Book Review: Inbound Marketing

In my first 2-3 years at Xcentric the staffing equation dominated the conversation, hot topics, and round table discussions at every conference I went to. As you know the tide has turned in this arena and now partners are discussing marketing, sales, and business development. This has led many firms to question the use of the Internet and how it fits into their overall marketing scheme. The book Inbound Marketing provides a comprehensive look at using the web as a marketing tool and it is a highly suggested read.

The book defines “inbound marketing” as marketing focused on being found by customers.  So, where do your best leads come from? Referrals, of course.  A conversation that started in the gym, chamber of commerce, rotary club, golf club, barber shop, etc, turned into a phone call to your firm because a client was a raving fan and told them they should give you a call. Business conversations inside these circles will continue to be the norm and your goal should be to be found in them. However, more and more of these conversations are being facilitated on the web in a distinct, targeted fashion.

Here’s what Inbound Marketing has to say about why:
* ‘Search’ on the web is targeted. Think rifle versus shotgun. If you have a specific need the web is more likely to return the targeted results you are looking for versus your friend network. This doesn’t mean you don’t ask your friends, it just means that you can now do this in a more leveraged fashion (see last point).
* Social club memberships are on the decline. Costs and time are under more scrutiny than ever and people turn to the web to fulfill some of the value previously gained in these memberships. Conversations that used to take exclusively in these ‘clubs’ are now taking place on the web in hyper focused interest groups.
* It’s leveraged. One to many versus one to one. You can ask the question over the web and get far more brains/eyes/etc on the matter than you could over a week full of meetings. Plus CTRL+C & CTRL+V is hard to do in person, easy to post a question on the web a few different places.

The question the book ultimately asks is: Will you be found in the discussions that happen on the web?  Just like the ‘in-person’ discussions, will your name be dropped, will you come through as a thought leader in that specific practice area or in your community?