Marketers have a lot of problems these days. It’s a sticky business that is constantly changing due to new trends and emerging technology. Not to mention, understanding people is tough business.
While each marketer faces unique challenges, there are common problems that most marketers share. They include:
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Attracting more website visitors.
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Converting more visitors into leads.
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Generating better quality leads.
Let’s take a closer look at these three marketing hurdles and the solutions for dealing with them. You’ll be happy to know that each problem can be solved with inbound marketing.
1. Attract More Website Visitors with Quality Content
Everyone wants more visitors. With more visitors, your company enjoys more visibility and exposure. Your website increases in rankings, and your brand establishes a reputation. You also have a greater pool of people to work with, which leads to higher quality leads. It’s tempting to pour a lot of resources into getting more visitors with so much on the line.
The problem with this is that you can easily throw more and more money into paid advertising without getting visitors to convert. Our advice is to spend less on paid advertising and more on inbound marketing strategies, such as the creation of new, engaging content and marketing automation tools.
Marketing automation tools are helpful for managing your time and money. This software also gets you thinking in terms of quality over quantity. You can have all the visitors in the world, but if they don’t have a use for your product or service, they won’t do your business any favors. Stop worrying about visitor numbers and start concentrating on the quality of visitors.
How do you get more quality visitors to your site?
It all starts with content. Blogging is the easiest and fastest way to generate content, and it’s good for SEO. Each blog is another page indexed by Google, so that’s a good thing right the start. Blogs are also efficient at driving targeted traffic to your site.
Let’s say that you own an HVAC company. It’s almost springtime, so you want to cover helpful topics on air conditioner maintenance. Think about some of the common problems or questions that your customers may have. Topics like, “How do I tune up my AC unit?” “What spring maintenance does my air conditioner need?” or “Tips for cleaning my AC” are all search queries that your audience may be putting into Google.
By writing around these topics, you can drive targeted, quality traffic to your website.
2. Convert More Visitors Into Leads with Targeted Content
Conversions refer to turning website visitors into known people. Through your content, you get people familiar with your company and start building up an image in their mind. For instance, a person who has done a few searches for air conditioning maintenance and has consistently seen your company come up in the search engines will learn to recognize your brand. They will also have a more positive attitude toward you and view you as an authority. This is all good.
The next step is getting this person to convert into a lead. Think about what you want this customer to do, and don’t just assume that they will automatically become a loyal of customer of yours. People need to be nurtured, and you need to be mindful of where the potential customer is in the funnel.
For example, a visitor who has a broken air conditioner and needs immediate service is going to have a different set of needs than someone who is simply browsing for tips on cleaning their AC unit. The more you can personalize the interactions you have with the person, the more likely they will be to convert.
That said, it’s a good idea to identify your goals and what a conversion means. For most businesses, it starts with an email address. You may collect an email address in exchange for monthly email newsletters, insider tips, a thorough DIY guide or seasonal offers. There’s no rules here, but do always offer something valuable in return for the email.
3. Gather Higher Quality Leads By Nurturing Them Through the Funnel
Once you have collected an email address, the real fun starts! You now need to nurture the relationship further with targeted content and personalized interactions. Marketing automation software is extremely helpful with these types of interactions because you can segment your audiences and target them with precise content that fits their needs. The goal is to give your leads the right content at the right time.
Precise content shows customers that you understand their needs. Marketing automation software helps you track the activity of your leads so that you can better understand them. As you see which types of things your leads are interested in and not interested in, you can reach people with relevant content and move them through the buying funnel.
Let’s say that a lead inquires about the purchase of a maintenance plan for their brand new HVAC system. You know they are interested in caring for their new investment while probably also saving money. Obviously, this person doesn’t need to be given information on the purchase and installation of a new system because they’ve already purchased one. Instead, they need to be moved through the funnel of choosing a maintenance plan.
Deliver content on the benefits of seasonal maintenance, tips for taking care of the system on their own and spotting signs of trouble. As the customer moves further down the funnel, you can present them with a special offer, such as one month of free service or a premium package for the same cost as a lower-priced one.
Do you see how these personalized interactions lead to better quality leads?
Marketing hurdles will always exist. The good news is that these three particular problems can be solved with inbound marketing strategies. It all starts with relevant and informative content that brings people to your website and engages them from the start.
