How Does Partnering an Inbound Marketing Agency Boosts Your Sales
Mar 21, 2016
Mar 21, 2016
10 min read
10 min read
Inbound Marketing has emerged as a new field of marketing and gained importance in recent years. As a result, this required a complete overhauling of the sales and marketing departments and making them learn how inbound marketing works and how to handle the queries that come in through this channel. This makes the two separate teams of sales and marketing get intertwined with one another.
It has become important to offer these teams the right kind of support they need in order to get on the right foot. And, the best way to do so is to partner with an excellent inbound marketing agency that provides sales enablement while the in-house team learns the way inbound marketing works during the process.
5 important benefits from partnering an Inbound Marketing Agency
1. Inbound Marketing Strategy that suits your business
Not being familiar with the inbound marketing and starting on your own without much knowledge about what best suits your business can be catastrophic and make customers fall out of that sales funnel which was your ultimate goal. Customers falling out of the sales funnel means that some might become critical about your company for the next time even if you target them with the right kind of strategy or re-targeting.
But all these kind of repercussions can be avoided if you are up for partnering with the right Inbound Marketing agency. You will get the right advice and people to implement the suggested strategy that suits best for your industry, your unique company, your products or services and your audience. This will help your company realize ROI much better and quicker. One of the eminent players in this industry is HubSpot for US based firms.
2. Making the Sales Team Learn
Even though partnering the inbound marketing agency helps in strategizing and implementing it, partnering with the agency that provides sales enablement as well can be an added advantage for your company. During the process the sales team learns how to pitch for sales while handling an Inbound query. It is pretty obvious that your sales team might resist this change and your reps might feel like they’re being replaced.
An agency that provides sales enablement can make the transition smoother and get your reps on board effectively. Their coaching will include that they won’t have to chase down leads anymore or cold call anymore, that they will get highly qualified leads that are actually interested in your company’s products or services and hence will make them achieve higher lead targets.
3. Sales and Marketing Teams are better aligned with each other
Implementation of Inbound Marketing will make both marketing and sales teams to work in collaboration which could be a huge change for them, but this is a good thing because to get the maximum results we need both the teams to work in collaboration. An inbound agency with sales enablement will help make sure that the alignment between these two teams is more effective. A sales coach will offer tips about how to properly communicate with the marketing team and make sure that both work together in achieving their respective goals ,i.e., lead generation and conversions.
4. It provides help with CRM
An Inbound marketing agency like HubSpot provides its own sales CRM for the sales team. Similarly, if other Inbound marketing agencies also do provide their own CRM tools for your sales team, moving over to the new platform can be easy if their is a proper training given about the features of the new tool and what all it can do. If the agency is up for providing the help and support you need then it will be a smooth transition for the sales team to get used to using the new CRM.
5. New techniques for selling
If your company’s sales team is used to outbound selling techniques, inbound techniques can be whole new world for them. In that case, they might use the same aggressive techniques that they used previously instead of focussing on the customer’s needs, they might not know what is social selling, they might not know what is thought leadership or they might not know what is customer-centric approach. So in this case, Inbound Marketing agency that offers sales enablement will provide an ongoing training for the sales team and let them learn about the best practices to sell in inbound marketing, so your sales people can make more sales without bugging customers too much.
84% of shares happen via dark social - Did you check your metrics in 2020?
