Are you interested in getting more leverage online? This checklist will help you to prepare for inbound marketing services. If your business is in start-up mode, this checklist can also be a guide to improve your chance of success.
Before considering hiring an inbound marketing services company or agency, consider the following:
Planning:
- Clear financial goals
- Strategic marketing plan
Customers:
- Very specific defined target market segments/niches
- Buyer personas defined
- Customer database
- Competition in the client's niche
People:
- A marketing team (internal)
- Understanding and acceptance inbound marketing strategies
- A unified sales process where sales, marketing and managment are in sync.
Tools:
- Marketing technology tools in place which relate to business (email, CRM, CMS, social media)
- A website with conversion capabilities
- Social media accounts
Production and Delivery:
- Product and/or services ready
- Delivery process in place
- Transaction process
- Content to be repurposed
Analytics:
- Measures of success in place and understood
The next phase is to make the selection for inbound marketing services which can include:
- Weekly review and planning meetings
- Personas of buyers - develop
- Keyword analysis and strategy
- Content creation
- Blogs
- Videos
- White papers
- Graphics
- Articles
- Social media support
- Setup
- Training
- Execution
- SEO support (Search Engine Optimization)
- On-page SEO
- Off-page SEO
- Offers - product development
- Landing page development
- Including call to action
- List segmentation
- Online PR
- Email marketing
- Individual broadcasts
- Newsletters
- Campaigns
- Workflows
- CRM integration
- CMS management and oversight (This inbound marketer uses Hubspot)
- Analysis and monitoring
When all is said and done, many assume they are ready and jump into execution only to have time and money go down the drain.
"Inbound marketing does not work" becomes the cry. This becomes a reality since a jury-rigged inbound marketing plan was put together with rubber bands and toothpicks.
Get ready, use the checklist.
