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Inbound marketing means no longer chasing potential customers, but luring them with unique, multi-value content. We'll use a checklist to show you if your company is ready for this pull marketing approach.

This marketing methodology is not concerned with the usually shameful advertising that disturbs recipients, which comes from a manufacturer-centered approach. Good inbound marketing magnetically attracts potential customers. It uses mostly digital tools such as email marketing, blogging and SEO and is based on a customer-centric approach.

Why inbound marketing: from manufacturer to buyer market

The question arises, what was wrong with "old" marketing? Why is it necessary to switch to inbound approaches? For advertising letters, media coverage, trade fairs, print publications and telephone campaigns did work? Or not? Yes, in a market dominated by the product and the manufacturers, these marketing tools worked. In today's buyer-specific market environment, however, not anymore.

In addition to the fact that many markets are oversaturated and the customer is actively informing himself about products due to digitization on the Internet, a certain amount of advertising fatigue means that traditional marketing instruments no longer have the desired effect. On the contrary, push marketing is increasingly blocked, even with the help of technologies.

Inbound means give and take

The inbound method developed by ECS supports the potential buyer throughout the buyer's journey. In the end he should be able to make a good purchase decision. However, unlike traditional marketing tools, target customers are attracted to targeted content. Interested customers receive value added offers when they leave their e-mail contact in return. They thus become leads, which are then systematically converted into sales.

Instruments of inbound marketing

Inbound marketing is mainly based on online marketing. Content marketing and PR are crucial tools. By building good relationships with relevant influencers, the content is seeded (distributed, seeded). ECS counts the search engine optimized blogging as the most successful instrument. Because only with appropriate SEO, the content of the potential customers are found and can then be converted accordingly into leads.

Social media and the combination of personalized e-mails, SEA / SEO and landing pages generate the new leads. Crucial to the success of inbound actions is the attention of potential customers, which is multiplied by the various channels.

Is Inbound Marketing a Marketing All-Purpose Weapon?

Even though the inbound marketing hype is just picking up speed, it's not all-inclusive for any business and business model. After all, the inbound methodology must be firmly integrated into the company across all departments and practiced on a daily basis. Therefore, companies that implement inbound marketing must also work on their business processes, restructure departments and their collaboration, and make a cultural change. There are also numerous new marketing tools and channels. To serve them, employees have to be trained or specialists for SEO, SEA, web analysis, etc. have to be recruited.

The inbound marketing check: Is your company ready?

You do not know if your company is already inbound-ready? Then you should participate in our inbound check. It gives you concrete clues as to where you currently stand when it comes to inbound marketing.

• You realize that you are no longer reaching enough customers with classic ad formats?
• You want to increase your brand awareness and gain new leads and high conversion rates with new digital methods?
• You want to change something in your marketing, break your status quo and give new marketing approaches a chance?
• You want to increase your marketing contribution to sales by at least 30 percent?
• You already work with digital tools, but you want to structure and optimize your digital marketing?
• You want to develop and implement a consistent digital marketing strategy, including website, email marketing, social media, SEO / SEA, affiliate, e-commerce?
• You want to increase your Sales Qualified Leads to sales specifications and accelerate the collaboration between the two departments, Marketing and Sales?
• You need well-founded analyzes and reports on your campaigns as a documentation of your success against the management?

If you answer yes to one or more questions, then you should not wait any longer with the introduction of Inbound Marketing!

Conclusion: Therefore, inbound marketing is the future of marketing

Inbound Marketing:

• increases sales and profits - the marketing makes a measurable contribution to the company's success!
• puts the customer (finally) in the focus of all business processes.
• creates a return on investment, rather than a cost factor.
• defines content as an "elixir of life" for your business.
• makes the website and your blog the hub of your marketing.
• builds on an agile modern organization in which all departments work for the customers.

The biggest benefit of inbound marketing, however, lies in attracting leads and customers over the Internet. And that is precisely one of the most important indicators of corporate success today.

It is such a thing with impatience. If trends are identified today and implemented tomorrow in a content marketing strategy, one thinks they are over again tomorrow passé. This approach is obvious because we are naturally familiar with the fast pace of the Internet and digital developments per se. But this line of reasoning falls short. Technologies and trends need time to manifest. In the respective system - and in everyday life of the people. You have to give users time to accept new trends and technologies.

Agreeing already on a swan song on already highly praised techniques such as virtual and augmented reality, just because the number of best practice examples in the mass market is still manageable, would simply be too short-sighted. These trends exist and inspire, even though many talk about the anti-trend again.

Another thing that plays a big role in locating trends: iteration. Once marked as a trend, it should not mean that this topic will never be on the agenda again. On the contrary: Only through the repetition of a trend theme and the in-depth discussion with him, this can establish itself. A buzzword becomes a trend, a trend becomes a movement.

Relevance through Real Time, Authenticity and Voice

This is what happens with the terms real time and authenticity. The aspect that something can be received live - in real time, is, so to speak, the next step in terms of authenticity. Keyword: live videos. Dialogues with smart voice tools also happen in real time. They are not "real", but allow a deceptively real conversation. So if you are ready for more directness, you will be able to score points in content marketing.

Trend: Live Videos

And that's the first trend that will influence content marketing until 2020: live videos. Live gives the impression of being more authentic than meticulously pre-planned spots, posts, etc. That behind live videos usually a well-thought-out script, plays in the case (not yet) a major role. Live videos convince in the social media channels such as Instagram Live and Facebook Live, whereby both formats have clearly not yet reached their potential.

