Inbound Marketing & the Buying Process

Inbound Marketing & the Buying Process

Your name, your storefront, and any local ties and relationships you may have to a particular community are certainly one form of branding and marketing. But the content your business produces, whether it be in your store, your community or your online presence, is the opportunity for you to show your creative side and gain the attention and interest of your target audience. So how do you get the inbound leads to come pouring in? There are five steps to the Inbound Marketing Funnel Plan

1. Your content is a key factor in the number of inbound leads you receive –especially because your content is what search engines peruse to rank your relevancy to a particular search. Think about what you want your message to be and make sure that message is consistent throughout all of your content. Inform your audience, which also catching their interest. If you wouldn’t want to write what you’re producing, do you think others will?
2. Reach– This step will target your audience who is in the exploration stage of the buying process. By distributing your content to your social networks, website, and other publications you can increase the likelihood that people will find you and look to you as a source of information. Which leads me to step 3…
3. Act– As I was saying in step one, you need to be sure that in addition to being relevant and informative, your content should be inspiring, interesting, and worth coming back for more. If you’re giving people what they’re looking for, buyers in the decision making stage will be more likely to think of you as the solution. Focus on developing your website, blog and social networks, as well as getting involved locally.
4. Convert– Calls-to-Action on your content, website and emails assist your conversions in a big way. They should be clear. For current clients or customers, your message should drive repeat business. Promotions are another way to drive sales at the purchase stage of the buying process.
5. Engage– Just because a member of your target audience makes a purchase doesn’t mean that you’re done with them! Give them a place to leave reviews or interact in another way with your business. Encourage referrals through word-of-mouth or an incentive program. Your blog can also be a source of future information for them.

Just like when you were playing in the sand as a kid – the funnel doesn’t stop here. You go back to the top and start again. Part of the fun of marketing is that it’s always changing and there’s always something new to try. So tweak your content and get back in the game!

-Alyssa 🙂

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