Inbound Marketing

The Importance of Inbound Marketing

In Marketing, Michigan Creative by KaLyn McCullough

Attracting new, current, and past customers is more than pushing a brand. Rather, it’s pulling them in with useful and knowledgeable content they’re actively searching for. This method is referred to as inbound marketing — a strategy that specializes in attraction, engagement, and delight for customers. Reaching the right audience at the right time is essential for a company’s success and inbound marketing allows companies to do just that.

Customer satisfaction is key in developing recurring customers and increasing brand awareness. With inbound marketing, companies focus on attracting customers through helpful content, engaging them in the company’s work, and delighting them by exceeding their expectations.

I’m sure you’ve heard of owned and earned media, both of which inbound marketing utilizes. Sometimes we have control over the media a company uses/sees (owned). Other times, it’s word-of-mouth recognition a company receives (earned) that increases company growth. By using both methods, we increase a customer’s trust in our employees and company and create long-lasting relationships with these clients.

How does HubSpot define inbound marketing?

The inbound marketing software, HubSpot, coined the term in 2006. HubSpot defines it as creating valuable customer experiences resulting in a positive impact on the consumer and the company. The following excerpt from HubSpot Academy explains how inbound marketing functions:

From a business perspective, the methodology represents the growth of your business, and happy customers provide the energy that fuels that growth, either because they buy from you again or because they bring new customers to you by promoting your product to other people in their network. But if you produce unhappy customers, either by selling to people who are bad fits for your offering or by overpromising and under-delivering, they’ll slow your company’s growth.”

Lastly, this strategy allows us to ensure the customer we’re working with them, not for them. The difference? Working with the customer allows them to be involved in each step. This allows them to voice their input and give feedback in order for us to create the best possible outcome.

References:

“What is Inbound Marketing?” HubSpotwww.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing.