We’ve been doing inbound marketing in Philadelphia for a while now, and our favorite thing about it is inbound is always evolving! There are always new strategies to learn and take advantage of to grow businesses. The methodology you put in place for 2018 is going to be outdated and ineffective by the time 2019 rolls around. But don’t worry – that doesn’t mean you have to scrap your marketing plan and start from square one. Using the knowledge you have of inbound marketing now, these are the new things you should learn about inbound for 2019:
One Less Step
We all know the pillars of the inbound methodology are attract, convert, close, and delight – or are they? Recently, inbound has dropped a step and the methodology now consists of attract, engage, and delight. While it may not seem like a huge difference, this change does affect the way you should approach each stage.
- Attract – disseminate helpful and relevant content that shows you’re a thought leader
- Engage – collect the user’s information to provide solutions and insight to become a trusted resource
- Delight – provide an outstanding experience every time someone interacts with your business
More than ever, the name of the game is providing the right piece of content at the right time in a friendly, natural way.
Funnel Meet Flywheel
The sales and marketing funnel is commonly used throughout most businesses, but what if I told you it was broken? In the traditional funnel, the prospects go through the top of the funnel and then once they become customers, the funnel stops. However, the best way to get new prospects is by your current and past customers referring people they know to your business. That’s why the flywheel was born. In a flywheel, the top and bottom are connected. That means once people become customers, you still need to be feeding them great content and giving them amazing service, so they will become promoters of your business. Happy customers will provide the energy that fuels the growth of your company.
Your Principles
Inbound shouldn’t just be a methodology practiced by your marketing department. Instead, it should be spread throughout all aspects of your business, including sales, marketing, and customer service. That’s why the inbound principles were created – they guide all interactions your company has with anyone outside your business. Luckily, there’s an easy way to remember them: SCOPE.
- Standardize for consistency – make sure everyone at your company is saying the same thing and has the same answers to buyer questions
- Contextualize for relevance – use data from previous interactions with your company to give buyers new information rather than the same thing they already know
- Optimize for clarity – before you send something out, think about the best channel to use; your message should maximize the channel’s strengths and minimize its weaknesses
- Personalize for impact – rather than using the same cookie cutter responses repeatedly, adapt your messaging to speak directly to person
- Empathize for perspective – think about a person’s emotional state to put yourself in their shoes before tailoring a response or message
If everyone in your company adapts these principles, you’ll all be rowing the same direction, which will allow your company to flourish like never before.
While these changes may seem small, they will do incredible things for the growth of your company. Spreading the inbound methodology to your entire company will help you create an amazing experience for your customers and keep them coming back for more. Looking for inbound marketing in Philadelphia? Try us on for size! Shoot us an email at info@wespeakeasy.com
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