Why Inbound Marketing Is Key for B-Corps

As a business owner, you're always looking for new and innovative ways to market your company. Perhaps you've heard about inbound marketing and how it can be beneficial for B-corporations. Not only is inbound marketing an effective way to reach potential customers, but it's also a cost-effective way to grow your business. If you're interested in learning more about inbound marketing and how it can help your B-corporation, keep reading

What is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a practice that focuses on attracting customers through relevant and helpful content and interactions. This technique seeks to earn the attention of customers rather than paying for it. Once earned, inbound marketing attempts to convert leads into customers and then turn those customers into promoters of the company. The inbound marketing philosophy is based on the idea that if you make your company easy to find and attract attention, you will improve your marketing performance.

Inbound marketing encompasses a range of strategies, including content marketing, search engine optimization, and social media marketing. Additionally, you can use inbound marketing in conjunction with other marketing techniques, or you can use it as a standalone approach. In either case, inbound marketing is designed to help companies improve their marketing performance by making it easier for potential customers to find them.

Why marketers prefer inbound marketing to outbound

In recent years, inbound marketing has become increasingly popular among marketers. There are several reasons for this shift. First, inbound marketing typically has a higher return on investment than outbound marketing. For example, content marketing costs about 60% less than outbound marketing and typically brings in three times more leads.

Second, inbound marketing helps to build and nurture relationships with customers rather than simply trying to sell them a product or service. As a result, customers are more likely to trust and recommend businesses that use inbound marketing techniques. According to Gartner, companies that automate their lead nurturing cycle can expect to see a 10 percent increase in revenue within 6 to 9 months.

Finally, inbound marketing is more efficient and effective in the long run. It allows businesses to focus their resources on attracting and converting qualified leads rather than simply trying to reach as many people as possible. In fact, more than 70% of search engine users are only interested in organic search results, and 80% of business executives prefer getting information about a company organically rather than through search engine ads. For all these reasons, it's no surprise that inbound marketing has become the preferred choice for many marketers.

The challenges B-corporations face in marketing.

In some ways, there is a lot of marketing up-side to being a B-corporation. First and foremost, being a certified B-corporation signals to consumers that your company is committed to social and environmental responsibility. This can help to build trust and brand loyalty and potential customers who know what B-corp certification means will seek you out and be strongly attracted to you because they share your values.

In addition, since certified b-corporations are required to meet rigorous standards in terms of sustainability and transparency, you automatically have a valuable point of differentiation in the marketplace.

Lastly, certified B-corporations are part of a growing community of like-minded businesses. This provides valuable networking opportunities and helps to create a positive public image for the company. Overall, certified b-corporations enjoy many significant marketing advantages.

But, the challenge in B-corporation marketing is that even conscientious consumers may not know what a B-corporation is. Putting "B-corporation" at the heart of your marketing efforts is a little like trying to convince consumers to buy from you because you are an LLC. While meaningful to you, your organizational structure has very little meaning to "non-believers."

Why inbound marketing makes sense for Bcorps

It is tough to persuade evangelists to change their mind or their behavior. But, reaching potential customers who share your values can be relatively easy and highly rewarding - for you and them. When you market to potential customers who share your values, you are more likely to find customers who are passionate about what you do and who will be loyal to your business. In addition, since your certified b-corporations must adhere to strict standards of social and environmental performance, its easier for customers to trust that you are a responsible business.

The beauty of using inbound marketing to communicate with your prospects who know about B-corporations is that you'll create relevant and informative content that will also be found by prospects who are starting to explore their options. In addition, by providing the types of content that answer their awareness phase questions, you'll attract potential customers because they want to do businesses that balance profit and purpose - whether they know what a B-corp is or not. When you market to potential customers who share your values, you are not only doing good for your business - you are also helping to make the world a better place.

Inbound marketing is perfect for B-corporations because it establishes relationships with your customers that are built on shared values, which helps establish trust early in the relationship. And, by implementing lead nurturing tools, you can continue to provide relevant, meaningful content intentionally designed to create awareness not only of your business but your mission.

Inbound marketing is the perfect way to attract like-minded customers who are interested in your b-corporation’s mission and values. It can be more affordable than traditional marketing methods, and it allows you to build relationships with potential customers over time. If you want to develop an inbound marketing plan for your b-corp, contact us today. We would be happy to help!