I don't blame you for thinking that way, but there is a major swing happening in marketing that you simply cannot ignore. Inbound Marketing is a process of getting new customer to contact your business. Sometimes called Magnetic Marketing or Attraction Marketing.
Well that is what marketing has always been about hasn't it?
Not really. Traditional marketing is based more on an interruption methodology, where you attempt to get your message in front of a prospective customer and ask them to do business with you...you approach them.
Inbound marketing is simply the opposite...you create a situation where the prospective customer asks if they can do business with you...they approach you.
There is nothing wrong with interruption marketing...it has worked successfully for 100's of years, but today, you have to get through the clutter of 3,000 odd messages a day that we as consumers are all subject to. How do you get your businesses name and product or service in front of them and then actually be seen?
Traditional or Interruption Marketing Methods
- Telemarketing
- Trade shows
- Direct mail
- Print Advertising
- Email blasts
- Fax blasts
- TV / Radio Advertising
New or Magnetic Marketing Methods
Why would you keep doing something that is not working? Albert Einstein said that Insanity is "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
The new or inbound marketing means re-learning and introducing alternative strategies into your marketing mix. It doesn't mean completely discarding old methods (after all
they are tried and true) but what you must do is learn; try; measure. Identify what strategies give you the maximum ROI (return on investment) then you can adopt new marketing methods with confidence.
In my own business, we have moved right away from advertising and direct mail which were old staples. We might do these things occassionally to re-test and to throw in a bit of diversity, but generally we operate digitally...email, web, online, e-books, social media, blogs.
Best of all, it can be a bit light-hearted...maybe even funny.
A fantastic example of inbound marketing can be seen on You Tube where a viral video has proved extraordinarily good for Blendtec in the USA. They started demonstrating their blenders and have now produced 84 different videos...all very cheaply and using simple home video equipment and then up loading to You Tube. You may have seen them already, but if not, click on Will It Blend? iphone G3...you'll get a good laugh out of it.
When I looked at this video last night it was registering 3,169,558 views and across all of the Blendtec 84 videos there are way more than 50 million views (too hard to add it all up). What amazing visibility and for virtually no cost. What would that level of coverage have cost on TV?
I bet if you watch a couple of the videos, you'll come away thinking that Blendtec blenders are trully bullet proof. Would you consider buying one? How could you use this idea in your business?
I am sure you get the point.
SMI Digital is a Website Design and Internet Marketing Agency...invite us to help magnetise your business. Call us! on +61 1300 858 764 or enquire now Contact Us , we operate Australia wide and globally.