Other than word of mouth, inbound marketing is the most cost-effective way to market your products to people. Faced with so much competition in nearly every niche market imaginable, it’s important to incorporate selling strategies that don’t leave the customer constantly feeling like they’re being sold to.
I challenge you all to become the “new breed” of Internet marketer, instead of just doing what everyone else has been doing for the last decade. Now it’s all about “funneling” customers into your business, slowly but surely. Much like you slowly build up to that first kiss with your significant other.
Times are a changing!
1. It all starts with marvelous content.
Not with your snazzy weight loss or sure-fire money-making information product. Great content that’s relevant to the interests of the types of customers you’re trying to attract should be at the very top of your funnel strategy. The public demanded it and then a big hairy Panda came in and made it be so.
2. Stop being the problem and start solving people’s dilemmas (ditch the lame popup ads)
80% of decision makers prefer to make a buying decision based on a series of articles or vlogs rather than using advertisements to sway them one way or the other. Simple and to the point: I believe VCRs, and later Tivos were created for the exact same reason caller ID on telephones were. Well sort of. Caller ID allows you to screen callers, whereas people record (or torrent) their favorite programs so they don’t have to watch commercials. We all hate them. Even the most hardcore marketers hate them. Don’t be the schmuck with a thousand and one popups hammering guests to your website every few minutes.
People know you’re in it for the money, they just don’t want to be reminded of that fact while they’re trying to learn or be entertained by your content.
3. Tell them how to make a decision without being an MMO guru!
Ask the Frank Kern’s and John Reese’s of the world how many times you need to ask for the sale and they’ll tell you you have to hammer your CTA home multiple times to have any chance at snagging the sale. This ideal is more of an affiliate dictum than something an inbound marketer should be focusing on. Tell them how best to make a decision by talking to them like a friend, rather than a salesman.
4. Leads before sales.
Smart marketers know that a one-off sale today doesn’t lay the foundation for a long-term profitable business next year or the year after. Wow them with real content, don’t ask for a sale every paragraph or minute of video airtime, and you’ll get a “lead” that can turn into sales for a lifetime.
Make them the ToFu of your delicious sales recipe, so you can slowly cultivate and season them over time with more great content, regular emails, newsletters, and value added incentives. Then watch your business grow as you continue to gain more additions to your funnel by providing value and interacting with them through comments and social media.
5. Recognize the buyer’s journey: ACD.
There are 3 phases to a buyer’s journey: Awareness, Consideration and Decision. This tip parrots the need to create leads first, then sales. Most of you are likely doing it wrong, blasting out your “Buy Now” and “Only 2 minutes left before the price quintuples!” kind of desperation-mode sales tactics. If you read the sales funnel model linked to in the previous paragraph (here it is again), you’re literally doing it arsed-backwards!
Selling gallons of water outside a burning building is easy and profitable. Try setting up shop the day before that fire’s going to occur and people are going to give you a lot of strange looks. People in the “Awareness” stage (ie., top of the funnel) aren’t ready to take the plunge yet. Trying to force them will result in a sale that’s lost forever, which is why you need to give them content that’ll help them decide what they need most.
Say you’re selling antivirus software: The customer has landed on your site because they think they need more security on their PC. It’s your job to educate them first. Offer a free scan of their PC in exchange for their email, then email them with the results of the test and suggestions on how to fix the problem; one of which just might be your product! I’m not saying you can’t have a link at the top of the page for your product, because some people might land on your site because they’re ready to pull the trigger and buy — just remember that the RTB (Ready to Buy) visitors are the minority, not the majority.
For even more great inbound marketing tips, check out this great article from Entrepreneur.com:
5 Tips on Developing a Successful Inbound-Marketing Strategy
