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Inbound Perspective Helps Marketers Channel Their Inner Customer

cloudAs I get ready to co-host and speak at next week’s Inbound Marketing Summit (IMS) in New York I’ve been thinking a lot about the “state of Inbound Marketing,” especially since that’s the subject of one of the panels I happen to be moderating.  It’s been a few years since the inbound movement arrived on the scene.  Fostered by proponents like Seth Godin and the early HubSpot crew, inbound has moved into the marketer’s lexicon and shined the spotlight on the power of great content in getting found online, boosting SEO and creating higher-value conversations with prospects at the top of the funnel.

Reflecting on the previous 4 events I’ve helped to organize, it’s clear that the inbound movement has grown up – and out.  In fact the sessions at this year’s IMS cover the spectrum of online marketing and many address the broader role of how inbound and social and mobile are being mashed up.  Nevertheless, the inbound ecosystem and its evangelists have had a pretty significant impact on how many large (and even more small sized) companies approach their marketing mix.

Of course some of these same supporters have at times seen everything through an inbound lens and a year or so ago sparked a healthy back-and-forth about the roles of inbound vs. content marketing in the broader digital arena.  A topic addressed by Joe Pulizzi and my colleague Robert Rose here.

Putting that debate aside, I believe the inbound movement has done a lot to promote the value of great online content.  I also think it has fundamentally changed how some marketers view their role in the sales process and have even enhanced their standing in the C-suite.  Here’s how:

  • Realizing the customer is in control changes your perspective.  It’s about enabling customers to learn and buy vs. selling.  It’s also about delivering more engaging experiences before and after the sale that get people talking (in a positive way).  And ultimately doing and buying things that they will love, something I discuss in this post.
  • More success at top of the funnel means more success at the bottom.  Want more qualified leads?  Let customers select you!  And once they indicate interest, do more to inform and nurture and interact with them at each stage of the funnel.  Content that creates conversations qualifies interest, and helps us advance our relationship – with futures customers and the sales team (who tend to like better qualified leads as it turns out).
  • Inbound thinking can get us closer to data-driven, closed loop campaigns.  Attribution has always been a challenge when running online campaigns that result in delayed or offline purchases, yet starting at the top of the funnel can get us closer to expecting (and demanding) a clearer view of what clicks lead to what sign-ups, or what comments or shares lead to what purchases.  Plus if we look to combine social, email, and inbound techniques (and tie it all into our CRM) we get a killer combo that can pull in insights and generate actions across all relevant channels.

It’s clear that content creation, delivery and measurement are core foundations for profitable customer engagement.  So whether you view inbound marketing as a tool or a philosophy (and an adjunct or big part of content marketing) there’s no denying it’s a concept that has advanced the discussion around these topics.

At the same time, taking an inbound perspective has helped countless marketers to think more about the top of the funnel – and hopefully also think more like a customer when creating new campaigns.  Which is a good thing for all parties, whatever you call it!


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