Live formats give the user an immediacy and closeness that is difficult to achieve with other formats. Just to build trust with the customer, live videos that allow unadulterated insights, are ideally suited and are thus among the most exciting new content formats.

Trend: Social Bots & Chatbots

The fact is, the app boom is over. Users no longer feel like downloading a new app Y for Action X again. The fact is, the world's most successful apps are all messenger apps. WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger are among the most popular applications in this area. This development paves the way for chatbots in general and social bots in particular. Forbes refers to a Gartner study that predicts that by 2020, 85 percent of customer communications will be controlled via artificial intelligence and chatbots.

What are chatbots and social bots? Chatbots are programs based on artificial intelligence and data analysis, and interact with users in a messaging app in the form of text messaging. They communicate with the user using Natural Language Processing (NLP), which enables them to understand the meaning of questions and respond appropriately. Social bots are chatbots that simulate human communication in social networks. On Facebook, there are currently around 30,000 bots that companies use to connect with their customers.

In content marketing, chatbots and social bots can serve exactly what content marketing is all about: picking up users right where they are, solving their most important problems and providing them with added value through helpful answers. The biggest challenge with bots is as natural a language as possible, otherwise it can create a negative experience for the user. In addition, the DSGVO guidelines must be respected in terms of data transmission.

Trend: Voice Content Marketing

Another trend in content marketing relies on content that is not tied to a display. By 2020, 30 percent of Internet usage will be screenless. What does that mean? Audio formats such as podcasts and blogcasts are gaining in importance. The user is thereby conveyed content without having to look at his screen. Going one step further, there are interactive formats that allow for a dialogue that, thanks to Natural Language Processing (NLP), should run as naturally as possible and is smart thanks to artificial intelligence. Here is a "real" conversation with a digital device in the center, which provides the user so helpful content. In SEO, this trend is already a big topic through voice search using digital language assistants.

It is important to note that voice content marketing is not a strategy in itself, but another way to bring relevant content to the target audience. However, voice action is of course only really interesting for a content format mix when the answers and results provided by the voice tool reach at least 99 percent accuracy, which is not yet the case today. It should also be noted that voice applications are predominantly mobile and local. Voice content marketing content would have to be processed accordingly.

Trend: Amazon Content Marketing

Amazon is the largest product search engine in the world. Thirty-eight percent of consumers start their research on Amazon, 35 percent on Google, and only 21 percent on a merchant or brand website. The Amazon ecosystem is becoming increasingly interesting for content marketing measures. In the so-called Amazon stores, brands can create an individually designed hub that links to the product pages. Although there are some layout templates, text, pictures, videos, etc. can be selected. In this way, the brand can provide users with valuable content that enhances their user experience.

Because even on Amazon is the content marketing credo that the target audience can only be convinced of relevant content. Anyone who is relevant is visible and does not cope with his products in the Amazon universe. It is worthwhile to look closely and to align the content to the needs of the users. Product reviews, for example, can be very helpful. Product descriptions should also be optimized to focus on the needs of the target group. A Marketo investigation shows that brands that have upgraded their Amazon Stores with relevant content have been able to increase their sales in less than 6 months.

The temperature is getting colder, decorated everywhere - it can only mean one thing: Christmas is coming! And with the Christmas season begins the time of numerous marketing campaigns. From special offers for discounts to colorful flyers, etc. Find a wide variety of application strategies. Digital sales can also be increased at this time, which will allow online stores to benefit from this time and increase e-commerce revenues with a few simple but very effective marketing campaigns.

1. Create a Christmas landing page

On the landing page, highlight the specific products or categories for which you are creating special offers for Christmas. Add links or snippets of relevant blog articles or other content that will increase the value of your users and increase user interest. Be sure to create a quality page - you will win if you run search engine advertising (see the next paragraph).

2. Use your marketing channels

If you use the right channels, you can relatively easily increase your sales in e-commerce. These include:

a. E-mail marketing:

Create a campaign that will lead to your Christmas landing page. Schedule sending emails so that they are sent at regular intervals before the sale starts, in order to interest consumers. Send the final email shortly before launch.

b. Google Ads:

If you create a quality landing page with your Christmas offers, you usually get a higher quality score. The higher the quality score, the lower your bids for highly competitive keywords.

c. Advertising in social networks:

Pinterest, as well as Facebook and Twitter are particularly suitable for advertising Christmas offers. These social networking platforms are at the top of the list because they have the most users and are visually most attractive. Create attractive GIFs and target your audience.

3. Pay attention to the speed of your site page

There is nothing more annoying than a slow site. During periods of high demand from customers and the associated large number of users, this is the most important point that you should keep in mind. To make sure everything works smoothly for your users, ask your website visitors to get direct feedback.

4. Transfer your customers to the right side.

If you manage an online store and have your own database of regular customers, these regular customers usually get to your homepage first, and there they are already looking for discounts and offers. Therefore, make immediately on the start page advertising banners, so that the visitor was aware of your Christmas offers.

5. Stay transparent

Especially during Christmas, when many orders arrive at the same time, it is difficult to deliver all orders in one day. And this is what your customers know! But you must already indicate this during the order process. And not only in the form of small fonts, but best of all from the footer, which clearly indicates possible delivery delays. You will find that although you may not receive multiple orders, those that you receive will come from customers who were more satisfied from the outset.

Get active right now and use our tips to increase online sales. We will advise you on online marketing measures and much more , contact our team, we will contact you immediately!