1. © 2015 Pilot Marketing Strategy, LLC - All Rights Reserved
Inbound Marketing Blueprint
Pilot Marketing Strategy
Peter Risman
Peter@PilotMarketingStrategy.com
m: 210-416-8856
linkedin.com/in/peterrisman

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Traditional B2B vs Inbound Marketing is the difference between “Yelling at
Random People” and an “Informed Conversation”.
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"Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.” - Seth Godin
"You cannot sell a man who isn’t listening.” - Bill Bernbach
"Yelling At Random People"
● Marketer Initiated
● Interruption Based
● Unidirectional Communication
● Everyone Receives Same Message
● Marketing Offers Prospect Little/No Value
● Little/No Lead Capture
● Most/All Leads Forwarded To Sales
● Arbitrary Timing Of Contacts
● Bursts Of Campaigns, Followed By Inactivity
● Difficult To Measure
"Informed Conversation"
● Purchaser Initiated
● Permission Based
● Bi-Directional/Interactive Communication
● Personalized Messaging
● Marketing Seeks To Educate/Entertain
● Robust Lead Capture
● Only Qualified Leads Forwarded To Sales
● Prospect Interaction Determines Contact Timing
● Campaigns Continually In Market
● Highly Quantifiable
“If you have more money than brains, focus on outbound marketing.
If you have more brains than money, focus on inbound marketing.” - Guy Kawasaki

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• “I’ve got a problem”
• “I’ve committed to solving
the problem”
• “I’ve defined the problem”
• “I’ve got a basic idea how to
solve my problem”
• “I’ve proven the need to
solve the problem”
• “I’ve obtained the budget and
authority to proceed”
• “I’ve identified possible
solutions to my problem”
• “I’ve identified a preferred
solution”
• “I’ve learned that others
successfully solved their
problems with this solution”
• “I’ve confidence in my
recommendation”
• “I’ve received approval to
proceed.”
DISCOVERY CONSIDERATION DECISION
“I’m trying to educate
myself, and am not
interested in sales pitches”
Relevant Content:
• Research White Papers
• Webinars
• Workshops
• Diagnostic/Assessment tools
“I could use some help
building a business case”
Relevant Content:
• Solution White Papers
• Efficiency/Savings/Value
benchmarks
• ROI Analysis tools
“I’m ready to select a
provider – why you?”
Relevant Content:
• Case studies
• Testimonials
• Feature Comparisons
• TCO comparison tools
Inbound Marketing begins with understanding the Buyer’s Journey, and developing
relevant content that addresses Prospects’ questions and issues at each step of
the purchasing process.
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QUALIFIED
PROSPECTS
QUALIFIED LEADS
LEADS
INQUIRIES
SALES
CALL
MARKETINGSALES
Marketing and Sales have different roles to play in effective Lead Gen. Sales must
first identify Buyer Personas and characteristics of a Qualified Lead before
Marketing can generate Inquiries and nurture Leads.
Roles:
• Generate Inquiries
• Nurture Leads
• Deliver Qualified Leads
Roles:
• Detail characteristics of Buyer’s
Journey and Ideal Prospect
• Pursue Qualified Leads
• Close sales
Sales describes the ideal prospect – Marketing finds them – Sales closes them
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INQUIRIES
EVALUATE
Inquiries are generated when individuals in the targeted segment self-identify in
exchange for content, information, or other object of value.
Inbound marketing more efficient than
Outbound marketing
• Prospects actively searching for information
• Extremely scalable
Initial/Advanced Lead Scoring
• Registration provides basic information needed
to identify minimum criteria for purchasing
• Follow-up communications delivers additional
information for Advanced Lead Scoring
INITIAL LEAD SCORING
Do they meet minimum
criteria for purchasing? (e.g.
size, geographic location,
etc.)
NO
ADVANCED LEAD SCORING
Do they meet some/all criteria
for a likely purchaser? (e.g.
BANT, etc.)
YES
YES
QUALIFIED
LEAD
LEAD
NO
Whitepapers
Webinars
OnlineVideo
BlogPosts
SEO/PPC
BANT = Budget-Authority-Need-Timing
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The key to successful Lead Gen is Lead Scoring, which evaluates leads against
criteria that Sales believes are most relevant in identifying prospects with a high
likelihood of successfully closing.
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Lead Profile Example
The Lead Scoring model above contains two weighted elements:
• 5 categories, weighted by perceived importance to closing a sale
• Title (least important), Number of Employees, Annual Telecom Budget,
Need, Timing (most important)
• Responses to each category, weighted by perceived importance to
closing a sale
Any lead with a score greater than 4.75 is considered “Qualified”
QUALIFIED LEAD
Name Title
Number of
Employees
Annual
Budget
Need Timing Score
Weight = 10% Weight = 20% Weight = 20%
0 – >100
1 – 50-100
2 – 20-50
3 – 10–20
6 – 5-10
3 – 2-5
0 – 1
0 – >50k
1 – 25k-50k
2 – 15k-25k
4 – 10k-15k
2 – 5k-10k
1 – 1k-5k
0 – <1k
Weight = 20% Weight = 30%
6 – Owner
5 – C -level
4 – VP
3 – Director
2 – Manager
1 – Other
5 – New office
5 – Save money
3 – Upgrade
1 – Expand seats
0 – Just curious
9 – Next 30 days
6 – 30-90 days
3 – 3-6 months
2 – 6-9 months
1 – 9-12 months
0 – don’t know
QUALIFIED
LEAD = 4.75+
Joe Blough VP (0.40) 20-50 (0.40) 10k-15k (0.80) New Office (1.00) 30-90 days (1.80) 4.40
Owner (0.60)Jane Doe 5-10 (1.20) 5k-10k (0.40) Save money (1.00) Next 30 days (2.70) 5.90
The purpose of Lead Scoring is to deliver to Sales only those leads that have the highest
propensity to successfully close
• Sales must define the characteristics of Qualified Leads
• Marketing is responsible for delivering Qualified Leads

