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4 Ways to use Inbound Marketing with Current
Customers
InboundMarketing is a valuable strategy businesses can use to obtain new
customers. InboundMarketing is defined as Marketing based on getting found
by customers. It's customer-centric. With Inbound Marketing, businesses
create customer-centric content based on customer needs. Content could take
the form of blogs, videos & SEO.
In a prior article, I outline the 4 Steps which are Attract, Concert, Close and Delight.
image via hubspot.com/inbound-marketing
Why InboundMarketing shouldnot take a back seat to Current Customers
Recently, I read an article that advocated that Inbound Marketing shouldtake
a backseat to yourcurrent customers. While it is less expensive to keep,
nurture and up-sell/cross-sell current customers, businesses needto always be

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on the hunt for new customers. Despite the fact that it costs 5 times the
amount to acquire a new customer verses keeping an existing one, it is an
expense that businesses needto take on.
This is because businesses will always lose a portion of their customerbase for
a variety of reasons as seen in this graph.
image via http://www.superoffice.de/blog-de/kundenpflege/
According to Marketing at Work, the average business loses about 10 to 25
percent of its customer base every year.
What happens if businesses start Ignoring Customer acquisition?
 If a business loses 25 percent of its customer base it will have no customers after
4 years

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 At a 10 percent loss rate it will have no customers after 10 years
Through great service, word of mouth, & customer referrals; businesses may
be able to extend their life. This then becomes an issue of how fast they can
replace the lost customers. Relying on these methods alone puts undo
pressure on customers and they may get turned off by being constantly asked
to refer people. This may result in more customer turnover.
The Solution
As we have seen, focusing only on customeracquisition and customer
retention is a losing game.
Done right, InboundMarketing shouldbe combined with Content Marketing
because current customers still needto be nurtured after the sale. Businesses
can only expect referrals and repeat business if customers:
 Feel valued & receive great service
Businesses can apply the principles of InboundMarketing for customer
retention in the following ways:
1. Create Blog content Specifically for customers
 Supply customers with exclusive access to blog content with useful tips and tricks for
customers to get the most out their purchase.
 Offer customers discounts
 Make reordering easy
 Make customers feel like insiders.

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2. Get customers to opt into user specific content via email
 Ask customers for this commitment right when they sign up and commit
 Make sure to create valuable content as customer attention is a gift
 Remember that the customer defines value
3. Create Communities such as exclusive user groups
 Groups can be created on Social Networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn and
specialized forums on a company site.
 Use these groups to share content and invitations to customer only events.
4. Create free industry trends sites that don't sell anything
 This is a great way businesses can position themselves as a resource
 These sites can be shared with both current customers and prospects.
 Adobe does a great job with their CMO.com site which provides content and insights
to CMO's and marketing professions.
How have you usedInboundMarketing for customerretention? Share and
comment.
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How to Integrate a Blog into an Inbound Marketing Strategy