1) The document outlines an inbound marketing strategy for The Honest Dog Co., including setting goals and objectives, evaluating social media platforms, generating leads through content, optimizing content, and managing customer information with a CRM.
2) Key aspects of the strategy include meeting customers where they are on social media, using segmentation and personas to tailor messaging, and focusing on the customer journey from awareness to loyalty.
3) Metrics such as page views, email captures, and conversions will be used to measure the content and lead generation tactics.
Rise and fall of Kulula.com, an airline won consumers by different marketing ...
Inbound Strategy The Honest Dog Co.
1. THE HONEST DOG CO.
INBOUND MARKETING
Rachel Cipriano
MMC6936: Inbound Strategy
The University of Florida, College of
Journalism and Communications
November 3, 2021
Dr. Joanne Leoni
2. THE EXTENDED MARKETING MIX
Fig. 1. The marketing mix.
https://brandyourselfbetter.com/blog/post/45161/the-evolution-
of-the-marketing-mix.
3. PROMOTION IS WHAT WE DO
As marketers, we are tasked with promoting products and services by
(Leoni, 2021):
• Advertising
• Public relations
• Sponsorship
• Sales promotions
• Personal selling
• Direct mail
• Digital content
• Social media
The purpose of promotion is to move customers through the marketing funnel
on the buyer’s journey:
• Attract – make people aware of the Honest Dog Co., its products, and values.
• Interest – educate, inform, and give them something of value so they want to learn more.
• Desire/Consideration – they are seriously evaluating Honest Dog Co. versus its
competitors. What makes us different and better?
• Action – purchase our all-natural dog food and treats.
• Loyalty/Advocacy – provide amazing customer service to retain customers and create
superfans.
4. • Meet customers where they are:
• Customers no longer want to be
interrupted with phone calls and
spam emails.
• Target dog owners on social media.
• Retarget prospects who have viewed
natural dog foods.
• Gather reviews and testimonials for
social proof.
• Publish valuable content on The
Honest Dog Co.’s website for organic
search.
MARKETING STRATEGY
Fig. 2. https://www.forbesindia.com/blog/business-strategy/why-
advertisers-are-interested-in-your-social-media-profile/
5. • Deliver the right message at the right time to
the right person:
• Buyer personas and segmentation mean we can
talk to people who want to hear from us.
• Personalization is the name of the game.
MARKETING STRATEGY, CONT.
Fig. 3. Hiker with dog.
https://www.garagegrowngear.com/blogs/trends
-top-10/tips-thru-hiking-with-your-dog.
Sample Buyer Persona:
Katie
Age 27
Lives in Austin, TX
Has a bachelor’s degree
Works as a freelance web designer
Owns a 3-year-old Siberian Husky named Dakota
Seeks outdoor adventures she can have with her dog
Eats organic and non-GMO in her own diet
6. The VALS Framework and Honest Dog Co.’s target groups
CUSTOMER NEEDS & WANTS
DEMOGRAPHICS AND PSYCHOGRAPHICS
Experiencers
• Love physical activity
• Want everything
• Are first in and first out of
trend adoption
• Go against the current
mainstream
• Are spontaneous
Innovators
• Make the highest number of
financial transactions
• Believe science and R&D are
credible
• Are self-directed consumers
• Have the widest variety of
interests and activities
• Are always taking in
information
Strategic Business Insights. (n.d.). http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes.shtml.
7. First things first. Research, then start with an objective and SMART goals.
• How will the objective be accomplished?
• Budget and staffing.
• What will be the actions and tactics used?
• Channels, personas, customer segmentation, content.
• When: what is the timeframe to accomplish the objective?
• Overall timeframe and intermittent KPI measurements.
• Why: reasons for accomplishing the objective.
• How does it benefit the company?
(Leoni, 2021)
HOW, WHAT, WHEN, AND WHY?
8. Customer Journey:
Buyer’s Journey
Awareness Stage Consideration Stage Decision Stage
What are the customer’s activities?
Katie goes on a hike with her friend
Kelly and their dogs. Kelly gives
her dog an all-natural Energy
Snack from Honest Dog Co.
Katie googles natural dog food and
treats and finds several options.
She lands on thehonestdogco.com
and thinks the ingredients sound
wholesome.
Katie did not accept the website
landing page’s initial offer, but she
sees an ad on Facebook for
Honest Dog Co. offering 25% off
her first purchase. She decides to
try the food for a week.
What is the customer’s goal?
Katie is interested in a healthier
option for Dakota but is unsure of
how much it will cost compared to
his current food. She is also unsure
if Dakota will like the food.
Katie is interested but would like to
see some customer reviews or
testimonials. She also checks for
free shipping and a money back
guarantee if Dakota doesn’t like the
food.
Katie decides the cost for a week of
food with the discount works in her
budget, so she purchases a small
amount, but she opts not to
subscribe until she knows Dakota
likes the food.
What are the touchpoints?
