Inbound Marketing doesn’t just happen by accident. It requires a deliberate, thoughtful approach to all of your online marketing activities. Most of all, your Inbound Marketing program must encompass each and every step taken, tool used, and life cycle stage traveled through on the road from stranger to customer.

Your Inbound Marketing agency (or internal team) must address each of the following elements in crafting your strategy:

Customer Life Cycle Marketing Your marketing team recognizes that your customers move through specific stages as they interact with your company, and understands the different marketing actions that are required at each stage. They are adept at developing programs that address life cycle needs as they evolve.

Your marketing team recognizes that your customers move through specific stages as they interact with your company, and understands the different marketing actions that are required at each stage. They are adept at developing programs that address life cycle needs as they evolve. Message Personalization Your marketing team is rabid about learning more about your leads over time, and passionate about continually personalizing messages to meet the specific needs of your leads as they are uncovered. They are adept at change, in fact they thrive on it. A great inbound marketing team continually innovates and NEVER says “we’ve always done it this way”.

Your marketing team is rabid about learning more about your leads over time, and passionate about continually personalizing messages to meet the specific needs of your leads as they are uncovered. They are adept at change, in fact they thrive on it. A great inbound marketing team continually innovates and NEVER says “we’ve always done it this way”. Multi-channel Strengths You marketing team is multi-channel by nature. They recognize that your prospects’ needs change based on where they are at any given instant. They appreciate that the prospect has the power to choose how, when, and where they interact with you. And they are committed to delivering content in a way that adapts to whatever channel your prospects choose to interact with you.

You marketing team is multi-channel by nature. They recognize that your prospects’ needs change based on where they are at any given instant. They appreciate that the prospect has the power to choose how, when, and where they interact with you. And they are committed to delivering content in a way that adapts to whatever channel your prospects choose to interact with you. Integrated Your marketing team has knowledge and experience that is both broad and deep. They are expert publishers and broadcasters, adept at crafting content prospects love. They understand concepts like brand, reach, lift, and ROMI. They get SEO, social media, email marketing, lead nurturing, responsive, and mobile. They can write. They’re great in front of an audience – whether that be on camera or at an event. They’re obsessive about analytics and know how to turn statistics into actionable metrics you can track.

Your marketing team has knowledge and experience that is both broad and deep. They are expert publishers and broadcasters, adept at crafting content prospects love. They understand concepts like brand, reach, lift, and ROMI. They get SEO, social media, email marketing, lead nurturing, responsive, and mobile. They can write. They’re great in front of an audience – whether that be on camera or at an event. They’re obsessive about analytics and know how to turn statistics into actionable metrics you can track. Technically Adept Your marketing team must be able to deliver when the rubber hits the road. This requires both a robust technology set that allows them to work efficiently and effectively, with strong analytics capabilities. It also requires a team leader who not only talks the talk, but can walk the walk with both grace and style.

While your team will most likely end up comprising individuals with a high degree of specialization, your marketing leadership needs to understand all of these pieces and how they fit together. They must be adept at navigating the competing needs of your internal stakeholders – your web development team, your marketing team, your sales team – as well as guiding each group in the successful adoption and use of the tools at your disposal.