When the whole world was in turmoil during the Covid-19 pandemic it was normal to see many businesses close down.
Businesses that had been there since childhood were suddenly declaring bankruptcy.
Those that worked fast were able to set up e-commerce businesses and survive.
There were brands that seemed unaffected by all that was happening. These are the brands that have survived recessions, inflations, political and natural disasters, and pandemics.
One of the main reasons these brands have withstood the tests of time is their strong and loyal customer base.
Inbound Marketing is one way to create this practically pandemic-defying loyalty.
Designed to attract and draw customers in, inbound marketing is the strategy that a brand should have if it seeks to create a strong, lasting relationship with its customers. It is a meaningful and cost-efficient way to connect with a brand’s audience and to create value beyond the costs.
Let’s Get Clear: What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing is a business strategy that creates content through several channels such as webinars, social media, blogs, and other forms of content marketing with one goal: to connect with the target market.
The content is specifically designed to escalate brand value, establish stronger connections with the customer, elevate the brand image, and strengthen brand loyalty. The idea is to create a meaningful connection between brand and customer. With inbound marketing, making sales is not the direct goal. Ultimately the strategy will lead to more sales; however, it is through creating loyal customers over time and not through direct and upfront means.
The Inbound Marketing Methodology
There are three steps to properly implementing an inbound marketing strategy. Remember that throughout the strategy, the content must be consistent and build up to something, like an event, promotion, activity, or sale. Have one purpose or goal throughout the creation and execution of the strategy.
- Attract: The first step with inbound marketing is to attract an existing and prospective target audience.
Knowing a target market means that a brand will play its key points to entice its customers. The audience’s attention is captured by content that appeals to them either through attractive visuals or relatable messages.
A notable attraction point is when customers have a problem, and the brand offers a solution.
Take Victory Liner, for instance. At the height of the pandemic, they realized one of their audiences’ problems was door-to-door deliveries, what with the shortage of delivery vehicles. They came up with Victory Liner Drop & Go for kinabukasan delivery, to help fill the gaps between their terminals and their clientele’s doorstep.
- Engage: The second step is to engage the customer.
This step includes the sale but is not limited to it. Besides getting a customer to buy the product, engaging can also involve active participation on the customer’s side through joining events or activities or through customer service. Capture what the customer is looking for and offer it in a way that the customer has all the freedom of choice combined with the relevant information to make the best decision.
It’s just like what Greenfield District does with their Weekend Market. Every single week is a new treat to engage their audiences – participation can’t get any more active than that!
- Delight: The third step is to make a customer feel good about the product. Give them special promotions, freebies, and invitations after they have made a purchase as a bonus for their loyalty.
Provide the best customer service and engage customers even after the purchase is made. Give recommendations and make them feel as if they are a part of the brand’s community.
The goal is to build brand loyalty from the moment the brand captures their interest till long after they have made the purchase.
We’ve made a whole post about Personalizing Customer Experiences to Enhance Brand Loyalty!
Key Components of Inbound Marketing
Content Marketing
There are many ways to send a message but no matter the channel, the message must be strong.
Content released should be based on the strategy, which should be based on the brand and product. Apart from enticing visuals, make sure the campaign message makes sense while appealing to the target audience.
The best results come when creating content that is consistent throughout the current campaign. There is a goal in mind, a story to tell, a promotion to sell, an activity or event to promote, a new product to release, etc. Think of it as a build-up to something; each time content is released it is another small part added!
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
SEO allows a brand’s inbound marketing content to be easily discovered, accessible, and relevant to the target audience. SEO will simplify the connection between a brand and its target audience by making the brand’s content convenient to be found and easily seen.
Social Media Marketing
Social media is an important aspect of inbound marketing. Unless a business sells its products to other businesses, most of a brand’s target audience will come from social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, and YouTube.
It is important to be especially attractive to entice prospective customers to stop scrolling and pay attention to you.
Besides attention-grabbing visuals, brands can hook audiences by partnering with influencers for their campaigns.
Email Marketing
A channel that has yet to be beaten, email is a classic way to reach customers that still works well. Through email marketing, customers are in control of what they do and see. They’re not bombarded with an endless stream of content that social media has.
This factor adds a personal touch! E-mails can be automated, but can still be personalized. Greet customers on special holidays or birthdays, invite them to events or activities, offer special loyalty promotions, or give motivators for customers to live that specific lifestyle that your brand embodies.
Lead Generation and CRM
The ultimate goal of marketing is to make sales. Lead generation is the direct step that attempts this. It is a blend of marketing with sales that not only attracts but engages customers. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) involves everything in inbound marketing from “attracting” to “delighting” to customer relations, but mainly focuses on the customer during “engagement” and long after.
These are the strategies to use to get the best out of a brand’s inbound marketing content. In every step of the journey of a customer, a brand should be there to help guide the customer into making the best decision for themselves.
Why Inbound Marketing Works in the Philippines
It’s Cost-Effective
Inbound marketing has easy-to-follow results based on statistics. The larger the organic traffic that frequents a brand’s content, the greater the sales. It usually has a direct correlation with the assets invested into the inbound marketing as well and results in more sales.
Builds Brand Authority and Trust
Inbound marketing focuses more on image, brand value, and customer relationship rather than making sales. As stated above, the sales will eventually come but inbound marketing is what keeps a customer loyal and active with the brand.
A sale will make a profit for a time, a loyal customer will keep bringing in profits for a lifetime!
Engages Digital-Savvy Audiences
Two-thirds of the world’s population are active social media users. Engaging digitally savvy audiences would require good relatable content, a solid strategy, and well-timed posting, but the positive outcome would be more than worth it for both sales and customer relations.
How a Public Relations and Digital Marketing Agency Can Help
While inbound marketing is highly effective, it requires time, expertise, and consistency.
A reliable public relations and digital marketing agency can help businesses develop a tailored inbound marketing strategy that aligns with their goals.
From content creation and SEO optimization to social media management and lead nurturing, agencies like NGP IMC provide the expertise needed to drive sustainable growth. You can focus on business growth! A strong inbound marketing strategy that is effective takes years of trial and error to perfect, after all, so it would be best to use the tried and tested capabilities of an agency to optimize a business’ output and, in turn, future profits.
Inbound marketing is a powerful approach that helps businesses attract, engage, and delight customers through valuable content and organic interactions.
In the Philippines, where digital engagement continues to rise, businesses that leverage inbound marketing can build stronger relationships with their audience and achieve long-term success.
With the number of similar products readily available, a brand needs to build a loyal customer base and sell more than just products, it needs to sell its personality.
By partnering with an experienced digital marketing agency like us, brands can streamline inbound efforts and maximize impact, and then be able to thrive through any adversity or hardship that the times may bring.
Jem earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of Asia and the Pacific. When h’s not sharpening his digital marketing skillset, he’s out writing technical articles or reading a good book (or two).
