Time for a new approach: Inbound Marketing
Posted by David Carpenter on Wed, Apr 08, 2009
You've read the news. It's everywhere. The traditional approach to marketing is dying. Examine the predominant media and tactics that make up "traditional marketing": Newspapers, TV, Radio, Print, Direct Mail, Out of Home, etc. and you'll quickly realize like I did that they are all "outbound" tactics - an approach
Seth Godin famously coined as "Interruption Marketing" - the tactics that work only if they
interrupt you to get your attention. Call it "Outbound Marketing", "Interruption-based" or simply
"What we've always done"; the truth is that the lives of consumers have changed-- as well as their response to advertising and marketing. And the reality is, our marketing efforts need to adapt accordingly..
So what works better?
Inbound Marketing stands in the opposite corner of the marketing world as an approach that does not depend on interruption, rather it depends on someone actively seeking you out for information on a topic, service, offering or product. Inbound Marketing is a term defined by Forrester as "The delivery of targeted or customized marketing messages and offers within the context of a customer-initiated interaction. " In practical application, Inbound Marketing involves the strategy of leveraging SEO (Search Engine Optimization), SEM/PPC (Paid Search), Blogging and Social Media to drive increased traffic, leads and revenue to a business.
Attract highly qualified customers to your business like a magnet
Instead of having telemarketers make endless calls and direct mailers send countless mail pieces pestering decision makers - without any sense of timing, when that decision maker may be in market - the Inbound strategy works by getting your business found by those actively seeking the services, solutions and products you offer, when they're in market.
Leverage existing customer interactions
Forrester goes on to say that, "Enterprising companies are turning to their sales and service interactions as a primary means for cross-sell, up-sell, and retention activities. These channels present an opportunity where: 1) the customer is actively engaged - by choice; 2) customer needs are more transparent; and 3) the ‘right time' might be now."
This is perhaps the strongest argument for a new approach. Let's face it: Consumer have the control these days. They have more channels, more choices, more information sources than ever before. Like it not, The Marketer and The Company are not regaining control anytime soon. The task for savvy marketers today is to educate, add value, and enable the decision making process.
What's on your mind?
Have an interruption marketing horror story to share? Or a great example of a company embracing Inbound Marketing and Customer Interaction on the web? Share your thoughts here. Be sure to sign your name (unattributed comments will not be published.)
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