Five Ways to Attract Customers with Inbound Marketing

All marketing strategies have some version of an attract phase, but the way Inbound marketing works is a bit different. Let’s see how the inbound methodology utilizes the attract phase to generate highly qualified leads.

First let’s look at the components of the attract phase, the initial phase of the methodology. In any example of a successful inbound attract phase, there are a few major components that help attract visitors to your web site: content with a keyword strategy, a business blog used to establish thought leadership, and properly planned distribution strategies that ensure your content reaches the people who matter most to your business.

Lead:  A lead is a person who has in some way, shape, or form indicated interest in your company’s product or service. (HubSpot)

The attract phase of the inbound marketing methodology is arguably one of the most important phases of this marketing method. This is true for many reasons. If a company has developed their brand and website content based around a primary buyer persona, the content should not only attract leads to the website, but attract highly qualified leads. This means individuals with pain points that your product or service alleviates will be knocking at your website door looking for informative, easy to consume information regarding your products or services, and how your brand plans to delight them long after their first purchase.

Starting to make sense?

Here’s why. Inbound marketing is all about delivering value to potential, current, and repeat customers or brand ambassadors. Creating brand awareness should be a goal in each stage of the buyer’s journey.

How do you generate qualified leads to establish brand awareness in the attract stage?

Set clear goals.
Clear goals command clear results. If you are going to exhaust marketing resources, it is important to understand how those resources are performing so you can better measure return on investment, track marketing performance, and make your boss happy.

Understand your brand.
Developing buyer personas and fully understanding your target audience is a crucial part of your brand development process. Having buyer personas will allow you to understand their pain points, struggles, passions and enjoyments. By understanding how your brand fits into the buyer’s lifestyle, your ability to go above and beyond increases exponentially.

Develop content with your consumer in mind.
If you have taken the time to fully understand and get to know the customers you have, you are well on your way to a content development strategy that will return investment ten fold. It is important to note the buyer’s preferred means of content consumption, their buying habits, influences, and details that will assist in providing a more pleasurable user experience.

Maintain user experience excellence.
Provide the best possible user experience available. A pleasurable user interaction builds brand recognition.

Stay focused on the goals at hand.
Oftentimes business owners and marketers alike get sidetracked by the details and processes involved in creating a successful inbound marketing campaign. Staying focused will ensure you are utilizing time and resources appropriately. This is crucial to the return on investment of inbound marketing. If you were to generate a marketing strategy that does not encompass your overall business goals, how can you expect to meet your target metrics? Center your  projects around a specific set of SMART goals to encourage brand success.

Inbound marketing is logically rather simple: Attract, Convert, Close, Delight. Four stages with simple tasks. Become an industry-specific thought leader who keeps their customers front of mind and you will be off to a running start. Understand your product or service to its core, and get to know your buyers’ thought process, purchasing habits, and ways of life. This will better help you to serve their needs. Above all, put your customers first, and be their brand.