By Pete Winter

6 Critical Steps to Build Revenue From Inbound Marketing – Part 6

STEP 6 – CONTINUOUSLY IMPROVE

We are perhaps at one of the most exciting junctures in marketing. The internet and digitally based analytical tools at our disposal are giving us hitherto undreamt of access to consumers and customers, their thoughts, their behaviours, their purchasing patterns. To achieve the same knowledge about customers, even 10 years ago, would have required an army of researchers working 24/7/365 and the information would still not have been in real time.

New marketing channels are springing up it seems almost daily and just keeping abreast of them makes you dizzy. Some represent new marketing opportunities others will die on the way. What is certain is that the internet has changed marketing forever and as it evolves will turn the wheel of fortune many times more. Marketing has been and will always be a never-ending process, a process that generates business opportunities and builds brand recognition. Amidst all the changes this remains true, but it is methods and tools at our disposal that have changed.

Implementing your Inbound Marketing process it is important to bear in mind that this is not static and you need to manage the process just like your outbound marketing. Refining and regularly reviewing your process is important to improve and maximize your ROI (Return On Investement). When you see something is not working or a new inbound opportunity emerges you need to take action to optimize your Inbound Marketing system or process.

You also need to invest to improve, as things are changing fast. This is not just an investment of money, but also people. As you see your Inbound Marketing taking off then it is important that you do not choke it off from a lack of funds and people.

Finally and perhaps most important of all is to learn from your mistakes and learn new marketing techniques so that you are continuously improving and upgrading your knowledge and Inbound Marketing system. You only have to reflect on what has happened in the past 5 years to know that the next 5 will be equally if not more challenging to marketers. Staying ahead of the game has been been so important.

Your Inbound Future

At the same time as the internet has provided marketers with amazing insights and analytical tools so too it has liberated and empowered customers and consumers alike. It is this empowerment that makes Inbound Marketing so important to the development of marketing and going-to-market strategies.

Creating a successful Inbound Marketing approach requires a structured, managed and winning process, which attracts and then retains customers. The 6 Steps are designed to do this helping you to implement, manage and drive your Inbound Marketing success from day one. Without these 6 Steps you will fail or struggle to achieve a successful Inbound Marketing implementation.

As social media diversifies, grows in importance and gains more influence over the purchasing or buying process Inbound Marketing will become the only route to success. The 5 Step approach to Inbound Marketing will help you not only to meet the challenges of this new age of consumer and customer power, but survive and thrive in its development.