For this section I’m aiming at series A / B companies looking to scale, not start-ups.
As a start-up it’s hard to scale inbound demand with limited resources. Setting up outbound and generating leads should be your focus. But do think about what specific tactics you could deploy for creating more brand awareness.
As a Series A / B company that is scaling, inbound will need to be carefully structured to help the business reach the next level of growth. It’s the crucial leverage to support demand generation. It needs a well-planned architecture and long term view on how it will drive the revenue funnel in the medium to long term. Don’t delay getting started.
Inbound marketing is notoriously hard to scale. It requires a long-term view.
If you’re already getting a trickle of inbound leads each week, how can you scale that to the next level? Here are a few tactical ideas to start thinking through.
1. LinkedIn automation toolsUse LinkedIn automation tools to raise brand awareness campaigns. Don’t bother with trying to send messages or Inmails, that ship has sailed and the conversion is low. LinkedIn automation can make a difference if you consistently run brand awareness campaigns to your ICP. I’ve used numerous ones over the years including Zopto, Salestools and others.
Make sure your LinkedIn profile is optimised for inbound awareness. This should be consistent across the whole team.
The Number One fail of Linkedin automation is... Send a connect, send a pitch, follow up the pitch, send a reminder on pitch. You have to do better than this process. Think deeper about the value exchange. Automation must be used in the right context. It is no magic bullet for lead generation.
The same correlates to the sales process — do the same with your customer. Don’t send pitch messages, but do raise awareness.
2. Increase content marketing focusCreate more inbound leads with blogs, LinkedIn posts, and other assets like white papers. Typically most won’t work, so be conscious of that.
Keep your aspirations simple. Pick niche personas to appeal to, and develop insightful content for each stage of the buyer journey. Don’t try to compete in the general world.
Instead, go in-depth.
Also think about what content is most valuable. I’d recommend you produce a simple, easy-to-execute content calendar that you can measure effectively. Start with realism in mind. The biggest mistake most people make is trying to do too much. Start with simple strategies.
For example, your first strategy could be to list the top 10 sales objections in your sales process. Produce 10 thought leadership pieces addressing these objections. This is a super simple way to get started. And build momentum.
Remember, you are competing in a highly competitive market. Don’t think you must create lots of content. Think about creating impactful, deep and insightful content. Less is more.
3. Optimise your landing pages and websiteAs a CMO, it’s easy to ignore the website. Be different. Pay attention to the small details:
- Are relevant CTA buttons above the fold?
- Are colours consistent with the brand guidelines?
- Do all the links work?
- Is the UI experience good?
- Does your site get “to the what” quickly enough?
Pay attention to the basics, cross check and follow customer journeys through to the end yourself. By testing yourself, you’ll have a closer eye on the (critically important) minute details that can make or break a sale.
Your marketing site should really be even better than your product. Perception is everything when competing for attention, and scaling. To create the right impression, it’s important you add depth to your site. Read more about this
here.
4. SDR structureFor Sales Development Representatives (SDR) design a set of SLAs around key issues:
- Minimum time to respond
- Follow-up method
- Journal of types of response, stock replies
- Structure for moving forward with prospect conversations
Your inbound SDR (or MDR — Market Development Rep) will need as much support and training as the outbound team. Your inbound SDR can be used to drive marketing conversions. For example, have them focused more on MQL to SQL conversion rates; funnel velocity; lead analysis and more. Give them more responsibility to drive these outcomes than your outbound reps.
Remember, they’re your B2B marketing front line.
5. Set up the conversational marketing approach with inboundMake sure your website uses the latest tools like Drift, Intercom and Hubspot. Having someone on hand to answer queries might not be possible straight away. Instead, create workflows that automate the early stages of the conversation based on standard questions you expect people to ask. Here are a couple of suggestions on how to segment inbounds through a chatbot form (especially when looking to solve the problem of poor inbound qualities or startups — if focused on Enterprise):
- Remove startups — be more explicit with who you are seeking and people might qualify out (if that's what you want).
- On the form add extra variables so you can route appropriately. i.e. An extra drop-down like Startup / scaleup etc / & Funding Round: A / B / C or raised to date. At least then you can prioritise leads that come from inbound. Point 2 would be a good idea because unfortunately when it comes to Inbound; you often get startups — dependent on the market of course.
6. Brand still makes a huge impact on inbound.Although many companies lean heavily on outbound marketing, brand still matters. How can brand be used across inbound?
- Create original content that can be repurposed across multiple channels
- What do you stand for? A show, a podcast, a publication? Certifications for your personas? What’s your bet for driving the brand into the market? How will you engage?
- Disperse content over 30 days and repurpose
- Amplify, creating a consistent stream of branded content
- Inbound effectiveness after 12 months will have a big dependency on how well you have built the brand awareness to drive inbound traffic