Among all the major trends that have emerged in the past 12–18 months on the online platform, the dark social media tops the list. When you hear the word dark social for the first time, it sounds like some illegal activity on the digital platform but in reality, it is a golden opportunity for all the online marketers out there since many people are not aware of the details of dark social media, they are not able to capitalize on it. With dark social giving multiple opportunities for digital marketers and with 84% of outbound share happening through dark social media, you should never overlook it and make it work in favour of your company. What is Dark Social? In layman language, dark social is the entire sharing that can never be tracked or we can say the stuff that web analytics platforms fail to pick. For example, you saw a post on a social media site with the title ‘Gain 10 kgs in just three weeks’ and you thought that it will be useful for your friend Daniel. You will then share the link of the article through Whatsapp and then Daniel will share the same link in his family group. Well, all the people involved in this type of sharing are unknowingly participating in the dark social media practice. The Use Of Dark Social Is Increasing Millions of people are practising the same type of sharing activity on an everyday basis and that’s why it is only going to grow in the future. If you will include all the top five messaging apps then they will account for almost 5 billion active users and that too, every month. This type of gigantic number has provided practices like dark social to thrive in the best possible way. This number will become more enticing for dark social media when you consider the fact that around 63% of the consumers from all around the world prefer sharing information through private messaging platforms. The numbers will become more interesting when you will look at the drop in the interactions of Facebook as they went down from 30 billion during the 1st quarter of 2017 to below 13 billion dollars during the 2nd quarter of 2018. And there is no doubt where the missing interaction is going as the portion of dark share in the overall sharing is increasing. But since this type of sharing is completely private, it becomes hard for any type of web analytics platform to track it. This is the main reason why no social media platform knows how big the dark social media coverage is in the overall social media sharing. What’s the reason behind people making a shift to dark social? There is no simple answer to this question but when we will go through the recent trends then the shift of people to dark social and its rise will start making sense. The presidential election incident of 2016 One of the biggest reasons is people in 2020 trust social sharing less in comparison to dark social. The presidential election of the US in the year 2016 witnessed an influx of ‘fake news’ and because of this, people started losing trust on social networks. There was also an article published on BBC with the title ‘Fake news becomes the news’ during the US presidential election 2016. From US elections being rigged to Vox calling Facebook for taking responsibility for the fake news, there were many incidents that made people lose trust on social networks. A $5 billion lawsuit for tracking users in incognito by Google Just when people thought that incognito mode is the safest mode to browse information, Google was accused of tracking users’ data in the incognito mode of Chrome and a lawsuit of $5 billion was filed on June 11, 2020. According to the reports of the New York Times, Google tracked the browsing history of its users even when they turned incognito in Chrome. Even this incident will lead to the shift of people from social networking sharing to dark social. Cambridge Analytica Case The Cambridge Analytica data leak case was among one of the biggest unauthorized data sharing by Facebook and it shook the whole world in the year 2018. In this incident, the private information of millions of users was compromised and this led to several changes in the privacy policy of all the websites out there on the online platform. All these incidents combined will start making sense for the increase in dark social media and people turning to dark social marketing. There is nothing in saying that private is the new trend when it comes to sharing information in the digital world. Dark social is omnipresent From the past 1.5 years, a large chunk of response to dark social shares is coming from smartphones only. This shows that dark social is not limited to only one or two devices, rather, it can be considered omnipresent on all the devices. The rise in the response to dark social media from mobile phones can be estimated from the data published by RadiumOne. It shows that the click backs coming from mobile devices have increased from 53 percent in August 2014 to 62 percent in February 2016. And the remaining 38 percent of click backs are coming from desktops. What does it mean for marketers? By using the easy process of deduction, digital marketers practicing social media marketing can track campaigns as dark social. By spending time and effort on Google Analytics, you will need to consider the total direct traffic and then you will have to take the deduction. By going to the bottom of your overall data, you will get the real opportunity created by dark social. And by making the deductions, you will be able to see whether your most valuable content is being shared through dark social media or not, and then you can work accordingly. If you will have proper knowledge of which type of content is being shared on dark social then you will be able to optimize your content strategy accordingly and get expected results from your efforts. But you will need to make sure that this strategy is properly incorporated in both your dark social marketing and overall social media marketing strategy. With private becoming the new trend while sharing and with incidents making people lose trust in social networks, the current conditions are perfect for the proliferation of dark social networks. Instead of being surprised because of people flocking to dark social, you should better be prepared for it and make things work in favour of your overall marketing strategy. We have a dedicated team that consists of experienced content creators, social media strategist, social community managers will help your social profile go viral. Contact Us! ...
