using inbound marketing for ecommerce - grand rapids hugs 2015

Inbound Marketing

The Future of

Selling Online

April 2, 2015

Tom Schwab

Goodbye Crutches– eCommerce Store

Inbound for eCommerce– Consulting Agency

eCommerce HUGs Leader

Tom@InboundForEcommerce.com

@TMSchwab

1. Why every online company is eCommerce

2. How an Inbound Strategy works

3. The Buyer’s Inbound Journey

• Attract Visitors

• Engage Leads

• Convert Customers

• Delight Advocates

4. Review

Agenda

• Online sellers

• Non Profits

• B2B and B2C

• Even SaaS like HubSpot

Every website is

eCommerce…

Team Collaboration Product SaaS

Over 35k users

No Sales Force

Focus on Reducing Sales Friction

Revenue $150M (2013)

CONTEXT IS

GODHigh Touch

eCommerce

What is an Inbound Strategy?

Interruption Marketing

Focused on what

I HAVE TO SELL YOU

The Most $ Win

Tricks and Tactics

Transaction:

Picture and a Price

Outbound is…

Inbound is

Permission based

Focused on helping people make the best purchase

Winning is not based on $, but caring

Content Builds Trust, Authority, Thought Leadership to

• Attract Visitors

• Engage Leads

• Delight Customers

Inbound is…

The Buyer’s Inbound Journey

Context is god

Shows understanding

Builds relationship

CONTEXT IS

GOD

Content is King

Show expertise

Thought leadership

A buyer persona is a semi-fictional

representation of your ideal customer

based on market research and real

data about your existing customers.

Buyer Persona Defined

Demographics

• Age

• Race

• Household Income

• Occupation

• Income

• Marital Status

• Education

• Number of Children

• Zip Code Area

What the census bureau knows

Psychographics

• Dreams

• Fears

• Aspirations

• Who do you trust

• How do you get information

• Who do you admire

• Major frustrations

• How you see yourself

• How you want to see yourself

What the spouse knows

MEDIUM(s) MATCH

THE PERSONA

THE PRESENTER

• Blogs

• Videos

• Slide shares

• Infographics

• Emails

• Podcasts

• Forums

CONTEXT IS

GOD

1. Have a single purpose

2. Speak to a single buyer persona

3. Move the person along their buyer’s journey

Golden Rules for

Every Piece of Content

Attract Visitors

Be Helpful

Answer common questions

Use similar words

(keywords)

Introduce new resource

Be present where they are

What’s so great

about blogging?

1.Easy for Google to index

2.Easily consumed (bandwidth)

3.Easily shared

CONTEXT IS

GOD

600 Words minimum

Clear and direct

Formatted to skim

Images of targeted buyer persona

Hyperlinks to other helpful content

Platform is not important, just make sure it’s your own

Part of a content strategy

Blogging Best Practice?

BE A GUEST

Publishers need content

• Blog

• Podcasts

You need to

• Connect with your ideal buyer

persona

• Build trust, authority

CONTEXT IS

GOD

Amplifying

Your Message

Social Media:

• Facebook

• Twitter

• LinkedIn

• Pinterest

• Instagram

• Vine

Niche sites

Groups with major platforms

Your own community

CONTEXT IS

GOD

Engage Leads

Offer more value to start a discussion

The visitor along the the buyer’s journey

Goal of Engaging

Call to Action

• Add Value

• Be Specific

• Be Brief

• Be Consistent

• Be Visible

Great CTA’s are easy to make

Landing Page

Elements

• No Navigation

• Minimal Clutter

• Short – Focused

• 1 Clear offer

• Allow social sharing

• Short Form

• Value is behind a form

High Converting Landing Pages are easy to make

Thank you page

Give them what you

promised

Send via email also

Navigation returns

Offer more value

Build Trust

Convert Customers

Nurturing

Targeted emails

Highly Segmented

Automated Workflows

Add more value

• Links to blogs

• Helpful videos

• Tips and Tricks

• Nurturing to Purchase

• Abandon Cart Nurturing

• Post Purchase Nurturing

• Referral Nurturing

Types of Nurturing

Nurture to Purchase

Jeff Walker – Launch

Sideway sales letter

Add Value

Spur conversations

Overcome objections

Abandon Cart

Shows concern

Identify objections

Opportunity to upsell

Higher Ave Cart Price

Selling Directly from

HubSpot COS

Single Platform

Lower Development Cost

Lower Monthly Cost

Easier entry into eComm

COS The Ultimate eCommerce Personalization Tool

Delight Advocates

Post Sales

Share product tips & tricks

Lower Returns

Raise Life Time Value

Increase referrals

Net Promoter Score

Predictive of:

• Life Time Value (LTV) of a

Customer

• Value of a company

• Profitable growth of a

company

Empowers you to:

• Address & Silence

Detractors

• Leverage Promoters

On a scale of 0 to 10, how

likely are you to

recommend __ to a friend

of colleague?

“The only number you

need to grow”

Harvard Business Review

December 2003

Questions

Welcome to

eCommerceCONTEXT IS

GOD

Inbound for eCommerce . com

@TMSchwab

Tom@InboundForEcommerce.com

How can I help you?