What is Inbound Marketing? Definition and FAQ

[tonmoypramanik]

There is a huge gap between the definition of Inbound Marketing that we find everywhere on the Internet and what it really is.

Presenting Inbound as a strategy that consists of attracting customers to you is dangerous.

This definition may make you think that it is a miracle strategy. If you invest in Inbound Marketing with the idea that you can just push a button to generate results, here is what will happen:

You will try but the results will not live up to your expectations. Then, you will doubt and your enthusiasm will give way to frustration. So you will give up before seeing a return on investment.

Too bad, because Inbound is today the best marketing strategy to generate business.

To save you from this failure, let's set the record straight.

In this article on Inbound Marketing:
The theoretical definition of Inbound Marketing
What is Inbound in practice?
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
What is Inbound Marketing? The theory:
As is often the case, theory is very different from practice. We will come back to this.

Before that, let's look at the most common misdefinition of Inbound Marketing. We will then try to ireland email list determine a more accurate definition.

The false definition
I hate her. She's too flirty for my taste.

The false definition of Inbound Marketing says that this strategy consists of attracting customers to you rather than chasing them.

By presenting it this way, we skip all the sales efforts needed to convert a lead generated by Inbound into customers. We will see this in the section on "Inbound in practice".

If you dig a little deeper on the web, you will see that Inbound Marketing is sometimes presented as follows:

Inbound Marketing is a strategy that consists of creating content to attract more visitors to your website in order to convert them into leads and then into loyal customers.
This definition is indeed more accurate but it is incomplete.

The real definition
Inbound Marketing is first about creating content to attract more visitors
This is the simplest part of Inbound Marketing.


Since buyers prefer to think about their purchases on the Internet rather than call a salesperson – or receive a communication they did not request – you absolutely must attract their attention on the web.

How ?

By creating high value-added content that is optimized for search engines.

This is the first step of the Inbound Marketing strategy .

SLN Web - Inbound marketing agency - our method in 4 steps
Inbound Marketing then consists of converting your visitors into Leads
Attracting visitors to your website is a good start.

But if these visitors leave without leaving any trace of their visit, what will be the benefit of Inbound Marketing for your turnover?

None !

The correct definition of Inbound Marketing includes this notion of converting your visitors into Leads.

But how do we do that?

By creating conversion funnels that will allow you to collect the contact details of your visitors by offering them something in return.

This is the second step of the Inbound Marketing strategy.

Inbound Marketing then consists of converting your Leads into customers.
To recap, at this point you have visitors that you have converted into Leads.

But then again, what is the point of Inbound Marketing for your bottom line if you don't convert them into customers?

None !

The simple definition of Inbound Marketing does not take into account this work of Lead management which is nevertheless essential for generating return on investment.

In practice, Inbound Marketing is much more complex and it is not enough to press a button to attract customers like a magnet!

The leads you generate with Inbound Marketing are generally not ready to buy:

stat lead not mature in B2B
The mistake to avoid is to pass on all the leads you generate with Inbound Marketing to sales people.

This is the best way to fail.

Aligning marketing and sales: a crucial issue
To convert your Leads into customers, you must first nurture your Leads.

In other words, Inbound Marketing requires that you send your Leads high value-added content to facilitate their purchasing consideration and gradually lead them towards the “Decision Making” phase.

This is where the topic of Marketing Automation software usually comes in .

It is only during this phase that your Leads will agree to speak to a salesperson.

The definition of Inbound Marketing that you can read everywhere on the Internet obscures this point because it is the most complex.

Inbound Marketing is finally about making your customers your best ambassadors.
This notion of ambassador is key in the definition of Inbound Marketing.

Word of mouth remains the best lever for winning customers and its power has exploded with the Internet and social networks.

The challenge of Inbound Marketing is to win customers and exploit their satisfaction to encourage them to advertise for you on the web.

Via customer cases, reviews… It’s up to you.

Inbound Marketing is a strategy that takes time to generate results, but the results are exponential if you take the time to get to this stage.