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10 Secrets of Successful Online Brand Promotion
Brand promotion is a crucial function for the marketing departments of businesses. It helps organizations to reach out to their target audience and educate them about the quality, price, and uses of the product/service. To make a purchase from a brand, 81% of consumers require a high level of trust in that brand. This means companies need to invest more in their brand promotion. In the revised version of this blog, we shall discuss the various online promotion tactics for various marketing channels. Technological advancements have enabled organizations to leverage the power of the internet to reach out to a broader customer base. With 67.9 % internet penetration in the world, it has become a pool to explore for businesses and make their unique identity in the competitive market. Considering the fact that a majority of people search for products/services online, the importance of online brand promotion has increased manifold. --> Importance of Online Brand Promotion The internet has become the preferred medium for brand promotions due to the number of benefits it provides. One of the main reasons for the popularity of online brand promotion is that it is not limited to reach as traditional media such as newspapers and television advertisements. Online brand promotions help companies develop a personal bond with the audience across the world through highly personalized content and effective communication. Within the last year, 63% of businesses have raised their digital marketing budgets. Modern marketing managers prefer internet brand promotion because of the flexibility it provides. The campaign is accessible 24/7, throughout the year by people anywhere in the world. The audience can search for information about the product and place orders, at a time convenient to them. Moreover, internet marketing helps in the process of data collection and analysis. It is easier to collect data about customer preferences and interests using online tools and customize promotions to appeal to them. Other advantages of online brand promotion include: --> Data Availability It is easy to collect and analyze data through online marketing. You can easily record customer transactions and analyze the data to determine which products or services are demanded by the customers, the frequency at which a buyer places orders, what factors motivate the buyers’ decisions, and so on. This data can be used for targeted marketing by sending product information and promotional offers based on their buying habits. You can also personalize the products and services to suit the preferences of the customers. Cost-efficiency Online marketing through channels such as blogging, social media is cost-effective when compared to the traditional channels of marketing and brand promotion. Online promotions do not involve printing and distribution, travel, and other advertising costs. Online marketing tools cost relatively, very low, and are useful in fueling conversation about the brand. Online brand promotions such as guest posts and blogs help gain the confidence of the audience and build your reputation. Overall, online marketing tools help in integrating your overall marketing campaign and help to reduce costs. ROI Studies prove that organizations with online brand promotions earn more profit than others. Digital media strategies are measurable using various online tools that help in digital marketing analytics. You can easily compare and contrast different strategies and determine which ones are working and which are not, and study the reasons for the failure of the campaigns and make amends to the plan. You can use the resources judiciously by eliminating unnecessary expenses and focussing on policies that give good returns. Brand Building Since most of the modern buyers are online, digital marketing campaigns help businesses in brand building. You can connect to your audience with stories that tell them about your brand, your values, and how your brand can solve their everyday problems. Moreover, the presence of multiple digital platforms gives authenticity to your brand and improves brand awareness and loyalty. You can stay in touch with your audience and share relevant information about product updates, promotional offers, and important announcements. Tips to Design an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy Before you start designing your digital media strategy, it is crucial to have a clear understanding of your product, business, and the target audience. Choose the digital platforms that are suitable for your target audience to ensure that your campaign is reaching the right person. There are various digital marketing strategies, and it is a challenging task to determine the right policy for your business. You can consult a digital marketing agency to guide you in the process. However, if you are planning to design your strategy, here are a few pointers to keep in mind. Live Streaming Establish your authority in the industry and connect to the target audience through live streaming events. You can organize webinars, create live tutorials and how-to-videos, conduct live events that can be distributed across different live streaming channels. Most of the social media channels provide live streaming options, which can be used to provide your users with a sneak peek of the behind the scenes actions, upcoming products, product features, etc. However, it is critical to record the events in high-quality and ensure that the content is exceptionally suitable and useful for your target audience. Live video helps to develop an emotional connection with the audience, which