TatizTorres

The way people and brands interact changed in the last few years with new social networking platforms. If before a simple print ad was enough to convince your customer your product was the right choice, today it’s not. Customers became more critical and rigorous since the world became more social. It’s easier than ever to talk about brands in discussion groups, rate and recommend products to other customers looking for the same thing.

It’s true that most of these tools existed for a long time, but it was after social media’s consolidation that people felt more comfortable to share their experiences with products and services. And as a consequence it’s also changing the way companies try to reach out customers.

The traditional “outbound” marketing that usually pushes products on customers using one-way communications, adding little or no value at all, will no longer bring the results the business needs. To understand the new “inbound” marketing concept, companies of all sizes must first understand the shift in their consumer behavior, and most of all, understand how can they actually help.

Inbound marketing is a strategy where your goal is to bring customers closer to your brand and products, creating a long-term relationship, giving them answers and solutions that can have a positive impact in their life.

According to some researches, 86% of people around the world skip television ads, 44% of direct mail is never opened and 91% of companies email subscriptions were cancelled. Outbound marketing, the way it is, is not working anymore.

It’s time to change the strategy and prepare your company for a new social marketing scenario. Basically there are three simple questions you must ask yourself:

1) Who is my ideal customer?
2) What type of information is relevant for them?
3) What are the main challenges I can solve for them?

That’s only the first step for an inbound marketing strategy, but it’s a crucial one to guarantee it will be efficient and effective in the future.

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