About inbound acquisition strategy

So... you want to drive demand generation? Here's a checklist of what you will need to be successful from someone who has been there.

Before considering ANY channel; PPC, ABM, email, newsletters, trade shows, offline... consider baseline strategy, before it is too late. Here's a checklist of items to consider to be successful regardless of medium:

1. What is your offer? Why should anyone buy your brand versus the competitor? If you can't explain how to save customers' time, money, or frustration, you might as well be dead in the water.

2. Solutions selling This is not a new concept, but when done well it naturally integrates with SEO & PPC keyword themes and is the king of demand related content. (ex: lead magnets, ad copy) in addition to relationship building.

3. Your customers don't give a $#@% about brand until they do.

Much like personal dating relationships, some are in it to clear the lowest bar. Some are in it to play the game, and some are in it for the long haul.

Contradictory to point 1, no one cares about your offer until they are ready. You wouldn't pull out a wedding ring on the first date, so why expect people to do the same with their wallets? It takes time, getting to know someone deeply and making a long lasting connection that will have mattered most rather than a one - off quickie, or worse.

This takes time and a lot of effort, but if done effectively can make a lifetime connection that was worth it. To quantify and measure, let's measure customer lifetime value... shall we?

4. Do your math homework - and pick two Budgets are going to force the hand one way or another. Be objective, honest, and realistic when making your decisions of where to allocate funding, and making the most with what you have. Some common costs to consider with examples:

• labor (ex: specialists, project management, development, booth setup)

• time (ex: hours of prep, hours of maintaining, hours of revision)

• required resources & assets (ex: graphics, images, videos, printing)

Not sure where to start? Look to your customer data to see what is working and what isn't. There are a ton of resources to look up around marketing ROI calculators.

Does this all sound obvious? Awesome! You would be shocked how many get it horrifically wrong even when continuously repeating cyclical processes. With these foundational strategy basics and some preparation, you might just be on the path to success.