is crucial for brand loyalty. Email Newsletters Email marketing is one of the most effective tools to connect with the target audience. You can connect directly with the customers and foster brand loyalty through email newsletters. Moreover, it is also one of the most cost-effective tools for digital marketing. Sending regular emails allows you to remain always in touch with the customers. The email newsletters should contain an optimum mix of content and graphics to pique the interest of the viewers. However, make sure that your email newsletter contains the logo of your brand so that the viewers can recognize the brand and connect with it. Local Search Optimization Local SEO or Local search engine marketing allows small businesses to market their products and services to local customers. Most of the people search for local businesses on the internet. Hence, it is crucial to include local SEO along with the standard SEO in your digital marketing strategy. Local SEO includes maintaining accurate Google my Business information, localization of the website, building citations, managing reviews and ratings, and procuring relevant backlinks. Write Blog Posts Blogging is an essential component of a successful digital marketing strategy. Apart from aiding in Search Engine Optimization, blogging also helps to establish your authenticity in your niche, connect with the target audience and develop good relations by offering useful solutions to the problems faced by them, create brand awareness and drive traffic to your website. Writing blog posts about various topics that concern your target audience can be used as an effective strategy to improve traffic to your website. You can post these blogs on your social media pages with links to your website to attract visitors. Using relevant keywords and writing well-researched and fresh content helps your website to rank well on search engines. Inspire User Generated Content Reviews, feedback, and comments from your users are a great way to engage your existing customers and encourage them to participate in your brand story. New customers tend to believe what other users say about your product; hence user-generated content is an essential part of online brand promotions for current day businesses. Encourage your users to share reviews on social media platforms and third-party review sites. Provide incentives such as discount offers, coupons, rewards, gift cards, etc. to motivate your viewers to share reviews. You can also organize contests that encourage viewers to share content related to your brand. Cooperate with Influencers Influencer marketing is a significant part of the digital marketing strategy, which helps to differentiate your brand from competitors. Influencers are consumers who know their niche. They have a massive number of social media followers who are ready to follow their advice. To ensure the success of your influencer marketing campaign, it is crucial to choose a social media platform frequented by your target audience and collaborate with genuine and trusted influencers on the platform. Influencer marketing helps to enhance the credibility and trust of your brand and improves customer engagement. Make Some Multimedia Content The attention span of the viewers is concise. If they cannot find the information they are searching for, they will immediately prefer the next option. It is critical to provide information to the audience using innovative methods, such as infographics and multimedia. Multimedia content helps to engage the audience using slideshares, infographics, podcasts, webinars, and visuals. Multimedia content helps to enhance the user experience and improve the retention level of the audience, thereby improving your brand awareness and brand image. Optimize Website for Better Performance Website optimization is critical to rank high on search engines and provide a good user experience to the viewers. A business website should load quickly and be easy to navigate. The website should be optimized for devices such as mobiles and tablets as most of the visitors nowadays use their mobiles to search for products and services. The content of the website should be up-to-date, clear, and accurate. Different pages of the website should be easily accessible to the search engines. Using the right mix of images, video, infographics, and text will also help to rank your site well on search engines and gain traffic to your website. Paid Advertising Online advertising or pay-per-click advertising allows you to gain quick exposure in the crowded digital world. You can use Google Adwords, Yahoo, and social media such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to list your text or video ads. Paid advertising is very useful in increasing traffic to your website as you can connect with the target audience and influence them to visit your site. Moreover, paid advertisements can be aligned with your business goals, such as improving brand awareness, improve website traffic, increase lead generation, etc. Social Media Marketing Social media marketing is one of the most effective mediums for online brand promotions. Having a social media page for your business on the platforms visited by your target audience helps to increase your followers and, in turn, improve your brand recognition. Small businesses with limited budgets can also use social media marketing as it is a very cost-effective means to connect and engage with the target audience. The right use of social media marketing enables you to improve brand loyalty, increase traffic to the website, and improve customer experience. Online brand promotion is the need of the hour for both startups and established businesses. Most