In the buying process in B2B companies, the buyer starts from a position in which he has an undefined problem, so he investigates it to find possible solutions, which leads him to an identification stage and, finally, to the choice of the providers of those solutions. Overexposure to advertising has meant that customers have learned to ignore content that they have not asked to receive. This has made the online marketing tools used so far more and more ineffective. That is why the return on investment of all these activities, when used as generators of sales opportunities, is increasingly low, so the time has come to use new marketing tools.
Although it may seem like a great challenge, it is actually a great opportunity, the opportunity to adapt not only to a new marketing strategy, but to a new marketing philosophy. Inbound Marketing is the way to align online marketing with a new buyer decision-making process. The objective it aims to achieve is to position a company when and where customers are looking for it.
Inbound Marketing and Content Marketing
According to eWorldTrade, Inbound Marketing replaces disruptive and invasive outbound forms with content strategies that help attract, convert, close, and please modern B2B buyers. It is the answer to the question ‘how do I use content to attract, convert, close and please more customers?’
- Attracting visitors online while they are investigating their problems.
- Convert visitors to leads as they delve into their problems and seek more information on possible solutions.
- Close sales by supporting your decision-making process, taking advantage of the trust generated.
- Pleasing customers by paying attention to them and turning them into prescribers of your brand.
On the other hand, content marketing consists of creating quality content adjusted to the needs of customers according to the phase of the purchase process in which they are. Inbound Marketing integrates content with lead generation, marketing automation, and other online marketing tactics.
We could say that while Inbound Marketing is the strategy, content marketing is the tactic. Strategy has to do with what we want to achieve. They are the great master lines and they always respond to a deep knowledge of what our competition does and what our client wants. The tactic is the detail of how we are going to put the strategy to work, what tools we will use and how. The strategy is long term while the tactic focuses on the short term.
Inbound Marketing is based on the premise that B2B buyers have regained control of their purchasing process and the flow of information between entrepreneurs and themselves. In the same way, he also defends that to gain trust and the right to start a conversation about what you offer, you have to follow his rules. By this we mean that you have to allow buyers to do their own research and not interrupt them in the process. This helps them make good decisions in their buying process.
While the buyer is going through his purchase process, he needs information to help him move from one stage to the next, that is, towards the search and implementation of a solution. The type and content of the information you need will change as the stages in the process change, as will your willingness to engage with potential suppliers.
Using Inbound Marketing for B2B companies and generating maximum results will require the implementation of three basic principles: content marketing, lead generation, and marketing automation.
Content marketing
Quality content plays a fundamental role in every step of the inbound methodology, increasing traffic, fueling the generation of leads and converting them into customers, as well as in post-sales marketing. This requires the collaboration of a creative team to maintain the constant flow of blog posts and content offers that Inbound requires.
Lead generation
After getting more and more visitors to the website and having extensive content to manage, lead generation becomes the next concern. It should be noted that opportunities do not convert on their own, so you have to create many opportunities for conversion and help them along the way.
Each page and each publication on a website will offer a call to action or call to action that leads to a landing page or a conversion opportunity. Calls-to-action, landing pages , forms, and content will provide what it takes to gain trust from your opportunities and gain valuable contact information.
The role of marketing automation
Marketing automation is a feature of the software that connects content marketing and generating leads with email, social media, analytics and sales. With marketing automation, everything from automated and personalized email campaigns to a complete inbound strategy can be created to attract, convert, close and please customers. With the added ability to analyze every aspect of performance in one place, marketing automation will also create a culture of continuous improvement.
Transforming traditional marketing into Inbound will guarantee additional benefits that will further increase the ability to generate business opportunities:
- Improve keyword ranking in competitive search.
- Growing reputation as opinion leaders.
- Higher customer conversion rate.
- Older and more engaged audiences on Social Media.
- Higher ROI from events.
- More resources for sales.
- More value generated by CRM investments.
When we align with consumers, offering them what they need at the right time, something big can happen.