Episode 113: What is an Inbound Strategy?

Strategies are high-level plans for achieving specific objectives. Strategies guide your efforts, and inbound strategies are no different from any other strategy in this regard. Where an inbound strategy differs from other strategies is that inbound strategies are more than just a guide, they are a mindset and an attitude, and they touch every level of an organization.

Show Notes

[0:42] Question: What is an Inbound Strategy and How is it Different from Any Other Strategy?

Inbound strategies aim to create the best employee, partner, and buyer experience. Inbound strategies are based on helping, not just product strategy, or marketing strategy, or specific tactics. However, it is not uncommon for people to look at inbound tactics like blogging or email marketing and assume that implementing these tactics is synonymous with an inbound strategy. But an inbound strategy asks, and answers, some key questions like:

• Who are you helping?
• What problems are you solving?
• Where do they want to be helped?
• What form does that help take?
• How is everyone in the organization contributing to providing that help?

You begin to arrive at an inbound strategy by answering these questions. Tactics are the tools you use to help your customer how they want to be helped and where they want to be helped.

Inbound strategy is how you execute your mission and details how you will delight and help your customers across all levels of the organization and throughout the entirety of the buyer journey. You want strategies that blow your customers away.

[16:39] Dan's Rant

Selling is helping. You need a coordinated strategy so you know how your buyers are moving through the buyer journey.

[17:11] Todd's Truth

The opportunity to grow and succeed will come more and more from creating amazing customer experiences rather than innovating products or features. People increasingly expect that products will be performant, differentiation is created through inbound strategy.  

[17:38] 3 Takeaways

1. Document how you help customers
2. Determine the obstacles between where you are now and becoming inbound. Begin the process of overcoming those obstacles
3. Ask customers how helpful you actually are

Links

From now until the end of August we are holding an MSPOT contest! You can download the MSPOT template, submit it for review, and from now until the end of August anyone who submits an MSPOT will be entered into the contest. The first place winner will win an hour to review their MSPOT with Todd and Dan! 

• Download and Submit Your MSPOT https://www.inboundorganization.com/mspot-review
• Take the Inbound Organization Assessment (https://www.inboundorganization.com/inbound-organization-assessment)

Thanks to Rebecca Miller our podcast editor, social media coordinator, and blogger and to Zachary Jameson for producing the audio for the podcast. Check out Zachary on Upwork if you need podcast audio services.