Founder and CEO of 42DM, a B2B digital marketing agency for technology companies.
Building a successful marketing campaign requires a deep understanding of the one thing that drives results: how people search for solutions to their problems. Major technological innovations have revolutionized the way we search, from scanning physical documents to searching the web on Google.
The founding concept of Google as the ultimate search destination has shaped modern marketing in many ways. The founders of HubSpot were among the first to notice this shift in search behavior and used this information to develop a marketing approach to the growth of B2B technology.
Why is inbound marketing so effective? Because instead of inundating your audience with unwanted content, as outbound marketing often does, it facilitates the connections people need and the solutions to their problems. As a HubSpot partner, my agency and I have been implementing inbound marketing for our clients for seven years. Despite the gradual change in consumer behavior due to the proliferation of social media, it has proven to be a very successful solution so far.
What has changed? In the year 2023, the AI Explosion is a catalyst that reinforces the idea that traditional inbound marketing is not enough. This trend did not happen immediately; This is gradually improving with the help of social media and artificial intelligence tools, as well as changes in market behavior. In particular, ChatGPT has played an important role and search behavior has changed.
In addition to ChatGPT, TikTok has gained significant attention as a search platform based on Gen Z models. For example, 58% of Gen Z TikTok users use the platform to learn more about new products or brands, while 60% of Gen Z TikTok users purchase products because they see them in the program.
The buyer's journey is more complex and has undoubtedly changed. In addition, due to the current crisis, budgets are limited and decision-making is delayed. The main takeaway from the Inbound 2023 conference I attended in Boston last month was that people don't want to read websites anymore; They want immediate answers to their questions. Users skim long texts using artificial intelligence and select specific conversations in real time. As a result, our beloved inbound marketing has had to adapt. But how?
Marketing new revenue
Inbound marketing needs to be adapted to today's market challenges. To achieve this, I propose an improved version of this strategy: Inbound Marketing 2.0.
We take the three traditional stages of marketing – interest, engagement, excitement – and combine them to meet the needs of the fragmented internal landscape and complex decision-making processes of the B2B technology market.
Inbound Marketing 2.0 Combining the art of engaging customers at all stages of the buyer's journey into an informed decision-making environment by creating relevant and relevant content and experiences.
Step 1: Attraction
Purpose : To reach the target audience through all relevant channels (eg social media, website, events) throughout the research process.
Generally: driving more traffic to the site.
New Strategy: Focus on ideal customer profiles (ICPs) and buyer persona pain points and align with personas and channel goals.
Channels and strategy
• TikTok, where users search for simple answers to even complex questions.
• YouTube publishes videos that embody the brand.
• LinkedIn for thought leadership, increasing visibility and professional roles and building brand credibility.
• Kura, where large B2B companies can unlock their potential through awareness.
Generative AI for new brand awareness opportunities.
• SEO and SEM remain important for overall reach regardless of changing needs.
Measure it
• Level of involvement.
• Follow-up.
• Organic traffic.
An example of an adaptive acquisition phase is Salesforce's EinsteinGPT. The company uses a multi-channel approach to increase awareness. Salesforce started using TikTok to teach users the basics of generative artificial intelligence, making it accessible to beginners. They then used LinkedIn to highlight the business value of adopting AI and demonstrate how EinsteinGPT could benefit the business. Finally, they provide extensive product information on their website, listing product features and user reviews.
Step 2: Interaction
Goal: Optimizing multi-channel conversion paths to drive community and sales growth.
Traditional : Convert users through the aisle and attract more customers.
A new strategy: improve the effectiveness of campaign costs through personalization. Grow a community, then integrate marketing technology and advanced analytics to learn where your audience is moving.
Channels and strategy
• LinkedIn transforms the deep and personal insights of C-suite executives.
• Quora, Reddit, and Slack identify common problems and offer solutions to build strong communities.
• Chatbots for personalized communication.
• Remarketing to consistently deliver your message.
• Lead generation and e-marketing.
• Increasing targeted traffic among users in the market, evaluation and decision-making levels.
• Build content leadership competency and build brand credibility.
Metric customers.
• Open rate.
• Zoom in.
• MQL.
• SQL
• Opportunity.
Step 3: Happiness
Objective: Go beyond valuation, lifetime value (LTV) and develop a customer protection strategy.
As a rule of thumb: Increase your LTV and get more positive reviews.
New Strategy: Create a happy community that fosters future growth.
Channels and strategy
• Email to develop relationships.
• Social network for sharing success stories and company news.
• Chatbots for personalized communication.
• Self-service knowledge base for easy service/product navigation.
• On-page support widget for easy troubleshooting.
Measure it
• Overview.
• The brand name is mentioned.
• Total cost.
• New user.
• CAC (customer acquisition cost).
Conclusion
The landscape is changing faster than ever, creating challenges for marketing organizations. However, we definitely see a positive side. As marketers, we must now focus on redefining strategic processes, moving from biennial events to ongoing events to make your business more agile and better able to manage market changes.
Real-time data informs your decisions, and employees can benefit from amazing advances in technology. So let's start implementing Inbound Marketing 2.0 together to thrive in 2023-2024!
The Forbes Agency Council is an invitation-only community for successful leaders in public relations, media strategy, creative and advertising agencies. What are my rights?
