Inbound Marketing Checklist for VARsA Self-Assessment Tool for Modernizing Your Marketing

Table of ContentsIntroduction

Inbound Marketing Checklist

Capabilities Review

Scoring Your Checklist

Conclusion

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IntroductionBuyer behavior is changing but channel marketing isn’t changing with it. Many companies are still using pushy outbound marketing tactics. Modern buyers want to work with companies who are more oriented around teaching and learning.The Inbound Marketing methodology pioneered by HubSpot provides a great example of what life could be like for the channel, but it’s always been positioned for direct marketing with no equivalent approach to take for the channel.

Inbound Marketing provides a framework to modernize channel marketing, so that brands and you, their partners, aren’t left behind by the changing market.

By collaborating with your brand partners, there’s an opportunity to modernize your marketing efforts by establishing core digital marketing capabilities and leveraging content and programs from the brands.

The good news is that you may already have some of the capabilities of Inbound Marketing and not even know it.

Until now.

We’ve put together a checklist—comprised of the capabilities that are essential for inbound marketing success—for you to use as a scorecard. It’s an easy way to figure out where you are…and where you can go.

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Mike MooreVP, Channel Strategy at Averetek

How to Use the Inbound Marketing Checklist

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As you review each capability, consider the following:• Your partner marketing programs: how well do you take

advantage of the programs and resources made available by your brand partners to achieve the level described for each capability?

• A group of partners: how well do you partner with other VARs, learning solutions, partners, etc. to market? Can you bolster your skills through collaboration?

• The squeaky wheel: do you need something from your brand partners that they don’t currently offer? A training program to learn new marketing skills? Content or resources to run a marketing program? The most vocal partners help shape the brand’s agenda.

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Basic Skills Proficient Skills Advanced Skills+1 +3 +5

1. Print out the checklist on the next page so you can track your points as you review the Inbound Marketing capabilities that follow.

2. Read through the descriptions of the different inbound marketing capabilities and examples of how they are applied to your marketing efforts at varying skill levels.

Inbound Marketing Checklist

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Capabilities Level 1 Level 2 Level 3+1 +3 +5

BlogKeywords/SEOSocial MediaCalls-to-ActionLanding Pages Forms Contact ManagementEmailWorkflowsSmart Content

TotalGrand Total

Instructions:1. Review capability descriptions for all sections in

pages 7-11.2. Score your capabilities.3. Tally your scores and check page 12 to see how you

fare.

INBOUND MARKETING CAPABILITIES REVIEW

Review the following capabilities and record your score as you go.

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BlogWriting a blog is decidedly more creative than crafting other business communications. Blogs afford great flexibility on topic and allow the writer to show more personality. Anyone is able to blog on LinkedIn, and that’s a great starting point.

To what extent do you blog?

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Blog on LinkedIn; post monthly or bi-weekly; blogs contain basic calls-to-action.

Blog hosted on company website; post weekly; blogs contain variety of calls-to-action.

Regular blogging; interaction with commenters; cross posting other thought-leaders’ content; blog subscriptions for readers; blogs use compelling and specific calls-to-action.

+1 +3 +5

Keywords/SEOWebsites say so much more than what is visible on the screen. The proper keywords and SEO techniques need to be in place to drive website traffic. We are advocates of optimizing for organic search traffic—get what you can for free before buying keywords.

To what extent do you use keyword/SEO techniques?Level 1 Level 2 Level 3

Have a website with basic content; have basic keyword strategy; identify 10-20 keywords relevant to the business based on your buyers and what type of searches they’re likely to do; have the ability to track keywords.

Optimize for those keywords in your content website pages and blog articles; apply basic level of analytics tools (Moz, Google) to learn how and why organic search traffic gets to the website.

Employing outside tactics and tools to manage SEO and keywords; identifying related keywords to expand reach.

+1 +3 +5

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Create company page on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Google+, maintaining pages with current information, and sharing new content weekly. A passive effort.

More proactive in engaging the audience; interacting with others and their content; participating in conversations; social icon links on company website.

Moving beyond company social channels by involving individuals at the company; cross linking other websites and content; serving contacts content based on what they’ve shared on social media.

+1 +3 +5

Social MediaPeople use social media in their personal lives. Making the move to using social networks professionally can be a simple way to get content in front of potential customers without a hard sell. Choice of platform—Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest, YouTube—will depend on the target audience and type of content you’re sharing.

To what extent do you use social media?

Calls-to-ActionA strong call-to-action is one that compels a visitor to take the requested next step. The benefit needs to be clear, as does the deliverable you’re offering. There are many best practices to planning and delivering calls-to-action that are appropriate for the buyer personas you’re targeting that produce the intended action. To what extent do you offer strong calls-to-action?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Leverage vendor-provided content as an offer.

Original content compelling enough to drive conversion.

A variety of calls-to-action aligned by persona to cover all stages in the buyer’s journey.

+1 +3 +5

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Landing PagesCalls-to-Action drive traffic to landing pages, which is where prospective customers fill out forms to take advantage of the offer presented. Landing pages should be clean, clear, and informative.To what extent do you use landing pages?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3A simple landing page with a whitepaper or other top of the funnel offer and a short-form.

