Combining Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation? Why & How?
Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation are two concepts that are not unfamiliar to marketing experts. However, some businesses might still be confused and unsure about the specific differences between these two concepts. Let’s explore together with Metta in the content below!
The Difference between Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation
In a concise and easy-to-understand way, Inbound Marketing is a process involving various activities; Marketing Automation is a tool that supports this process.
Inbound Marketing, which typically takes place before the purchasing action, is a process of attracting potential customers, helping them proactively discover a business’s products and services, then transforming their initial perceptions into brand trust and preference, ultimately converting them into leads.
With Inbound Marketing, businesses build their own customer base and strive to attract that specific customer group. To achieve this, businesses need to create relevant and engaging content to attract and convert potential customers. With Inbound Marketing, your task isn’t to search for potential customers; it’s to help them find you.
On the other hand, Marketing Automation is a tool and technological platform that automates marketing activities, optimizes efficiency, and drives revenue for businesses. Nowadays, there are many automation platforms available on the market. However, none of these platforms are free.
Some platforms are suitable for business owners, while others offer service packages for startups. You should compare and choose the most suitable service based on your budget and tool usage goals.
Why Should We Combine Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation?
Inbound Marketing is a pull marketing strategy. This strategy takes time to go through the touchpoints of the AIDA model: Attention – Interest – Desire – Action. You need a comprehensive plan to position your brand step by step.
This is similar to building a relationship between two people. Turning a complete stranger into a lover takes time and effort. But after several approaches, you can’t be certain if they’ve added you to their favorites list.
Some customers may not have the desire and effort to lead to action. Calls-to-action are not always effective, and not all potential customers become immediate or future sales. (If you’re reading this and wondering why you should implement inbound marketing, I’ll let you know that inbound marketing costs 61% less to generate a new lead compared to outbound marketing.)
With numerous tasks that a marketer has to handle, it’s easy to miss a step or the right time to approach customers during the inbound marketing strategy. Furthermore, you can’t know which campaigns are the most effective among those you create each year and need to develop in the future.
Marketing Automation is not just a sequence of automated steps; it can provide valuable insights to marketers about which campaigns are effective and which are not. This is the greatest benefit of Marketing Automation.
One important point is about the database. You can’t simply buy data and use it. A good database needs to align with the characteristics of your target customers. This data should be easily modified, filtered, and extracted when it’s small in size. Therefore, marketers should consider building a good database from the early stages of business operations. Don’t wait for a few years when the data becomes messy, as it will decrease the effectiveness of your inbound marketing efforts.
How to Implement?
- Build a target customer profile
- Build accurate data sources
- Develop an inbound marketing strategy
- Find a suitable platform
Combining Inbound Marketing and Marketing Automation brings exceptional results to businesses. At Metta, we offer services ranging from strategic consulting to content marketing, including website content creation, social media channels, online advertising, product-related articles, and more.
All the marketing content serves the purpose of attracting the target customers to the business. Don’t wait until stronger competitors emerge; let Metta help you achieve competitive success. Contact us at phung.metta@metta.com.vn for a free consultation today.
Written by the Metta Marketing team
Metta Marketing
Leading Brand Strategy Consultant
