There are many great articles out there about getting started with Inbound Marketing. But, if you’re wondering if Inbound is right for your brand, and how to deliver value, this is the one to read.

Typically, these articles begin by addressing questions like, “What is Inbound and why should I care?” or, “What will Inbound do for my business?

While plenty of marketing trends already vie for your time, Inbound is beyond a trend, so we begin with, “Is Inbound right for my business?”

Inbound marketing is a technique for drawing customers to content about your products and services via email, social media, PPC, search and branding. Inbound marketing begins with information about a product or service that offers an improved customer experience and builds trust by providing potential customers information they value.

You may already be using some of the tools of Inbound with company newsletters, blogs, and social media. However, without a strategy, a path to conversion, and a way to measure, most of these efforts feel more like “checking a box” than offering purchasers the information they need to make decisions.

Compared with Outbound marketing, Inbound reverses the relationship between company and customer. While Outbound marketing is going to push the product through various channels, Inbound marketing attracts, builds awareness and creates new customers.

Is Inbound Right for My Business?

Inbound can be used for every business, but there are unique qualities we look for when recommending the strategy.

1. Does your product or service have an extended sales cycle?
2. Is your product or service technical in nature?
3. Do you sell your products or services to other businesses?

If you answered “yes” to any of these, Inbound is right for you. Read on…

The Wilder Way

The Wilder Way is to provide value that demonstrates the difference your product or service offering will make to potential customers that is undeniable.

Inbound the Wilder Way has four steps:

1. Determine what content is of unique value for your ideal customer
2. Create and deliver that content consistently
3. Present offers that turn them into customers
4. Make your content sharable so that customers become evangelists

Choice vs. Sold

We give your potential customers so much value through your content that they have to become customers. And, it doesn’t feel like being sold, rather, it’s advising objectively and letting people make their own choice through the process.

Through your content, your prospect learns about something that is of real value to them. It could address a concern they have, solve a problem or show them how to achieve something that’s important to them. To be effective, this content needs to be of sufficient value that they want more.

Deliver and Repeat

The next step is crucial. We are creating and delivering this valuable content consistently so that your brand becomes a trusted authority. We advise clients to begin with a series of content around a subject matter that has 4 – 6 deliverables for 90 days. Our content creators here at Wilder2 create with your direction and on your schedule.

Over this period, you’re building a subscriber list that will be robust, because you’ve been using social media, email, PPC and other measures that draw your audience to the content. Subscribing also has the added value of qualifying the buyer. If someone is not willing to give you contact information, we would say their interest level is relatively low.

Take My Money

By now you may be asking, “How will content move a prospect to become a customer, and how will we process an order like this?”

We advise clients to conclude the series with an exclusive offer for these subscribers. Depending on your industry and your business, that may include sending them to a dealer with a promo code or giving them the opportunity to buy on your website or by phone. It could also take the form of a rebate. However it’s done, there’s a conversion path to create and track, and we can help you build it.

The point is to make the offer feel exclusive to the potential customer. Every dealer in your various channels can participate; it’s the way the offer is delivered that makes it feel exclusive.

Tell Your Friends

Now that your content pipeline is generating new customers, the Wilder Way turns those customers into evangelists for your product. We all know that word-of-mouth marketing is compelling, but creating a methodology that fosters it can be elusive.

Throughout the content series, we recommend clients make sharing the content easy, and if possible include a call to action to share it with friends. This can also be part of the offer, giving additional savings if the customer shares the subscription content and a pre-determined number sign up.

Conclusion

Now that you’ve read more about the Wilder Way to Inbound Marketing, the next step is easy. Let’s schedule a discovery call where we can get into more depth about this methodology, and how it can work for your specific business needs. We’ll talk about how we work with clients to create and deploy your strategy and all the details.

Let’s get started…