Inbound marketing is a great way to grow your business, but most system integration companies don’t have the resource or time to learn about it or implement a plan. Huge companies like Geico, Wendy’s, and Samsung have replaced print ads and TV commercials with mommy blog indirect mentions, Facebook ads, celebrity Twitter discussions, and YouTube stories. All these efforts help these companies attract inbound clients – people that approach them about their services. That’s easy for multi-billion-dollar companies with digital marketing staffs larger than 95% of private businesses. But what about the system integrator? How does this help your small business, and what can you do?
Below are five concepts that help explain how inbound marketing can drive new business your way and will give you hope on ways you can get started.
Understanding the Buyer’s Journey
Historically, businesses would find two to three integration companies to discuss a potential need. The companies would conduct a site survey, then explain the problems and possibly propose solutions.
Today, the client’s journey starts well before a company’s representative is contacted. Clients do their research online, discovering solutions without the guidance of a trusted advisor. Once they’re satisfied with their research, clients will engage the chosen company in whatever way makes sense for them. The contact could be by email, online chat, and eventually a phone call or in-person meeting. By the time the systems integration company engages a potential client, the client has become an informed and savvy buyer – at least from their perspective.
Quality and Quantity: Good Content Delivered in Various Ways
If you’re sending email blasts every other week that explain how awesome you are, then you’re probably doing more harm than good. Using a single content delivery strategy isn’t effective today. Different content must be created for very specific types of clients, or personas, for each stage of their journey. You’ll need to engage the buyer from problem realization, to purchase of a solution, to after-sale support and maintenance. And after the sale, you’re going to want to stay in touch with the client without being intrusive. When it’s time for their next purchase, they need to perceive you as the subject matter expert.
The Secondary Benefit – Achieving Trusted Expert Status
Aside from attracting new clients, the ongoing effort of delivering educational and relevant content in a variety of ways will slowly build your status as the subject matter expert (SME). Once you gain SME status, online searched will include visits to your website and blog. Eventually, the online searches will evolve to them making a call or sending an email request. Why research when you’ve got the SME on speed-dial?
A final benefit of creating relevant content is the vast resource library for your entire company. The same content you’re creating for your inbound marketing strategy will be leveraged by your sales, design, and support teams. The documents and videos will be valuable internally as well as online.
Spread the Word
Content delivery varies, but one thing is consistent - your clients are on social media and reading their emails, so identify the social channels they’re using and send helpful emails that won’t end up in the spam folder. Lead them further down the purchasing path as their trusted source for education and information that’s specific to their needs. If your company focuses on healthcare, for example, your content will focus on clients within the healthcare market.
Platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook are a great place for you to be seen, and for you to engage a potential client. You can be on these channels running paid content campaigns that maximize the delivery of highly customized content to the right clients. This is similar to running a 30-second spot on television, but now the phone is the television and you can get on your client’s channel for much less money.
Leverage Inbound Marketing
Drive new business to your sales team now. You probably have the knowledge in house. Take that knowledge, package it into creative content pieces, and send it to current and potential clients. Achieving SME status is well within your reach.
If you aren’t sure how to get started, Vector Firm can help your business. From establishing the right budget to helping you plan and execute an Inbound Marketing strategy, we’re here for you. Contact us today.