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ADVANCED LEAD SCORING
Do they meet some/all criteria for a
likely purchaser? (e.g. BANT, etc.)
YES
LEAD
NURTURING
NO
QUALIFIED
PROSPECTS
QUALIFIED LEADS
LEADS
PROSPECT QUALIFICATION
Are they willing to engage or
consider?YES NO
SALES
CALL
Leads not ready to buy are nurtured and scored after every interaction. Once their
score exceeds the threshold, they become a Marketing Qualified Lead (MQL).
Sales accepts the leads (SAL), qualifies them (SQL), and attempts to close.
WIN
LOSS
☠
EVALUATE
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Whitepaper
#1
ADVANCED
LEAD
SCORING
Whitepaper
#2
ADVANCED
LEAD
SCORING
Webinar
#1
ADVANCED
LEAD
SCORING
CONTINUE
Lead Nurturing provides an opportunity to remain in contact – and top of mind –
with leads as they progress through their Buyer’s Journey. Progressive
Registration is used to compile a detailed and up-to-date Lead Profile.
LEAD
NUTURING
PROGRESSIVE
REGISTRATION
PROGRESSIVE
REGISTRATION
PROGRESSIVE
REGISTRATION
PROGRESSIVE
REGISTRATION
Research
Report
ADVANCED
LEAD
SCORING
• Each Registration adds to – or confirms –
the data in each Responders’ Lead Profile
• Progressive Registration allows for:
• More in-depth Lead Profiling without
attempting to capture all the data at
once
• Provides opportunities to update the
Responder’s Lead Profile with new
information
• Lead Nurturing offers non-self-serving
reasons to remain in contact
QUALIFIED LEADS
INVITE
EMAIL
INVITE
EMAIL
INVITE
EMAIL
INVITE
EMAIL
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Discovery
Seven steps to building an Inbound Marketing capability
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Analysis
Planning
Creation
Execution
Measurement
Optimization

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Step 1 - Discovery: Marketing Benchmarking; Sales Benchmarking; Website
Behavior Tracking; Content Audit; Platform Audit
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Analysis
Planning
Creation
Execution
Measurement
Optimization
Discovery
Marketing Benchmarking
Sales Benchmarking
Website Behavior
Tracking
Content Audit
Platform Audit
Marketing Benchmarking
● What is the current marketing process?
● How is success defined?
● What metrics are being tracked?
● What’s working? What’s not?
Sales Benchmarking
● What is the current sales process?
● How is success defined?
● What metrics are being tracked?
● Who is the “Perfect Prospect”?
● Have “Buyer Personas” been developed?
● Have each Buyer Persona’s content needs been identified?
Website Behavior Tracking
● Determine if/how website behaviors correlate to buy signals and purchasing behavior.
● Determine required changes to website for increased engagement and conversion
Content Audit
● What types of content are currently available? What formats?
● Which employees are SMEs and might contribute to developing new content?
● Which customers are SMEs and might contribute to developing new content?
Platform Audit
● What types of applications are currently being used by Marketing or Sales?

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Discovery
Step 2 - Analysis: Buyer Persona Research; Lead Score Modeling; Content GAP
Analysis
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Planning
Creation
Execution
Measurement
Optimization
Analysis
Buyer Persona Research
Lead Score Modeling
Content GAP Analysis
Buyer Persona Research
● Who are the Buyer Personas that participate in a purchase decision?
● What information are they seeking?
● Where/how are they looking for it?
● Where are their “pain points”? What problem are they trying to solve?
Lead Score Modeling
● What are the various characteristics of a lead?
● How should they be weighted?
● What are the requirements or score for a lead to be accepted by Sales (SAL)?
Content GAP Analysis
● Compare existing content to Buyer Personas content requirements
● Identify gaps in content that require new content to be developed

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Discovery
Step 3: Planning: Campaign Planning; Content Planning; Sales/Marketing SLA
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Analysis
Creation
Execution
Measurement
Optimization
Planning
Campaign Planning
Content Planning
Sales/Marketing SLA
Campaign Planning
● Lead Gen - attracting prospects to open content
● Lead Nurturing - engaging with prospects prior to purchasing
● Onboarding - providing new customers with key information
● Retention - solidifying relationships with customer success stories
● Offboarding - providing unsubscribers with helpful information for transition
● Winback - providing unsubscribers a reason to reconsider in the future
Content Planning
● Determine what content is needed, and how it will be used
● Create “Content Calendar” to document when content will be published and online
events will occur
Sales/Marketing SLA
● Marketing agrees to deliver MQLs, as specified by Sales
● Sales commits to act upon MQL/SAL within an agreed-upon time frame
● Sales agrees to provide a Buy/No Buy disposition for each SQL