marketing managers are turning towards digital marketing because of its benefits, such as better ROI, increased reach, improved connectivity, and measurable results. However, it is crucial to have an integrated digital marketing strategy with the right mix of different components such as social media marketing, paid advertising, local SEO, etc. that align with your business goals. Other important areas for Brand promotion include Creating Awareness Creating awareness is the first step in the brand promotion journey. It's about making sure that your target audience knows about your brand, products, or services. This can be achieved through various means, including online advertising, PR campaigns, attending trade shows, and hosting webinars. Promotional Gifts Promotional gifts, also known as corporate giveaways or branded merchandise, play a significant role in brand promotion. These are items branded with a company logo or slogan and given away to promote the company, brand, or event. They serve as a constant reminder of the brand to the recipient. From branded pens to custom-made gadgets, these gifts can leave a lasting impression and foster customer loyalty. Positive Image A positive brand image is crucial for long-term success. Brands that are perceived positively enjoy higher customer loyalty, better word-of-mouth recommendations, and increased sales. Activities like community service, customer testimonials, and transparent communication can help in building a positive brand image. Social Responsibility Modern consumers are more conscious of the brands they support. They prefer brands that are socially responsible and contribute to the betterment of society. By engaging in CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities, brands can showcase their commitment to societal welfare, which can enhance their image and appeal. Conclusion Online promotion is highly cost-effective as it is cheaper than the other traditional modes of advertisements such as billboards and ads. Moreover, it is easy to measure and track the results of the promotion campaign and make necessary changes to improve the performance. ...
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5 Marketing Tips To Boost Your Ecommerce Business
The internet is no longer merely reduced to be a source of information and platform to connect with people. With the advent of advanced technology, it is hard to restrict your business within four walls. An Ecommerce website plays a significant role in your business. It is a website which allows your audience to subscribe to the services and purchase products online. E-commerce websites have served the purpose of upcoming businesses whether they are emerging or established brands. At present, an increasing number of customers is turning to online shopping. The daily experience of a customer is becoming more mobile friendly. After you have established your Ecommerce website, there is always a temptation to improve the business strategy. Let’s take a look at essential marketing tips which can enhance your business in a short span of time. 1. Create an easily navigable website You need to ensure that the structure of your website is well-organized and customer friendly. It should be easily accessible by the search engines and visitors. This makes it easier for the visitors to search what exactly they are looking for in an organized and navigable website. The font size, call to action and infographics variants of website development can make a lot of difference. You should divide your website into categories in order to simplify the process of navigation for the visitors. 2. Promote your services and product Merchandising the product and services of your brand can change the overall experience of online shoppers. It can boost up to ? of the sales. You should try to understand the preferences of your targeted users and categorize the products accordingly. Merchandising is all about designing your website in a way that it makes the experience of the customer memorable. 3. Choose pictures which define the products You will be amazed to know that captivating pictures of the product drive more traffic to the website. By using appealing pictures on your website, you can actually retain the users from leaving your website. An appealing website needs to invest in amazing pictures of products and services. Capturing close details shot, different angle shots and high-quality view of a product can ensure a visitor to trust the product. 4. Embed Google Analytics in your website’s structure If Google Analytics (GA) is missing from the structure of your website, get it fixed without any delay. Without this tool, you won’t be able to resolve the problems of your website. It provides an important data regarding the search requirements of customers on the web. Google Analytics also offers technical details which are valuable to the website designer. 5. A/B Testing It is useless to make changes on your website without knowing its impact on your sales. The changes which are implemented should be beneficial and in order to track the benefits, A/B testing is an essential process. This testing calculate the effects on the sales after you have made the required changes. If the impact of A/B testing is positive, then, you may go ahead and implement those changes. There are ample of ways to boost your E-commerce business. But, you may go ahead with the plan that you require for making your business successful. Investing time will definitely help you in exploring the relevant sources to emerge as an E-commerce leader. If you have any query regarding your business, feel free to contact us anytime. ...
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