How to Build Lifelong Customer Relationships with Inbound Marketing

Did you know the cost of acquiring a new customer is five to ten times more than retaining an existing one?

Buyers are better-informed than ever, and want to work with brands that provide deeply engaging content that is customized to their unique interests and goals.

Companies such as Patagonia and Nike build relationships with customers that become raving, die-hard fans for life. How do they do it?

A Surprisingly Simple Solution

A few days ago, I published an article about Conversion Rate Optimization, which is a process businesses use to create better online experiences for customers in an effort to increase sales conversions and the number of returning customers.

When they want to bring traffic to their site the managers have three options:

1. Wait for customers to find the site on their own
2. Pay for customer's attention by bombarding them with ads across the web and on social media.
3. Pull customers in with thoughtful, personalized content that is valuable and relevant to their target market.

Let’s face it, option 2 (above), which is called “Outbound Marketing” is what most people think of when they hear the word marketing. This includes intrusive ads that interfere with the content we want to enjoy without interruption. It is most advantageous to pull a customer in with great content.

According to a study by Hootsuite 42.7% of people use ad blockers. So not only is Outbound Marketing annoying for customers, but it is also becoming an increasingly ineffective waste of money.

On the flip side, option 3 (above) illustrates the concept of “Inbound Marketing,” which is effective because it attracts leads and build everlasting relationships with customers.

Additionally, businesses who use an Inbound Marketing strategy acquire more customers per dollar, and experience an increase in marketing ROI because of the money they save through customer retention.

Most importantly, with a successful Inbound Marketing strategy, businesses can earn their ideal customer’s trust, respect, business and referrals.

Who Can Run an Inbound Marketing Campaign?

Anyone can create and run an inbound marketing strategy. The key is to identify the ideal target market and understand what makes them tick. By understanding their audience, businesses can create highly personalized content and distribute it where and when customers need it.

Simple examples of personalized and valuable content include:

• ?If you work for a large national bank that specializes in first time homebuyer lending, start a blog with informative and fun content featuring tips for about how grads can start saving money and investing after college.
• If you own a small landscaping company, show your expertise by publishing blog content that provides tips for year-around gardening and lawn care techniques. Distribute it on your city's Reddit forum.
• If you are about to graduate from college and want to communicate your value to people in your network, deep-dive into a topic that would be relevant to a future employer and write a blog post about it.

Everyone can be an inbound marketer as long as they put in the time and dedication to understand where their customers are and what their goals are.

How Can I Get Started with Inbound Marketing?

Once again, Inbound Marketing centers on providing educational value to customers. This can be done by applying the Hubspot Flywheel concept:

Find and Attract

Generate more traffic and leads by creating and distributing valuable content and starting conversations that establish your expertise and authority as a trusted advisor.

• Blogging: write blog posts that inform people who are already interested in what you have to offer. Publish the blog somewhere your ideal customer already spends their time. For example, if you offer interior design services and you know a real estate agent who has a large following on social media, ask if you can publish a guest blog post on their Instagram, offering pictures and a list of interior design trends new home buyers should be aware of. This would help both you and the real estate agent look more useful, relevant, and engaged with customers.
• Search Engine Optimization: build your content so that customers can more easily find you when they search for you.
• Paid Search Ads: find out what customers search for when they look for products and services like yours and make sure your business is on the top of the search results.

Engage

Present insights that align your solution with their pain points so that they can easily see how you can fill their needs.

At this point, the customer is already aware of you. From here, treat every moment of contact as an opportunity to show that you care by sharing information about the physical features, intellectual advantages, and emotional benefits of your product or service.

For example, if you work for a bank and were blogging for first time homebuyers, remind them that your branch offers one-on-one coaching to find the right loan type (physical feature), making them more prepared to buy when the right house comes along (intellectual advantage) which will help them feel confident and informed when they buy their first house (emotional benefit). Applying this “FAB PIE” framework when crafting messages will help you communicate how you will help them reach their goals. Continue to follow up with personalized content.

A warning however: in the bank scenario above, you may be working with people who would feel overwhelmed if you sent them too much content. Know your customer, and tailor the presentation, placement and timing of your communications in a way that will be most relevant to their needs and interests.

Delight

During and after the purchase, provide support by opening the lines of communication. The “delight” phase includes all post-purchase activities that shows them you care and will be there for them next time.

Post-purchase follow-up is one of the best things a company can do to maintain lifelong relationships after each conversion. Examples include:

• Post-purchase surveys
• Social media listening: encourage users to provide feedback, ask questions and share experiences. Respond to them every chance you get.
• Enable testimonials and reviews, providing spaces for customers to offer candid feedback

The Inbound Snail

Similar to the Hubspot Flywheel concept (attract, engage, delight), my "Inbound Snail" concept illustrates the process of finding and attracting a relevant, targeted customer and repeatedly engaging with them by providing relevant, timely, and well-placed content to earn their conversions and extend the length of your customer relationship with them.

The Most Important Thing: Personalization

80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase when brands offer personalized experiences, according to a study by Epsilon.

Inbound marketing strategies will only work if they are highly targeted to the right type of customer. To determine who the “right type” of customer is, identify the following criteria for your target audience segment:

• ?Demographics (age, income, education, hobbies, lifestyle) and psychographics (values and lifestyles)
• What their problems are
• What type of content they want to see
• When they need that content
• Where they access their content
• ?Preferred methods of communication

Companies with Great Inbound Marketing Strategies

Many companies are already using inbound marketing strategies with great success.

Patagonia creates content specifically for people who align with its values. The company has a strong community of followers who are inspired by Patagonia’s sustainability practices. For example, Patagonia uses LinkedIn to create content that provides customers with educational articles about what they do to help the environment.

M-Dash sells women’s professional apparel, and creates content geared toward empowering women in the workplace.

JetBlue is known for delivering informative marketing emails that are customized for users based on how long customers have been flying with the airline.

Next Steps

Inbound Marketing opens up a world of opportunities for businesses who want to attract and retain qualified customers. A well executed Inbound Marketing strategy will instill customers with a sense of belongingness and community through their association with the brand.

If you want to learn more about attracting more qualified leads, creating content that shows your expertise, and extending the lifetime value of your customer relationships, feel free to reach out. I am here to help you research and establish your target market and build a personalized Inbound Marketing strategy for your business.

Connect on LinkedIn or visit my website nicoleshive.com.