits and leads long after it is published.
2) Capture
In this second phase, the focus is on converting users who visit your website into potential telemarketing leads colombia telephone number data customers.
The idea is that you invite them through calls to action, to participate in the offers and promotions that you have available or to leave their information so that they can be contacted in the future.
To achieve the objectives of this phase, you can design landing pages with forms for collecting information, launch campaigns and offers on social networks, create a user database and design strategies to increase interaction with your brand on different channels.
Inbound marketing
3) Conversion
The hardest part of any marketing strategy is closing the sale.
In the case of inbound marketing, it is in this phase that you take advantage of all the information you have previously collected to offer the customer the product they are looking for.
Ideally, you should use some type of CRM (Customer Relationship Manager) to connect with your potential customers in your database.
Here you can also use automated techniques that will allow you to know the right time to close the sale, depending on the point in the cycle where your client is.
Likewise, the objectives of this phase may vary depending on the scope and goals you have set for the campaign.
When launching a business, you may be more interested in getting customers to sign up for your database or to a trial period of your service than in the sale itself.
4) Build loyalty
Every sale is an opportunity to build loyalty. The ultimate goal of inbound marketing is to retain customers and offer them memorable experiences.
It is a common mistake to neglect this stage and forget about the customer once the sale is complete.
In this phase you must delight the consumer: offer superior customer service.
Create content that fits their needs, use email marketing tools and try to maintain communication with the customer to ensure that their next purchase is with you.
Inbound Marketing: The New Marketing Paradigm
Inbound marketing represents an opportunity to efficiently invest the marketing budget.
This way you can make yourself known and attract the clients you are looking for at a lower cost than with traditional strategies.
At the heart of inbound marketing is adding value to your target audience at every stage of the sales cycle to deliver memorable user experiences.