Inbound Marketing has ideas and advice about how to use modern marketing strategies
It’s no surprise that traditional outbound marketing methods are becoming less effective. Society is tired of being marketed to, and people are better at blocking such things as email (via spam filters) and cold calls (via caller ID). Professional services firms cannot count on push techniques if they want to survive. The must instead turn to inbound marketing tactics and pull clients to them, says Brian Halligan in this week’s RainToday podcast, Internet Marketing Strategies Professional Services Must Adopt.
Halligan, co-author of Inbound Marketing: Get Found Using Google, Social Media, and Blogs, says firms need to take advantage of the modern way in which people learn and shop. And that means being online where increasingly people search for information and services. However, it’s more than simply having a website, Halligan explains. You must have compelling content that you share and get as many people talking about it as possible. Listen as Halligan explains the three things professional services firms must do to increase their visibility on the web, the number one mistake 99% of websites make, and how to get heard above the social media noise.
One type of content that more firms are using is online video. It’s a great way to communicate what you offer, as well as what it’s like to work with you. But if you don’t do it well, it can have a detrimental effect, says Randy Shattuck in his article How Poor Quality Online Video Can Hurt Your Brand. A poorly crafted video can actually reduce your perceived value and leadership status, putting downward pressure on profits and deal-flow. Follow Shattuck’s five best practices to make sure you’re producing valuable video that gets people talking for the right reasons.
Equally important as creating remarkable content is determining your target market, says RainToday contributing editor C.J. Hayden in her article, If You Build a Unique Niche, Clients Will Come. When you have a solid specialty and a defined target market, you have a unique niche—a position in the marketplace that allows you to become the go-to expert. In addition, your marketing efforts are more effective and you avoid the labor-intensive work of attending dozens of networking events or cold calling.
Your engagement with prospects and clients can also be improved via cloud computing services such as Salesforce and Google Apps, says Ryan Nichols in his article Using Cloud Computing to Grow Your Services Firm. By employing such technology, firms can spend less attention on IT and more attention on clients and growing the firm. Such applications also allow firms to engage with clients, consultants, and the broader community using next-generation sales and marketing techniques that aren’t possible using traditional on-premise applications, Nichols says.
Not all of these new techniques and technologies are for everyone or every firm. Each has its pros and cons, and your clients and prospects may respond better to certain tactics over others. But there’s no denying that firms must innovate and try new tactics if they want to survive.
