Its 2013 are you finally going to give into this inbound marketing thing? Chances are that if you are a small business you are already using inbound marketing to drive new leads to your business. The big question is: are you doing it as effectively as possible? If you are new to inbound marketing or just unsure if you are doing it right consider these four businesses to help you find your way to inbound marketing success.
Hubspot
Hubspot is just one of those tools that we use for our business that I don't even know how we could do without. Essentially Hubspot provides you with an all-in-one marketing software that is specifically geared towards inbound marketing. The Hubspot software makes all of the following possible: SEO, blogging, social media, calls to action, landing pages, lead management and marketing analytics just to name a few. It is really tough to describe how great of a tool Hubspot is and how user friendly it is. In order to get a full grasp of what the Hubspot software offers I would really recommend requesting a free demo of Hubspot.
The two biggest things that I personally like about the Hubspot software is the ability to easily make website changes and analyze your marketing data. One warning; do not buy Hubspot if you are not willing to invest time and/or money into your inbound marketing plan. It is not good enough to just have a website anymore. It is also ridiculous to think that people will find your website just because it exists. You need to think of Google as a beast that lives on remarkable content that is updated regularly. The problem is that the beast never gets full and always wants better content than it had in the past. Hubspot is the perfect tool that will enable you to keep feeding Google what it wants, which will allow people to find your website.
Inbound Design Studio
Now that you have picked a software to help you manage your website and inbound marketing you need to find someone to help you with your website design. You definitely want someone that not only understands your marketing software but also inbound marketing in general. Inbound Design Studio is a web design company that specifically works with Hubspot customers. Filling this niche has allowed Inbound Design studio to become the #1 recommended web design company on the Hubspot Services Marketplace. The owners of Inbound Design Studio, Michael and Melissa, can help you with everything from Hubspot templates to banner design to call to action button design. Inbound Design Studio will ensure that your website not only looks great, but is geared towards the inbound marketing concept in general.
Brandwise
Great look at you now. You have a great inbound marketing software and an awesome looking website that is geared towards inbound marketing. Is it working? Are the leads flooding in? If you are not happy with your inbound marketing performance then you should make an appointment with Dale Berkebile of Brandwise. Dale is an inbound marketing expert that understands small businesses. His expertise in the marketing industry will help propel you and your brand above your competitors. Inbound marketing can be a confusing thing because it is constantly evolving. Having an expert on your side will ensure that you are keeping up with the changes that are happening in inbound marketing. It's one thing to think you are handling your inbound marketing correctly, but it's another thing to have it proved to you. Dale will not only keep your inbound marketing strategy on the right path but he will also hold you accountable to make sure you are getting things done right.
The Rainmaker Maker
Now you are really getting somewhere. You got the Hubspot inbound marketing software, Inbound Design made you a kick ass site and Brandwise has the leads flooding in. Now for the crucial question; do you even know how to close the sales? The Rainmaker maker is a sales coach that specifically works with small business owners that want to close inbound leads. Rick Roberge has been in sales for 40+ years and was an early adopter of the inbound marketing strategy and methodology and can help you nurture and close leads that came through inbound marketing efforts. In addition he is the founder of the Inbound Networkers LinkedIn Group. It's an inbound world now and your sales process needs to be aligned with the inbound marketing concept. I guarantee that if you schedule a call with Rick your mindset will change.
So what does this article have to do with outsourced bookkeeping? Absolutely nothing. However, as a small business bookkeeper I work closely with a lot of our clients and they trust me like a business partner. Many clients ask for business advice, such as how are we driving new sales. Our sales typically come from referrals, networking and through inbound marketing efforts. I got tired of explaining how to make inbound marketing work for them. Now I have a blog post that I can simply just email them a link to.
So the big question is does it work? I have used and am still currently using all four businesses listed in this article. I'm looking at our website analytics on my second monitor; web visits are up 164% and leads are up 400% compared to last year. How about actual sales? Up 70%. You tell me if it's working.