Digital marketing as a concept is quite vast, and Inbound marketing is the up and coming trend that is taking the marketing world by storm.

Inbound marketing refers to strategies that include content marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Pay Per Click and Social Media Marketing.

It is mostly based on “Pull marketing strategy,” which means that, the interest generated from their target customers drives it.

They are a sharp contrast to traditional marketing techniques like billboards, magazines/ newspapers, television advertisements, radio, post mail, and many others.

Where the communication is mostly one way and customer interaction with the brand is very limited and push their messages to a general audience who are often uninterested in the message that the company is trying to convey.

As for Inbound marketing, companies conduct research and narrow down their audience to a target which is also assisted by the fact that these techniques are enabled by two-way communication.

Customer feedback is quick and though these brands are aware of the pros and cons of their services/products.

Advantages of Adopting Inbound Marketing

1. Better relationship with the customers gains goodwill, and customers are delighted to learn that companies take the time to educate them about the brand.

2. Marketing efforts are simplified.

3. Creating higher and better quality marketing leads, which in turn help with the sales of the brand.

4. It’s cost-effective, every business before materializing any idea always thinks about how much it’ll affect them in the long run and will they get enough ROI from it. Hence, Inbound marketing comes into play as it not only reaches its target audience with less time but also with minimum costs. It can produce leads to companies of all sizes.

5. The long-term goal of Inbound marketing at the end of the day is to connect with their customers. They have to churn out content that is relatable and the target audience needs to trust their brand and to maintain that trust is not a one-off instance, it happens over a period. Once that goodwill is cemented with the company, marketers should not abandon their customers they have to work at maintaining said goodwill.

Take, for example, social media platforms like Instagram. Once you have managed to get 1,000 followers through constant updates, you will not stop posting your pictures but will continue to engage your followers and reach out to them and this way you as a brand will grow organically.

The same goes with Inbound marketing, once you have provided your target audience with content that you would want them to read or something that you know they will relate too, provided you have gained their trust by instituting your authority on the subject than whatever follows will come through quite easily.

Does This Inbound Marketing Technique Work?

Yes, more often than not, it does.

1. Look at your buying habits.

How many times have you seen your favorite brands’ advertising their new products on billboards and through TV commercials, and been compelled to pick up the product as soon as possible?

However, rather before investing your hard earned money, you do research. You read up the content online and compare reviews. This is where customer goodwill comes into play.

So, not only convincing new/existing customers to invest in your brand but also increase your target audience.

2. You have to have a plan.

There is a common conception, that; since the grunt work is less compared to outbound marketing, the results will be quicker at less effort without plans.

There needs to be a blueprint. Inbound marketing is only effective if the foundation and the ideas are clear, which at the end helps with the sale of the brand.

Even if you use high-quality content and flashy social media posts but still do not manage to generate enough traffic the whole point of your strategy goes moot.

Inbound marketing is not a quick fix to your marketing woes, on the contrary, the Inbound concept is more of a methodology that requires in-depth research and understanding of the customer and their thought process.

3.You can do so much more with your budget.

When numbers are concerned, Inbound generates 54 percent more leads than the traditional marketing tactics.

More leads at a lower cost means, higher ROI along with fewer expenses. In addition to this, it leaves you with extra cash that you can use to revamp the website or use it to amplify the website traffic.

Inbound marketing strategies are important to implement in modern-day campaigns – Why?

By implementing Inbound marketing, businesses are not just empowered but successful on their terms, and companies can control and attract new businesses.

Inbound marketing is a creative way of engaging customers in an ongoing dialogue. This includes the brand and the company’s business culture. By doing so, they are giving their target audience an insight into the process and useful content.

Traditional marketing is one-way communication, whereas, Inbound marketing is two-way communication. Companies can communicate with their audience in a professional and congenial manner.

Listed below are the reasons this strategy is important:

1. Inbound marketing is more effective at increasing website traffic, lead generation, sales and generating customer loyalty.

2. By building a reliable foundation to increase brand awareness companies can be consistent with their marketing strategies.

3. Compared to traditional marketing strategies, wherein the company has to spend huge money on ads, online marketing is cheaper. Increasing amount of users go online to research about products. Hence, Inbound marketing is more useful.

As the saying goes, “If it’s on the internet it stays forever, even if you delete it.” The company website has their content at all hours of the day.

There is no time slot, and people can browse through at their convenience. It’s not just a website it’s a sales page.

Using Inbound Techniques for B2B Marketing

Firstly, it’s confusing that advertising and inbound marketing are the same, that’s not true. Advertising is like renting the audience’s attention; whereas inbound marketing looks to gain their trust and attention for the long term.

The trust asset is inseparable from the B2B journey. As a company, your priority to attract another business is to generate website traffic and appeal to their needs.

 

You can achieve this through blogging and social media. Once you capture the attention of a marketer’s job is not complete, now customer retention is just as important as an acquisition.

Keep the target engaged, especially if they have been long-term customers, send out newsletters. Make them feel valued in hopes that they will eventually become brand ambassadors.

Not only this, but they will also promote your company to potential future customers.

The Growth of Inbound Marketing Agencies in India

Inbound marketing is still in its infancy in India, but that does not mean companies do not see it’s potential.

Whether it’s cost effective or tends to give high leads and ROI. Companies have woken up and taken notice of the many opportunities that this strategy has to offer.

They have started exploring this as a concept and used it as an effective tool in their business.

Even though a handful of companies have taken up inbound marketing, mostly concentrated in metropolitan cities. The growth prospects are positive, and India will see more Inbound marketing in the near future.

Yes, Inbound marketing works, but as a brand, the company must be willing to invest their time and efforts.

Inbound is all about creating content that retains customers, empowers the company, generates high ROI and sales leads, and having a good amount of patience.

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