To efficiently integrate ‘inbound marketing’ in your marketing strategy, you need to know exactly who your buyer personas are.

The words ‘inbound marketing’ are popping up more and more. But what does inbound marketing mean?

Developing buyer personas takes a bit of work, but it’s worth it. The in-depth customer understanding that you’ll achieve will more than offset the time it will take you to conduct the necessary research, interviews and surveys with a sampling of your customers and prospects.

Understanding exactly who your ideal customers are is critical to many facets of your business. Everything from product development to sales depends on having a solid understanding of your customers’ needs, interests and backgrounds.

Advances in mobile technology, social media and search engines have completely changed consumer behavior. Enabled by these changes, inbound marketing, the latest evolution in marketing, has really only existed for the past couple of years. While it heralds a brand-new way of looking at marketing, it’s easy to incorporate into your marketing plans. Keep these three important elements in mind when developing your inbound strategy.

Marketing used to be about finding customers. In traditional, or outbound marketing, companies use trade shows, TV, direct mail, cold calling and other techniques to find customers and pique their interest. But the marketing world is changing.