1. Kelly’s recommendation
2. Visit to landing page and
website
3. Facebook retargeting ad
1. Revisits website for more in-
depth information
2. Visits Facebook, Instagram,
and TikTok sites linked from
website
3. Reads reviews on third-party
dog food review site
1. Adds items to shopping cart
and makes purchase with
discount offer
2. Receives order confirmation
email and thank you
3. Email follow up for satisfaction
and newsletter
What are the business goals?
Use paid social and PPC ads to
increase brand awareness. Use
landing pages to acquire 2000 new
website visits and 200 new emails
Encourage existing customers to
refer new customers with a
discount incentive and retarget with
social media and display ads. 50
new social media followers in 30
Get customers who make a one-
time purchase to subscribe for food
delivery. Email drip campaign for
100 new subscriptions in 30 days.
9. 1. Set goals and objectives.
• Use SMART goals with measurable KPIs.
2. Complete a social media self-audit.
3. Evaluate platforms being used and decide where to invest time
and money.
4. Lead generation tactics.
• Landing pages, CTAs, SEO, ads, content content content.
5. Customer retention strategies.
• Email, customer service, guarantee, newsletter.
(Leoni, 2021)
INBOUND MARKETING – 5 STEPS
10. COMPETITORS’ SOCIAL MEDIA
Fig. 4. The Farmer’s Dog Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/thefarmersdog/.
Fig. 5. Fresh Pet Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/freshpet/.
11. • Post a picture of your dog eating Honest Dog Co.’s food and tag it
#HonestFood for a chance to win a free 90-day subscription.
• Like and share a designated post. 5 winners will receive free treats for a
year.
• Post a poll asking which flavor of food users’ dogs like best.
• Live Q&A with Honest Dog Co.’s resident veterinarian.
• Behind the scenes video of Honest Dog Co.’s test kitchen.
• Partner with a famous influencer dog on Instagram.
SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN IDEAS
Fig. 6. https://brandbuildingforsmallbusiness.com/2020/03/19/a-legal-approved-free-collection-of-social-media-icons/
13. SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION
Content
Keywords
Blog pillar pages
Videos
Web pages
Technical
Easily crawlable
Compressed images
Fast load speeds
Mobile friendly
On-page
Title tags
Meta descriptions
Headings
Alt-text
Descriptive URLs
User experience
Authority
Backlinks
Social media
14. • Landing Page
• Lead magnet for email capture – 25% off first order and free shipping.
LEAD CONVERSION
15. • Some content KPIs to measure:
• Page views
• Bounce rate
• Time spent on page
• Source of traffic
• Unique visitors
• Emails obtained
• Social media engagement
• Conversions
• Cost per conversion
• Tools:
• Google Analytics
• Social media tools
CONTENT OPTIMIZATION
You can’t just produce and publish
content. You have to make sure it is
optimized and achieves its objective!
Fig. 8.
https://whatagraph.com/blog/articles/this
-is-how-to-create-better-content-with-
social-media-analytics
Fig. 9.
https://developers.google.com/analytics/ter
ms/branding-policy
16. • Using a CRM is crucial for data organization, automation, and reporting.
• Whether you choose HubSpot, Salesforce, or another platform, a CRM is
essential in connecting marketing, sales, and customer service efforts.
INFORMATION MANAGEMENT
Fig. 910.
https://sfmarketing.cloud/
Fig. 11.
https://www.hubspot.com/company-
news/hubspot-announces-customer-
hub-expands-platform-to-support-
the-entire-customer-experience
• Time saving!
• Segmentation
• Email capabilities
• Campaign building and tracking
• Workflows
• Automation
• Social media integration
• Dashboards
• Landing page creation
17. • Leoni, J. (2021). Instructor video lecture 1.
https://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/Mediasite/Play/7c8a2390255b4364a74a2d80a5de7f9d1d.
• Leoni, J. (2021). Instructor video lecture 3 and 4.
https://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/Mediasite/Play/de6590bff3dc42aea10ecb516a7415551d.
• Leoni, J. (2021). Instructor video lecture 5.
https://mediasite.video.ufl.edu/Mediasite/Play/9f6cca84af234ffea6a6c31545db269a1d.
• Strategic Business Insights. (n.d.). http://www.strategicbusinessinsights.com/vals/ustypes.shtml.
REFERENCES
Editor's Notes
MODULE 1
MODULE 1 Successful marketing involves a mix of promotional tactics. Traditional advertising techniques help with brand awareness. Inbound marketing is a long-term strategy designed to pull customers toward your product or service.
MODULE 2
MODULE 2
MODULE 3 Because experiencers and innovators have higher resources, they are both good candidates for the Honest Dog Co.’s target consumer. Although natural dog food is not a brand-new product concept, it still goes against the mainstream of what most dog owners purchase making it ideal for experiencers. Innovators make a lot of purchases and believe in science and R&D. Therefore, they will be receptive to the health benefits of natural dog food.
MODULE 3 & 4
MODULE 4
MODULE 5
MODULE 6
MODULE 6
MODULE 7
MODULE 8 & 10 Mainly Google but also Bing, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. Honest Dog Co. does not sell on Amazon.
