How Inbound Marketing Can Influence Your Buyer’s Journey.

Inbound Marketing has proven to be one of the most effective strategies in influencing buyers when they are searching for where to buy. However, if not used properly, you may lose out on the people that matter to your business’ growth. In this article, I will be taking you through some best practices on how Inbound Marketing can influence your buyer’s journey. Are you ready to journey with me? Okay, Let’s go.

But wait, before we get it twisted, let’s answer a critical question. What do you know about inbound marketing and the buyer’s journey?

Inbound Marketing

It is a term coined by Hubspot in 2006. According to Hubspot, Inbound marketing is a business methodology that attracts customers by creating valuable content and experiences tailored to them. In order words, it is the creation of contents that are patterned towards helping buyers to solve their problems. We will talk more about it.

The Buyer’s Journey

Just as simple as it sounds, it is the process a buyer persona goes through before becoming a happy customer. This definition is likely to be the simplest way to explain the buyer’s journey to you. It is in stages. So, the first stage is the awareness stage. This is when a buyer is exposed to content provided by you about your products and services. If you miss it at this stage, you are likely not to get them to the next stage. So, the content you create here is very important. The second is the consideration stage while the last is the decision stage. All these stages are very crucial to your business’ growth but even more important is the decision stage. Read more about how to get it right with your conversion funnel.

How Can You Use Inbound Marketing to Influence Your Buyer’s Journey?

Firstly, knowing how to use inbound marketing will help you to guide and monitor your buyers as they progress on their journey. Below are steps to take when trying to influence your buyer’s journey.

Define Your Buyers’ Persona

The first thing I want you to know is that before you can have a buyer, you must discover a crowd with problems and are hungry for a solution. Please, pay attention to my choice of word. I said ‘hungry for a solution.’ The truth is, if you are not hungry, no food will really appeal to you. So, as a marketer, your content should be targeted at prospects who are seriously looking for a solution to their challenge. Did you get that? Okay, let’s move on.

That being said, the number one thing for you to do is to first define who your audience is. What is your buyers’ persona? Who needs your service? Or let’s put it this way, who has a problem that your solution can solve? Inbound Marketing will help you to determine who your buyer is and the best strategy for you to connect with them. Your buyers’ persona is created using analysis, especially from your email list, social media page insight, referrals, audience engagement, etc. These are valuable channels for you to draw out who your prospects are and the type of content that triggers them.  

Discover Their Problem

Did I just hear you ask me how you can discover their problem? Oh, it is a good question, especially with the fact that you can’t see them. Would you believe it if I tell you that the purpose of inbound marketing is to get you closer to your buyer? Yes, inbound marketing is a customer-centric method. Knowing your buyers’ persona is good but how much do you know about them? Do you know what they want? The most proven way to know their problem is to ask them. Have you ever been in a situation whereby you really do not know how to do something and someone just walks in to ask you, how can I help you? I bet your answer will come up instantly!

That is the magic way of knowing what your prospect’s problem is. You can conduct a survey. Survey monkey is free to use. Also, you may decide to just create a poll on your Twitter or LinkedIn page just to get the minds of your audience. Their responses will then become your data to form your content around. Their problem becomes the bait in your content. This is where your content for the awareness stage plays out. It is what will hook them on to you because they seem to find someone that understands what they need at that particular time. 

Have a Content for Each of Their Journeys

Having discovered their problem, the ideal thing to do is to be their superhero. How can this be done? You can create contents that address each of their journeys. At every point in time, buyers get stuck on what to do. Your content should become a go-to piece for them. Why do you rush to Google for every of your search query? It is simply because you know you will find an answer to your query. It is more like that. Every time your buyers need help, let them know that you are always there for them. Don’t go for the money. Go for the value. That is the way to gain their trust. Why should I bring my million dollars to your business if you can’t help me? Would you trust me too? It’s the same way. Gain your buyer’s trust by first having contents that answer each of their questions. In fact, inbound marketing is not about selling, it is about educating, and being the solution to your prospect’s problems. So, ensure your content aligns with your buyer’s needs.

Use Trigger Words

Truth be told, the end result of your inbound marketing strategy is to cause your prospects to take action. It could be for them to sign up for your newsletter or to attend your webinar, or perhaps, for them to purchase your product. The bottom line is, you want them to take a certain action. Hence, in each of the content you expose them to, always give them a clear direction on what to do next. We call it, Call-to-Action (CTA). However, before you get to this point, you must have discovered their problems and given them enough reasons to feel safe with you. That way, it won’t become a problem for them to do whatever your CTA instructs them to do.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy to say that inbound marketing helps you to easily connect with your buyers, discover their problems, and proffer a solution. You also cannot conclude that your effort is a success if your customers are not convinced enough to refer others to you. Therefore, always put in your best to attract, convert, close and delight your customers.

In conclusion, using inbound marketing requires that you create enough time for your buyers throughout their journey and also be able to communicate this with your staff. However, you may be overwhelmed by the pool of contents you need to create and at the same time, work at their pace because you may also need to focus on some other vital aspects of your business. Big Field Digital is always prepared to embark on the journey with your audience and help you communicate your values with them. We have a strategic process of creating contents that resonate with your buyer. Would you want to try us out? Send in your brief today. 

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