Per la crescita della startup, l’inbound marketing è una strategia fondamentale dal giorno uno.
Lo pensa HubSpot, la ex startup (oggi quotata) che ha fatto dell’inbound marketing un prodotto software e una missione. A giudicare dai risultati ottenuti all’interno dell’azienda stessa, si direbbe una strategia che funziona, motivo per cui la società ci tiene moltissimo a evangelizzare sul tema il mondo delle startup. Tra le altre cose, hanno un programma che si chiama “HubSpot for Startups” che permette alle startup di utilizzare il software HubSpot a condizioni particolarmente vantaggiose.
(Purtroppo questo programma ha delle condizioni di elegibilità stringenti, prevede che la startup sia incubata in una realtà certificata e facente parte della lista di HubSpot, attualmente in Italia figura solo H-Farm come incubatore riconosciuto. )
Qui di seguito trovate la guida realizzata da HubSpot “The Guide To Growing A Startup With Inbound Marketing” che contiene spunti e indicazioni molto interessanti.
> Che cos’è l’inbound marketing?
From Wikipedia – Inbound marketing is promoting a company through blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks, enewsletters, whitepapers, SEO, physical products, social media marketing, and other forms of content marketing which serve to attract customers through the different stages of the purchase funnel.[1][2][3] In contrast, buying attention,[1] cold-calling, direct paper mail, radio, TV advertisements,[2] sales flyers, spam, telemarketing[3] and traditional advertising[4] are considered “outbound marketing”. Inbound marketing refers to marketing activities that bring visitors in, rather than marketers having to go out to get prospects’ attention. Inbound marketing earns the attention of customers,[1] makes the company easy to be found,[2] and draws customers to the website[4] by producing interesting content.[3] Many companies are now realizing that their technical documentation, often considered a “necessary evil”, is authoritative, trustworthy content that can be a company’s most effective inbound marketing channel, generating more than half of overall site traffic and over half of lead generation.[5]
David Meerman Scott recommends that marketers “earn their way in” (via publishing helpful information on a blog etc.) in contrast to outbound marketing, where they “buy, beg, or bug their way in” (via paid advertisements, issuing press releases, or paying commissioned sales people, respectively).[6] The term is synonymous with the concept of permission marketing.[3] The inbound marketing term was coined by Brian Halligan,[2][3][7] in 2005.[8][9] According to HubSpot, inbound marketing is especially effective for small businesses[10][11] that deal with high dollar values, long research cycles and knowledge-based products. In these areas prospects are more likely to get informed and hire someone who demonstrates expertise.[12]