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Discovery
Step 4: Creation: Design/Produce Content; Configure Marketing Automation
Platform (MAP); Create Digital Promotion Assets
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Analysis
Planning
Execution
Measurement
Optimization
Creation
Design/Produce Content
Configure Marketing
Automation Platform
(MAP)
Create Digital Promotion
Assets
Design/Produce Content
● Web page/email copywriting, white papers, eBooks, presentations, online videos, ROI/TCO
calculators/widgets, etc.
Configure Marketing Automation Platform (MAP)
● Integrate web page Lead Capture with MAP
● Configure Lead Scoring methodology
● Configure Campaign decision trees
Create Digital Promotion Assets
● Create new digital assets with “Conversion by Design”: emails, web pages, landing pages, display ads, etc.

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Discovery
Step 5: Execution: Deploy Website Content; Deploy MAP; Initiate Campaigns;
Integrate MAP with Offline Efforts
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Analysis
Planning
Creation
Measurement
Optimization
Execution
Deploy Website Content
Deploy MAP
Initiate Campaigns
Integrate MAP with
Offline Efforts
Deploy Website Content
● Deploy digital assets and publish Top-of-Funnel content on website
Deploy MAP
● Integrate with web page Lead Capture forms
● Activate Lead Scoring functionality
● Activate Campaign decision tree functionality
Initiate Campaigns
● Drive Inquiries to Top-of-Funnel (Discovery) content with SEO, PPC, social media, etc.
● Nurture Leads with emails promoting Mid-Funnel (Consideration) content
● Assist Sales with emails promoting Bottom-of-Funnel (Decision) content
● Commence Onboarding, Retention, and Offboarding Campaigns
Integrate MAP with Offline Efforts
● Maximize the effectiveness of Trade Shows, or Sports Tickets by targeting late-stage/high-value prospects

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Discovery
Step 6: Measurement: Results Tracking; KPI Analysis; Executive Dashboard
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Analysis
Planning
Creation
Execution
Optimization
Measurement
Results Tracking
KPI Analysis
Executive Dashboard
Results Tracking
● Compare new results to existing marketing/sales benchmarks
● Begin to track new effectiveness- and conversion-metrics
KPI Analysis
● Total Sales; Revenue per Sale; Lead-to-Sale Conversion Rate; Marketing Cost Per Sale; Return on Marketing Investment
Executive Dashboard
● Top-to-bottom funnel management for executive reporting

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Discovery
Step 7 - Optimization: Determine What’s Working/What’s Not; Update Lead
Scoring Model
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Analysis
Planning
Creation
Execution
Measurement
Optimization
Determine What’s
Working/What’s Not
Update Lead Scoring
Model
Determine What’s Working/What’s Not
● Continuous testing
● Identify conversion rates at specific points in the sales funnel that need improvement
● Revise or create new:
○ Campaigns
○ Content
○ Emails/web pages/landing pages
Update Lead Scoring Model
● Determine if additional criteria - or modifying criteria weights - will result in more sales at higher conversion rates

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Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead
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Lead Gen
Lead Nurture
Onboarding
Offboarding
Retention
Winback

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Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead: Lead Gen
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Lead Gen
Inquiries and Leads are captured using SEO and Online
Advertising to promote Top-of-Funnel, “open” content
targeted at prospects who are in the Discovery phase of
the Buyers’ Journey

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Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead: Lead Nurture
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Lead Nurture
Leads not ready to purchase - in the Consideration or
Decision phase of the Buyers’ Journey - are nurtured
with Mid-Funnel, “closed” content such as webinars and
case studies.

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Onboarding
Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead: Onboarding
A campaign dedicated to helping new customers
activate their purchase with a minimum of confusion
and frustration.
Examples include “Quick Start” guides, “Pro Tips”, and
short videos addressing topics or questions frequently
raised by new customers.

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Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead: Retention
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Retention
Fortifying the brand relationship by helping
customers get the most from their purchase, while
inoculating them from competitive overtures.
Example: a quarterly eNewsletter featuring
testimonials and case studies from customers who
have realized meaningful benefits, or who have
found innovative uses for the product.

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Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead: Offboarding
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Offboarding
A campaign dedicated to helping exiting customers
transition to a new vendor with a minimum of dislocation
or downtime.
In addition to reinforcing a positive brand image, it
explicitly “leaves the door open” to reconsidering the
decision if the new vendor fumbles the transition.

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Six campaigns cover the lifecycle of a lead: Winback
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Winback
Periodic contacts to maintain relationship with ex-
customers who may regret decision to leave for
another vendor, and be open to reconsidering.
Example: a series of emails with information on
new features, new pricing, success stories, etc..