Inbound Marketing - Just Another Gimmick
How do you convince your boss they need inbound marketing?
by Dave Maloney
Maybe the hardest part of being in Inbound Marketing is trying to argue with someone who doesn't understand it. Some business owners are "set in their ways" you could say; they've "been doing business for umteen years and have always done things one way and it always worked fine". Or they advocate "doing things the old fashioned way:" phone calls, meeting in person; nothing to do with that internet "inbound marketing" crap. A good honest handshake still holds its value, but how customers and companies get to that point has evolved, and this electronic businessworld is not just a passing novelty.
Simply put, what worked when you started the business 20 years ago (even 5 years ago!) doesn't work now. Inbound Marketing cynics will agree that their old tactics - newspaper and yellow page ads, direct mailers, tv and radio spots - seem like a total waste of their budget lately. They'll even agree that when they look for something, they'll use Google. But ask them if their website has been optimized to be found in search engines, they automatically grumble about being vamboozled with magic beans. At that point asking if they blog or have a Facebook fan page is unnecessary; I've already heard all the colorful responses about those wastes of time.
"Figures Don't Lie, But Liars Do Figure!"
Yes, Inbound Marketing is an investment of time and money, just like traditional marketing. But instead of the smoke/mirrors approach of traditional marketing ("your billboard might be seen by 100,000 people next month, send more $$$) , with Inbound Marketing your results can be measured distinctly. With tools like HubSpot, you can not only see how many visitors came to their webpage in a given time period, you can see how they found you. You can track how many of those visitors became leads, how many of those leads became customers and which of your efforts are working or not working.
And what can be measured, can be improved. In traditional marketing, if your $100,000 magazine ad campaign was a total flop, better luck next time. With Inbound Marketing, if you see your message isn't bringing you the most qualified traffic, you can make adjustments and continue to analyze your progress (without costing you the $100,000).
- If you have a website for your business but you're not using Inbound Marketing, it's like having a storefront without a sign. Nobody knows you're there.
- You think you don't need a Facebook Business page because your customers don't come from there, but how do you know?
- You have a better chance of winning the lottery or being struck by lightning (maybe both) than being found at the top of Google without Inbound Marketing!
Want to learn more about Inbound Marketing and how to choose the best keywords for your business?
Download our Free eBook:
Choosing Money Making Keywords
©Pagetender LLC - Internet Marketing - All Rights Reserved.