Inbound Marketing is actually just a myth…
I have traditionally been a believer that any form of marketing other than what is classified as, “Inbound” is typically a waste of money and time. As I think about it however, I actually think that this idea of, “Inbound marketing” is actually a bit ridiculous. George Carlin, a hero of mine, was a master of the English language. One of his bits for which I have really become attached is when he discusses the definition of a Near Miss:
I can’t help but be reminded of this hysterical bit of comedy, when I listen or read about those this concept of, “Inbound Marketing.”
HubSpot defines inbound marketing this way:
“Since 2006, inbound marketing has been the most effective marketing method for doing business online. Instead of the old outbound marketing methods of buying ads, buying email lists, and praying for leads, inbound marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and product, where they naturally want to be. By aligning the content you publish with your customer’s interests, you naturally attract inbound traffic that you can then convert, close, and delight over time*.”
Let’s poke some holes in HubSpot’s definition:
“Inbound marketing has been the most effective marketing method for doing business online.” First, let’s consider those forms of media for which HubSpot labels as, “Inbound” (http://www.hubspot.com/inbound-marketing):
- Blogs
- Keywords
- Social Publishing
- Forms
- Calls to action
- Landing Pages
- CRM
- Workflows
- Surveys
- Smart Content
- Social Monitoring
Every single one of these items listed above is an outbound effort. You write blogs and PUBLISH them, you create forms and PUBLISH them. Think about it for a second…With respect to behaviors, what is really the difference between calling someone, sending them a postcard or e-mailing them?
Therefore, when Hubspot’s article states, “Inbound marketing has been the most effective marketing method for doing business online,” they are not only making a claim that cannot possibly be true, to state these efforts are the most effective marketing methods is ludicrous. Personal referrals from friends/family/co-workers or even just the general public is the most effective marketing method (and it will always be).
Their article then continues with:
- “With your customer’s interests” — Inbound marketing is a tool mostly purposed in driving new acquisitions. With that, a company cannot possibly publish content with their customer’s interests because, well…they aren’t their customers yet.
- “Convert, close, and delight over time.” — Depending on the situation, this more accurately describes the process of lead generation and nurturing- all part of the sales cycle, with conversions occurring at the end of the line- NOT at the beginning. “Delight over time.” Focusing again on HubSpot’s definition of ‘Inbound’ marketing- let’s be clear that it cannot and does not ‘delight over time’ because all these tactics are, are tools to deliver a message. They are vehicles, nothing more. The context and ways this information is then leveraged should delight over time.
Definition…Debunked.
A little further down the page they ask, “What is inbound?” They then state, “Sharing is caring and inbound is about creating and sharing content with the world. By creating content specifically designed to appeal to your dream customers, inbound attracts qualified prospects to your business and keeps them coming back for more.”
- “Sharing is caring and inbound is about creating and sharing content with the world.” This makes almost no sense to me. If I’m SHARING it, “Share” is literally defined as, “to divide and distribute in shares; apportion**.” Sorry for the redundancy, but how can this therefore be an inbound behavior if I’m distributing it?
Let’s now look at HubSpot’s, “Four marketing actions*”- Attract, Convert, Close, Delight.
- “Attract”: OK, I like this one- despite the fact they have yet to explain even one way this can be achieved
- “Convert,” “Close,” and, “Delight”: I wrote about these above but no, these do not achieve anything as HubSpot has defined them
What is typically needed to drive customer acquisition is an overall strategy that considers the voicing, methods of delivery and approach to analysis, ongoing. And with that, I reject the idea that “Old” tactics don’t work. How can they make such a general assertion?
This is how I approach a mission:
1. Identify the objective (And there can only be one objective. I cannot stand seeing proposals that read, “Objectives & Goals”)
2. Define the goals that will help satisfy the objective (There can be several goals)
3. Research and identify the target audience
4. Brainstorm and derive at ideas that will help achieve these goals
5. Execute
6. Analyze
7. Brainstorm
8. Adapt
(Steps 4–8 repeat over and over again)
During this process, we identify our target audience as noted above, considering the ideal methods with which they will respond. And if there is an honest and well-targeted “invitation” (of sorts), customers will respond favorably, rewarding us with an inbound behavior (Or as I like to think about it, a ‘thank you).
