Inbound and Down: Grass Roots Marketing Goes to H.U.G.

[By Koleen Singerline]

The Inbound Marketing philosophy is continuously gaining acceptance in the marketing world.  From conversations on the web to personal discussions and experiences, people are catching on that an integrated inbound approach is the future of marketing.  Further evidence of this "inbound surge" is the overwhelming turnout at the first ever Inbound Marketing Conference in Boston, October 5th & 6th... and I was fortunate enough to be in attendance!  HubSpot, the pioneers of inbound marketing software and hosts of the event, welcomed customers and Value Added Resellers to celebrate the beginning of the Hubspot User Group (HUG) reception on Monday night. The event took place in HubSpot's new office in the Davenport building. The building was packed and Hubspot staff was on hand to give tours of the new office space. Of course, the décor was mostly bright orange (HubSpot's colors).

On Tuesday, we met at the University of Massachusetts for a series of workshops to learn and share best practices.  The day began with a welcome address from HubSpot Founder & CEO Brian Halligan, who shared HubSpot's future plans and priorities aimed at making customers even more successful at inbound marketing. I met briefly with Brian to thank him for all the success HubSpot has brought to my clients and GRM...

As a part of the growth strategy, Hubspot’s focus is on making its software more functional and user friendly.  If you are unfamiliar with HubSpot, their sofware allows you to create an easy editable inbound website that fosters sound SEO practicies and effectively tracks leads. If you have used the software, you are already impressed with the 19 applications and constant updates to the platform.  This commitment to improvement will have far reaching impact.  Following Brian, an all-star panel featuring Chris Brogan, David Meerman Scott, Ann Handley and Dharmesh Shah shared visions for the future of inbound marketing.  Check out my reading list on LinkedIn for books by these visionaries.

With over 3,400 customers and growing, Hubspot marketers have logged some impressive statistics:

• 61,000 Blog articles published
• 224,000 Blog subscribers
• 1,300,000 Twitter followers
• 2,400,000 Million leads
• 13% Monthly Lead Growth

The Inbound Marketing revolution is gaining traction and driving sales for thousands of companies.  I sat down with HubSpot's VP of Marketing, Mike Volpe, to dicuss how this transition can surge relationship marketing for recruiters. Here's what he had to say:

Ask us about Inbound Marketing to Drive Sales and see how you can be a part of the sales success.

Every Person Plays a Part in your Brand and Marketing

[By Tony Popowski]

Today, I dealt with the aggravation of a blown-out tire (darn you giant pot hole on Route 520). Not only was I slowed down on my way to work, but I knew I would have to pay for it with money I was saving towards my next vacation.

Later on in the midst of a busy work day, I had a quick free moment to drive…very slowly…to a mechanic up the street. I parked my car and went inside the shop. After waiting for about 10 minutes, a staff member finally walked in eating a bagel and reading the paper. Instead of being polite and friendly and asked me what I needed, he ignored me and sat down and continued reading. Knowing that I had a meeting with a client coming up and little time to spare, I initiated the following the conversation:

Tony: Hi, my front-left tire blew out and I need a new one.

Staff Member (in a rude tone while still eating his bagel): I’ll take your request in 15 minutes.

Tony: Is there anyway I can put in my request now? I’m in a rush because I have a meeting in a few minutes and all I need to request is that my front-left tire be fixed. I know you need time, so I don’t expect it to be fixed until later on. I work right up the street and can pick it up in a few hours, I just need to put the request in now.

Staff Member (still in a rude tone while eating his bagel): Come back later.

I’ll give you three guesses who brought his car to a different mechanic further up the road…

This experience reminded me once again how important staff members are to branding. Especially during a recovering economy, people think long and hard about the companies they want to buy from. With resources stretched thin, the days of “impulsive buying” are over. Now more than ever, people consider numerous factors when strategically make a decision… even when making smaller investments.

I know my tire isn’t the biggest investment ever made, but let’s say I needed a new engine down the line. Even if he charged less, there’s no way I am going back to “Grumpy Magee”. By the way he treated me, it shows he doesn’t care about his customers. I need my mechanic to be reliable and actively listen to find out what’s wrong with my car. There’s no way I would trust his automotive services. Here are some questions to ask yourself with your team:

• What is my brand?
• What are my company’s core values?
• What do my company’s logo, mission statement and tagline say about my brand?
• What qualities do my staff members need to have to convey my brand?

Take the time to review these questions with your team to make sure you’re all on the same page. A good brand goes a long way!