In Case You Missed It: The Basics of Inbound Marketing

Inbound 2013: Re-engaging with the overall goals of inbound marketing

-Experienced? it?s a word that professionals utilize over and over again to describe a company?s or individual?s ability to understand and operate effectively and efficiently within a specific industry or ?space.?

Without speaking in absolutes, it could be said that almost everyone when seeking help, particularly from a marketing or advertising firm, first looks to see what type of ?experience? an individual or company has. It helps cut through the clutter and determine who might be the best fit as a marketing partner with the least amount of a learning curve as possible.

What if, however, experience has a downside?

What if hiring the proverbial ?old dog? leaves you doing exactly what everyone else is doing. Doesn?t hiring solely on experience come at a cost of innovation on some level? Sure it does? the reason is that experience and a track record takes companies and professionals away from what really matters in pursuit of a process or scalability and eventually you?re left speaking to the masses as a machine versus marketing to the ?Segment of One?, or the individual.

At HubSpot?s Inbound 2013 conference in Boston three main themes rang true that challenged veteran, experienced agencies to keep in mind to remain relevant and desirable to consumers.

• Appeal to Actualization ? In 1943, Abraham Maslow developed a hierarchy of needs outlining paths to human motivation. Upon understanding these ?needs? a good marketer can appeal to their clientele on their terms, based on Buyer Personas. The point is, appeal to your Buyer?s ideal self. What outcome are they looking to obtain, address that outcome as a benefit of your product or service, and then help them visualize themselves in that self-actualized environment. Help them become who they want to become.

• Scarcity Fuels Appreciation ? In product development, historically manufacturers wanted to design and develop a product to serve the masses. To truly be appreciated, however, the opposite is true. Human beings like to possess things that only they have access to? it?s called exclusivity. Try this, don?t appeal to the masses, but appeal to ?John? as an individual. Meets John?s needs and make John feel comfortable? that?s what John wants/needs.

• Focus on ?Delightion? ? We?ll admit, ?delightion? is a made up word courtesy of Dharmesh Shah of HubSpot. The idea behind it, however, is very much rooted in research and fact. If you focus more on delighting the customers you get versus always relying on new leads and buyers your returns are inherently higher through repeat buying and word of mouth. Remember, it?s roughly 10x more expensive to get a new customer than appeal to a repeat buyer.

So, what does this all mean?

Well, as you look to partner with an agency or inbound marketing firm, make sure that they have experience, but also that they haven?t lost sight of these three basic tenants of marketing. Make sure that they understand how truly effective marketing works, and that they?re able to teach YOU new tricks versus you having to whip that ?old dog? into shape.

Want to learn more about how Marketing Matters Inbound accomplishes these objectives? Reach out to us or take our FREE Inbound Marketing Assessment by clicking the button below and begin the process of developing your own, customer gap analysis.

Marketing Matters Inbound?is an inbound marketing firm specializing in online conversions, content?strategy, PPC campaigns and traditional media placement. Our experience in?B2B digital?marketing?and?traditional media?allows us to deliver results through a strategic media mix. We believe in?aligning and merging marketing and sales/operations for optimal return on your marketing investment.