Importance of Inbound Marketing

Consumers are constantly inundated with information; ads for products and services interrupt our television viewing – and more annoyingly, our web site viewing. Just today, I received yet another cold call – about a service that does not pertain to my lifestyle. My annoyances are not unfounded, a recent post on blog.hubspot.com explains:

I think outbound marketing techniques are getting less and less effective over time for two reasons.  First, your average human today is inundated with over 2000 outbound marketing interruptions per day and is figuring out more and more creative ways to block them out, including caller ID, spam filtering, Tivo, and Sirius satellite radio.  Second, the cost of coordination around learning about something new or shopping for something new using the internet (search engines, blogs, and social media) is now much lower than going to a seminar at the Marriott or flying to a trade show in Las Vegas. 

What a concept, let people who want your products and services find you! Today with the use of social media and search engines, it is more important to have clear and visually attractive sites that bring in customers. It’s all a matter of knowing your audience. Today I did a Google search for “laundry detergent,” and found most of the major brands represented on the first page. However, I clicked on Tide, because it was on the top of the list. Their website was easy to navigate, and highlighted everything I wanted to see including; tips for dealing with difficult stains, deals and coupons, links to Facebook, and their concern with both social and environmental issues. Obviously, placement of their page on Google was a great start, but the usability of their website is impressive – and a great example of using inbound marketing to its potential.