A complete campaign with a landing page and appropriate offer aligned to the stages of the buyer’s journey (attract, convert, close).

Multiple campaigns with landing pages to address a variety of buyer personas at each stage of the buyer’s journey.

+1 +3 +5

FormsForms work in concert with calls-to-action and landing pages. Ideally, forms ask for a small amount of information in the initial buying stages. As the customers move deeper into the buyer’s journey, forms can go beyond basic questions and attempt to qualify the prospect.To what extent do you use forms?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Form capability exists on the your website; basic offering with a form gathering contact name and email address.

More compelling content to offer, with form that gathers business card details; tracking of information; beginning to use progressive profiling—building on to the customers’ profiles as they fill out more forms.

Customer-specific offerings, more in-depth forms with questions about the customer’s business needs and intended purchase; more advanced use of progressive profiling, creating content with the specific intent of gathering specific information to qualify prospects.

+1 +3 +5

Contact ManagementContact management is an important part of doing business at all stages of the customer lifecycle, so you need to have these capabilities in place from the start. When it comes to closing business, it’s all about contact development. Do you store contact information in a CRM? How are sales interactions and marketing activities incorporated to get a complete picture of what the customer is interested in?To what extent do you use contact management?

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Collecting and managing contacts in a central database.

Management of information, incorporating several sources: website, social networks, sales, marketing, etc.

Synchronized engagement with contacts across sales and marketing, with coordinated and intentional messaging, including nurture programs.

+1 +3 +5

EmailEmail communication needs to be carefully crafted and contain information relevant to the prospect. An email should be a follow-up to the prospect’s activity on your website (filled out a form, clicked on an offer, etc.) or interaction with social media accounts. To what extent do you use email?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Periodic email campaigns to promote an offer.

Regular email campaigns to promote an offer based on interests the prospect expresses.

Always-on email campaigns using intelligence from prospects’ activities that nurture and develop interest in products and services.

+1 +3 +5

WorkflowsMarketing automation technology can be used to help move prospects through the buyer’s journey. You can design workflows to understand the interests and actions of visitors, essentially reading the digital body language of their website visits, and then offering the right next step for that specific person. To what extent do you use workflows?

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Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Manually placing people on lists for nurture programs based on marketing actions like a form submission.

Automated nurture programs that run continuously and offer calls-to-action that advance the buyer’s journey.

Automated nurture programs with if/then forks that branch to take prospects backward, forward, or on parallel paths based on their response or lack of response to offers.

+1 +3 +5

Smart ContentPersonalization is at the heart of a well-developed inbound marketing plan. When the information collected about a person and their interests is used to change what they see in an email or on a web page, that’s smart content. This level of personalization requires sophistication in buyer persona definition, content planning and creation, and the use of technology to make it all work.To what extent do you use smart content?

Level 1 Level 2 Level 3Deliver a personalized message when a known recipient is included in an email program.

Deliver content that dynamically changes a call to action, offer, or message when a known visitor returns to a specific page on the website.

Deliver content that dynamically changes a call to action, offer, or message when a known visitor returns to several areas of the website.

+1 +3 +5

Scoring Your Checklist

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If your score is less than 15 points:You are an Inbound Marketing Up-and-Comer. These capabilities might be new to you, but you are making strides, and that's what counts.Next step: Look at all capabilities; identify which one would be most easily accomplished using the people and resources you have. Commit to implementing two new or expanded efforts a year for steady, manageable growth. Enlist your brand partners to assist you in your quest.

If your score is between 15 and 24 points:You are an Inbound Marketing Evangelist. You've achieved a lot, but still have room to grow.Next step: Look at the capabilities and pinpoint which need a boost; focus next on those activities. Commit to implementing three new or expanded efforts a year. Work with your brand partners on creative ways to achieve your goals.

If your score is between 25 and 50 points:You are an Inbound Marketing Powerhouse. You use inbound techniques in a variety of ways and adapt your methods as your audience evolves. Next step: Explore those areas where you didn’t score as high and commit to implementing a new or expanded effort each quarter. Collaborate with your brand partners to come up with new ideas.

ConclusionYou’ve filled out the scorecard…but now what? No matter your mastery level, the next steps are the same. It’s time to take a closer look at the effectiveness of the capabilities that you have, and evaluate where and how they can be strengthened. Alternatively, if something is lacking, now is the perfect time to formulate a plan for how to increase your inbound repertoire and apply it to your sales and marketing activities.The inbound methodology is engaging, dynamic, and modern. Having these skills and capabilities is essential to continued growth and efficiency in marketing. You don’t want to be left behind; rather, you want to equip your team with the resources they need as they evolve into industry leaders.Brainstorm with your brand partners and challenge yourselves to come up with the most creative ways to adapt the inbound methodology to your channel. And when you do, we'd love to hear about it!

P.S. Need help enabling your organization with Inbound Marketing capabilities? We’d love to help.

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Mike MooreVP, Channel Strategy at AveretekMike Moore serves as Averetek's Vice President of Channel Strategy. In this role, Mike is responsible for corporate marketing strategy and operations, and spearheading strategy and initiatives for Averetek’s growing consulting practice. Mike has spent twenty-one years in the IT channel as a channel partner and as a channel marketer for software companies.