Use industry-focused inbound marketing to generate leads

People often rely on digital resources to find solutions to their problems. This applies to every industry, but some more than others. For example, one in 10 Americans uses social media to find health care information, and 66% using the internet to research specific medical problems.

While many people use the internet to research the challenges they face, a majority of them find online advertising irrelevant, which is a missed opportunity for marketers. To better reach these potential online customers, industries are turning to inbound marketing techniques to find leads.

Inbound marketing explained

For years, outbound marketing was the dominant way to find leads that became customers. Outbound marketing involves the process of pursuing potential customers. This included cold call techniques and direct sales pitches.

Inbound marketing, on the other hand, has a more personal approach. Hubspot defines incoming method as “the method for growing your organization by building meaningful, lasting relationships with consumers, prospects and customers. It’s about appreciating and empowering these people to achieve their goals at every stage of their journey with you.”

This approach is more popular with younger generations, that prioritize personalization and treated individually, rather than as a number. It is also a preferred marketing strategy in industries where personal relationships really matter, such as healthcare.

According to Bob McIntosh, the personalization of digital marketing as a whole is required. He said: ‘Simply presenting a broad digital advertisement or piece of content with mass appeal to a general audience is now usually ineffective. The most successful companies and marketing professionals understand that digital marketing works much better when it is personalized to the target audience.’

There are three ways to apply this inbound methodology: attract, engage, and delight.

To attract

conversation marketing is an inbound marketing strategy that allows businesses to attract potential customers by communicating directly with them.

While live chat and chatbots are the first methods of conversational marketing that generally come to mind, any other tool that enables real-time conversations also applies. This includes using email, social media, and text messaging tools.

Conversational marketing is especially relevant for healthcare. Health is a personal matter and the ability to communicate effectively is vital to potential patients. According to a 2019 Accenture study, 69% of patients indicated that they were more likely to choose a healthcare provider who communicated with them via email. Another survey from Redpoint Global found that nearly half of respondents prefer digital communication with their healthcare providers.

Creating a personal connection through conversation makes marketing more human. Instead of pushing a product or service, marketers using this dialogue-driven approach create a relationship with customers. And that relationship becomes a foundation of trust as connections are converted into leads.

Involving

Engage is in this second step of the inbound marketing methodology. This is true lead generation comes into play. Once a company has attracted and interacted with a potential lead, sales gets involved and tries to engage the potential customer by providing relevant information.

At this point, these individuals are alerted to a call to action that will lead them to an offer. An offer can look like a landing page, an ebook, or a lesson that directly addresses their personal needs. Once the prospect has provided their information through a form, he or she has officially become a lead.

Co-founders Bradley Rand Martin and Theo Nguyen created Client connection pool to match dentists with new patients. They use a multi-platform approach, including Google, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Facebook, to convert potential customers into leads.

Nguyen said, “We create multi-channel campaigns using pre-qualifying campaign workflows that direct potential patients through a funnel full of information that is precisely relevant to their needs. Once they provide us with their information, we can strategically reach out via text and email for the next 60 days. We make sure that the information remains relevant and applicable.’

While this example shows how the healthcare industry has mastered inbound marketing, other industries can use this approach to generate their own leads. And once leads are generated, this strategy can help them execute their specific calls to action and keep customers engaged along the way.

Joy

Keeping prospects happy after interacting with your brand is a critical part of the inbound methodology. Chatbots are once again becoming effective ways for former customers to stay in touch with you and build ongoing connections.

Interacting with past customers gives you the opportunity to conduct surveys and ask questions that can help you learn more about how you can change your lead generation flow to make it more applicable and effective. Responding to feedback demonstrates listening skills and a willingness to change, which is an important way to satisfy former customers.

Amanda Brinkman, Chief Brand and Communications Officer at Deluxe, says, “Your main goal should be to listen to your consumers – get to know them better. It costs you nothing to listen and the insights you gain can be invaluable.”

Aside from surveys and questionnaires, social media is a great way to hear the needs of past and current customers. They often post complaints or praise, and both forms of feedback are extremely valuable. If your customers exist on a certain platform, you should be there too, be it Instagram, TikTok or Snapchat.

Inbound marketing is a remarkable approach for all industries. As personalization becomes a higher priority for consumers, inbound marketing should become a standard marketing strategy. Taking examples from industries that are already adapting to this change can put your company on track to adapt, but don’t wait too long to try this technique.