Small businesses need innovative marketing strategies to compete with bigger brands. One such strategy that has gained significant popularity in recent years is inbound marketing. 75% of marketers see inbound marketing as a viable marketing tactic. 

Unlike traditional marketing techniques that push products and services to customers, inbound marketing involves attracting and engaging potential customers through valuable content and building strong relationships with them. 

Read on to explore inbound marketing strategies that can help small businesses grow and thrive in 2023 and beyond.

What is inbound marketing?

Inbound marketing is a customer-focused approach to building a relationship with potential buyers through informative and educational content. Unlike outbound marketing, which involves interrupting the buyer with advertising or sales messages, inbound marketing attracts and engages potential customers by providing them with relevant information that matches their needs.

Inbound marketing is a customer-centric marketing approach that helps businesses earn customers' trust and loyalty by addressing their pain points, interests, and goals. Inbound marketing is not just about selling products or services. Inbound marketing focuses on creating a long-term relationship with customers by providing value at every touchpoint.

This type of marketing is not a one-size-fits-all solution. It involves creating a customized strategy that aligns with your business goals and your target audience’s needs. The success of your inbound strategy lies in its ability to provide value to customers even before they make a purchase from your brand.

Understanding the difference between inbound and outbound marketing

Outbound marketing focuses on marketing messages that are pushed out to consumers. These include TV and radio ads, direct mail, and telemarketing. On the other hand, inbound marketing is fundamentally different from outbound marketing. It aims to draw in people who are already interested in your product or service by providing them with helpful information that they are searching for.

The major benefits of adopting an inbound marketing strategy

There are many benefits to adopting an inbound marketing strategy for your small business. First, inbound marketing can help you attract the right audience and convert them into loyal customers. Second, inbound marketing is more cost-effective compared to outbound marketing. Third, inbound marketing helps you build trust and authority with your audience, which translates to better brand recognition and referral business.

The importance of creating a customer persona and buyer's journey

So how do you develop an effective inbound marketing campaign? Businesses need to understand their target audience's needs and preferences. Creating a customer persona helps businesses understand their customers' demographics, interests, and pain points. By developing a buyer's journey, businesses can create content and campaigns that cater to each stage of the customer's journey. Understanding the customer persona and buyer's journey helps businesses create content that resonates with their target audience and build a relationship based on trust and empathy.

The four stages of inbound marketing: attract, convert, close, and delight

Inbound marketing consists of four stages: attract, convert, close, and delight. The attract stage is about bringing potential customers to your website by creating compelling content and experiences. The convert stage is about turning visitors into leads by offering valuable resources and capturing their contact information. Next, the close stage is about nurturing those leads and turning them into customers by providing personalized and relevant content. Finally, the delight stage is about exceeding your customers' expectations and creating brand loyalty by delivering exceptional customer service and experiences.

Attracting customers through tools like HubSpot or B12

Small businesses looking to attract potential customers and convert them into loyal clients should consider using B12 or HubSpot. HubSpot is a leading inbound marketing and sales software, while B12 is an all-in-one platform for attracting, winning, and serving clients online.

Using B12 or HubSpot to attract and engage potential customers

HubSpot enables small businesses to attract and engage potential customers using various inbound marketing techniques. One of the most effective ways to attract potential customers is through content marketing. By creating valuable content, you can attract potential customers organically. HubSpot provides users with the tools necessary to create high-quality content that aligns with their target audiences' needs and interests. Meanwhile, B12 has on-platform experts who will create content for you, or you can create your own content using our built-in AI writing generator.

Content marketing capabilities and examples

Content marketing is a robust type of marketing for any business growing an audience online. Content marketing features include the ability to create blog posts, social media content, email campaigns, and more. Both B12 and HubSpot provide users with built-in search engine optimization tools to help their content rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs).

One example of a company that successfully uses a content marketing strategy is the Dollar Shave Club. The company produces engaging videos that appeal to its target audience, resulting in increased brand awareness, traffic, and customer acquisition.

Similarly, by utilizing B12's copywriting services and AI features, businesses can produce high-quality content, optimize it for search engines, and track their progress toward their marketing goals.

