There's lots of marketing blah blah out there about how inbound marketing focuses on drawing buyers in with quality content, and building a relationship with them by providing information that helps them.
But what does that mean, like, in the real world?
If you're a CEO, does "do inbound marketing" mean anything to you -- does it help you decide how to invest a few precious minutes in marketing activities?
Just in case your answer is "hell no" let’s put some common practices side by side with best practices to look at the difference:
|
Best practice |
Typical practice |
|
Fresh content (guides, articles, videos…) |
No/low fresh content (same over time) |
|
Variety of A/B-tested calls to action |
No or few “first date” calls to action |
|
Variety of A/B-tested landing pages |
No landing pages with forms for conversions |
|
Robust analytics, data-driven decision-making |
Minimal analytics, guessing in decision making |
|
Thorough on-page search engine optimization |
No/ partial on-page SEO |
|
Consistent (white-hat) link building |
No or little link building |
|
Automated behavior-tailored email nurturing |
Email “blasts” (not behavior-triggered) |
|
RESULT: Inbound leads via website. Company captures new business opportunities as more prospective buyers are attracted. |
RESULT: No inbound leads via website. Company misses new business opportunities as prospective buyers form relationships with competitors. |
What priority would you assign to each of the best practices on the left?
Can you tackle some without tackling others?
What'd I miss?
