Mass marketing or “push” advertising worked extremely well in the earlier days. But times are changing, and so are consumer preferences.
It’s an undeniable fact that consumers online are doing their homework before buying something, especially when they are faced with multiple options. They’re using Google to research products and social media to seek recommendations from friends/family.
This is why inbound marketing is gaining more importance than regular outbound marketing. So as a business, you need to understand how “aware” consumers are and what you need to do to get on their radar with a real inbound marketing strategy.
There’s no doubt that consumers today want to…
- Be given priority and get educated about their own problems.
- Do business with brands that they are familiar with.
- Know your history and how you’ve helped others in the past.
- Get more comfortable with the solution they are buying into.
This new era is about hyper-personalized marketing, which even goes beyond relationship marketing.
- If you are building a relationship with your target audience, you are increasing the chances of getting more sales.
- If you are educating them beforehand and giving them the information they need to make a decision, you are making it easy for them to do business with you.
- If you are delivering value first, you’re giving them a reason to trust your brand.
- If you are pulling consumers towards your brand instead of pushing your products on them, you’re winning their attention.
By focusing on inbound marketing, you are doing all of the above. Which not only helps you get more out of your marketing efforts, but also lets you stand out from the competition.