Inbound Marketing: Technology businesses have some peculiarities demonstrating the advantages and benefits of pursuing sales and branding-oriented content strategies. In this post, we will highlight some of these characteristics.
The benefits of investing in a consistent inbound marketing strategy, which transforms websites, social networks, blogs and newsletters into machines for generating qualified leads, are notable. If you always follow the blog here at RD, you will have already seen several examples. Now, suppose there is one sector in which inbound should be mandatory. In that case, it is technology, especially for those who develop solutions and services in hardware, software and web and operate in a segmented way serving other organizations (B2B).
According to a survey in the USA, 58% of B2B organizations interviewed – operating in technology – intend to reinforce investments in content strategies in the coming years.
Technology businesses have some peculiarities demonstrating the advantages and benefits of pursuing a Content Marketing strategy oriented towards sales and branding. In this post, we will highlight some of these characteristics:
Make Your Company A Thought Leader
Every segment has its “guru” or thought leader. Whether you are a writer, blogger or technician, every business area has a firm name. What if your company reached this level of admiration and recognition? Inbound marketing can help you with this.
With consistent content, you can differentiate yourself in your segment and draw attention to the quality of the material produced. It’s not just a question of ego: in highly competitive features, such as CRMs and ERPs, authority is one of the factors that helps reinforce your brand, among others. If your organization understands the subject, the customer will feel more comfortable negotiating with you.
A thought leader in a segment is not necessarily the most prominent company or the sales leader. It’s who can objectively and assertively share where their market is going.
Don’t Offer A Product; Give A Solution To A Problem
In most cases, an IT company’s customer wants more than just the technology. He looks for a solution to a problem in your company, whether in human resources, operations, management or any area. The consumer doesn’t just want to buy a box – they often want to solve a “pain”. Why not offer, in addition to your product, relevant information that makes sense to your customer?
Through an inbound strategy, you can help consumers adopt the best practices in your segment and, at the same time, better understand your value proposition. Informing the prospect is a crucial (and neglected by many) step in the purchasing process. If you can help him, he will certainly remember you in the future and will be more open to contact from your sales team or consultants.
An example: SocialBase has been developing a corporate social network, a tool little known among managers for three years. With inbound marketing, the company began to address internal communication dilemmas and demands, placing the corporate social network as one of the alternatives. Result: the company has gained authority on the topic and is a reference in internal marketing and internal communication for companies and entities.
Make Your Marketing Data-Driven
Indicators and metrics drive the IT universe. Actions within a company must be based on estimates – there is no room for irrational acts. Inbound marketing fits like a glove for organizations with this mentality. In it, everything can be measured (and therefore managed).
Inbound marketing methodologies and technologies allow you to monitor the results of all marketing actions. You can see how many leads opened and clicked on a marketing email, how many readers of a post became prospects, what the conversion rate is for a specific landing page and so on.
Furthermore, inbound marketing allows you to monitor and understand the behaviour of your leads within your digital channel. When receiving a contract to work with, the salesperson will not only have a name, company and telephone number. He will have access to this lead’s conversion history, the topics he most relates to, and interactions via email.
In this model, marketing and sales are more empowered and capable of generating quantifiable results.
Turn Marketing Into A Revenue Generator Rather Than A Cost Generator
One of the biggest challenges for professionals who manage marketing in technology companies is managing resources that can return the investments that the area demands. Participation in events, media purchasing, press relations, presentation material, and institutional videos: the vast majority of them are essential (and costly) tools for marketing to manage, but their return is difficult to measure.
Defining an inbound marketing strategy that mainly allows you to measure your results through tools such as RD Station is one of the significant assets of this type of action. ROI (return on investment) is much easier to define. The first step is to create a funnel that organizes the lead generation process and explain a qualification process for each new contact coming from digital marketing actions.
Also Read: Improve The Development Of Your Digital Marketing Team