Converting visitors into leads

Converting website visitors into leads is one of the most critical components of a successful inbound marketing campaign. Here’s how to convert visitors into leads using conversion tools.

The role of landing pages and forms in conversion

Landing pages are specific pages on your website that are designed to convert visitors into leads by providing them with valuable content in exchange for their contact information. A form on the landing page is used to collect this information, and once submitted, the visitor becomes a lead in your B12 or HubSpot database.

Using conversion tools to capture leads effectively

B12 offers a range of conversion tools, including forms, pop-ups, and calls to action, that are designed to help you capture leads on your website effectively. These tools can be customized to match the look and feel of your brand. They can be tailored to meet your specific audience’s needs.

Best practices for creating high-converting landing pages

To create high-converting landing pages, it is essential to follow best practices, like keeping the page design simple and clean, using clear and concise copy, using visuals that support your message, and making sure your CTA is clear and prominent.

Closing deals with inbound marketing

After attracting and converting visitors, the next stage in the inbound marketing process is closing deals. Here, we'll explore how small businesses can use inbound marketing tactics to close sales successfully.

Taking a customer-focused approach

Inbound marketing methods prioritize the customer above all else. To successfully close a sale, businesses need to take a customer-focused approach. This means taking the time to understand each prospect's unique needs and tailoring your pitch accordingly. This approach can increase the likelihood of closing a deal. It can also help build long-term relationships with customers.

The role of email marketing

Email marketing is a powerful tool for closing deals. From sending customized follow-up messages to sharing valuable resources, email can help businesses to stay top-of-mind and continue to build relationships with prospects. B12's email marketing features allow small businesses to automate their outreach efforts and create personalized messages at scale.

Automating your sales process with HubSpot

HubSpot's automation tools can help small businesses streamline their sales process, allowing them to close deals more efficiently. By setting up automated workflows that trigger based on certain criteria, businesses can move leads through the sales funnel more effectively. For example, businesses can set up a workflow that sends a follow-up email after a lead fills out a form or visits a certain page on their website.

Best practices for closing sales

To close deals effectively, small businesses should focus on developing a clear and compelling value proposition, understanding their competition, and building trust with prospects. Additionally, small businesses should make it easy for prospects to buy by offering clear pricing and payment options and providing exceptional customer service throughout the buying process. By following these best practices and using inbound marketing strategies, small businesses can successfully close sales and grow their business.

Delighting customers and building brand loyalty

The work doesn't stop once you've made a sale. Below, discover why delighting customers and building brand loyalty should be a part of your inbound marketing strategy.

The importance of delighting customers

Delivering a great customer experience is crucial for any business. And it plays an especially important role in an inbound marketing strategy. When you delight your existing customers, you're more likely to generate positive word-of-mouth recommendations. Plus, it gives you repeat business.

Using HubSpot's customer service tools

HubSpot's suite of customer service tools can help you provide fast and effective support to your customers. Their ticketing system allows you to manage customer inquiries and ensure that no requests are falling through the cracks. You can also use their chat widget to provide real-time support on your website.

The future of inbound marketing

The inbound marketing landscape is always evolving. And keeping up with the latest trends and technologies is essential for staying ahead of the competition. Below are some trends to watch out for.

• Personalization: Delivering personalized experiences is becoming increasingly important, and businesses that can tailor their messaging and recommendations to individual customers are likely to succeed.
• Video content: Video is one of the most engaging forms of content, and it's only becoming more popular. Businesses that can create compelling video content are likely to see success in their inbound marketing efforts.
• Voice search: As voice assistants like Siri and Alexa become more prevalent, optimizing your content for voice search will become increasingly important.

Attract and win clients with a solid strategy

Adopting an inbound marketing strategy can help small businesses attract new customers, build brand awareness, and ultimately drive growth. By leveraging inbound marketing, you can stay ahead of the competition and position your business for long-term success.

B12 can help you expand your visibility and attract more customers by solidifying your online presence. B12 websites make it easier than ever for small businesses and entrepreneurs to attract clients and sell services online. Plus, with client engagement tools, such as intake forms, scheduling, and email marketing, nurturing customers is a breeze. Get started in 60 seconds with an AI-built website draft.