Inbound marketing programs can be used by almost any business, but they do work much better in some industries than others.
How can you know whether inbound marketing would work for you? Here are some indications that inbound marketing is a good fit for your industry.
Information is Needed Before Buying
When people today need information, they go online to find it. This is the very essence of inbound and content marketing: people are looking for information, and you want to be the company they find.
People are more likely to go searching for information about your company and industry if:
- You provide something new or unique. The less the average person knows about your product or service, the more they will need to gather information before deciding to buy.
- You provide something that is hard to understand. By explaining it to them, you provide a service and demonstrate your expertise.
- There are a lot of details to go over. If your service is complex or has many options, you can save time and serve people by providing the details through online content.
- You tend to get a lot of questions. For every question you get, there are probably dozens more which only get asked to Google. Answer those questions online, and you will wind up with more website traffic and leads (and less time spent answering questions).
You are Talked About
Word of mouth is powerful. It is also largely online, thanks to social media and the various sites dedicated to providing reviews of companies and products. Inbound marketing gives you a say in the conversation and helps you persuade your customers to persuade their friends.
This aspect of inbound marketing is more important for your industry if:
- Your business is based on referrals or recommendations by customers. Inbound marketing makes it easier for people to refer their friends. It also makes those referrals more effective because people can check out your company for themselves before contacting you directly.
- You are involved in the community or in local events. You can turn events into content marketing opportunities or use activities online to gain more exposure and increase your marketing reach.
- You have passionate fans. Building a strong online presence, especially through social media, gives people who truly love your product something to rally around and promote to others.
- You have vocal enemies. That same online presence can be used to resolve customer complaints and keep unfair accusations about your company from going unchallenged.
A Long Sales Cycle
Inbound marketing content can be leveraged through lead nurturing and marketing automation to keep people engaged and interested until they are ready to buy.
Reaching Everyone Costs Too Much
Odds are, your industry is targeted at certain types of people--and in many cases, it is a very small percentage of the population. With outbound marketing, trying to get your message out to everyone in order to find those few people who are truly interested can be cost-prohibitive. With inbound marketing, the people who are interested find you, without the additional cost of pushing your message out to them.
Having Something to Contribute
If you have something to say, social media and business blogging give you ways to say it. You can demonstrate that you are a thought leader or convey the personality of your brand to prospective customers.
You Like Being Liked
Nobody really enjoys outbound marketing tactics. People do not look forward to receiving junk mail nor do they watch television in order to see the commercials. People prefer inbound marketing because then they only see your messages if and when they want the information. Inbound marketing gives consumers a greater degree of control and generally keeps them from feeling manipulated or sold to.
More is Better
Even if you have found success with outbound marketing, going inbound provides you with another channel to generate additional leads.
As you can see, inbound marketing is an important element for most industries, and it can at least be helpful in essentially everyone's marketing plan.
* Image courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net
