Perplexed by marketing problems with no obvious answers? You're not alone. Marketers and business leaders of all types find themselves stuck executing on certain aspects of their strategy. Marketing is often hamstrung by a tiny budget and few allotted resources. So, marketing becomes all about efficiency and maximizing every action. That's why Inbound Marketing (and an über-powerful software platform like HubSpot) is so beneficial for those looking to put their marketing woes in the past and consistently turn leads into new customers. Inbound Marketing tools can help marketers capture leads, find the right audience, effectively nurture leads, and refine strategy (among other things). If you face any of the problems below, there is an Inbound tool for you:

Problem: "Our website is popular, but we aren't capturing leads" 

Bountiful website traffic can be a great thing! It can help with brand awareness and get your company noticed. But, it's hard to consider it an outright 'win' if you aren't capturing leads. All of those pageviews start to feel empty and traffic driving efforts start to get second-guessed. 

Inbound Tool: Calls-To-Action and Landing Pages 

Don't let high traffic pages become dead ends. Give your traffic somewhere to go (besides navigating away from your site) by including a Call-to-Action (CTA) on every page. A CTA is a graphic button that advertises a premium piece of helpful content. When someone clicks, they land on a page (aptly called a Landing Page) where they exchange their contact info for the content. Just like that, you've captured a lead. You've also helped your lead with their problem, moving them closer to a buying decision. 

Problem: "We aren't getting our marketing content in front of the right people"

A great deal of traditional marketing relies on the idea of volume and coverage. A radio ad is played several times a day over the entire "listening area." The hope is that it reaches the right person at random, but there's obviously no guarantee it will. If you're not getting your message in front of your ideal customers, it's likely to be tuned out. 

Inbound Tool: Buyer Personas 

Inbound Marketing, in contrast, doesn't go the 'spray-and-pray' route. Instead, you build Buyer Personas. A Buyer Persona is a representation of your ideal customer, formed by interviews with existing ideal customers. A Buyer Persona gives you insight into how your ideal customer thinks, where he or she goes for information, and how he or she would start a search for what you're offering. It shapes the content you create and guides you on where & when to share it. It gives your message a clear target.

Problem: "It feels impossible to follow up quickly with every new lead we capture"

When leads are pouring in, it's exciting ... and overwhelming. If your sales team is understaffed and overworked, leads can fall through the cracks, wasting your marketing efforts. When someone contacts your business or you capture a lead through your website, a follow up is expected. When it doesn't happen, that lead is likely to move on to something else. 

Inbound Tool: E-mail Workflows 

It's not realistic to expect that a small sales squad will follow up with every lead in time. Things happen. That's why Inbound Marketing has E-mail Workflows. Workflows are strategically designed to send personalized e-mails at deliberate intervals, using a 'if this, then that' functionality to determine next steps. If someone comes to your site and downloads content offer, an e-mail is generated and sent automatically. A few days may pass, then a follow up is sent with more helpful info, and so on, nurturing the lead toward a buying decision. E-mail Workflows automate the follow up process, ensuring that nothing slips by. 

Problem: "It's difficult to tell what's working and what isn't" 

Not to pick on traditional marketing again, but it's hard to figure out what's working and what's not without data. The best that most traditional marketing efforts can offer is predictions and projections (or, you know, guesses). You might hear anecdotal evidence here and there ("I saw your TV commercial! It was great!"), but that doesn't say much. Are people taking action on your marketing? Or are they just noticing that it exists? 

Inbound Tool: Analytics

Inbound Marketing is packed with analytics. Analytics can tell you who saw your marketing messages and what they did afterward. You can see, in hard numbers, how many people are converting from visitors to leads and then from leads to customers. That gives you solid evidence of what is effective and what isn't doing the job. That allows you to refine Landing Pages, tweak CTAs, modify your social media strategy, and more. Instead of a shot in the dark, you'll have data driving your decisions. 

Inbound Marketing tools can make your life as a business leader or marketer easier. Inbound Marketing tools help you make informed strategy decisions, stay on top of incoming leads, target the right people, and capture the traffic you're driving.