What is inbound marketing?

In simple terms, inbound marketing is the process of generating valuable content to attract new customers. Inbound marketing utilizes several different types of marketing to create brand awareness and customer loyalty – before your customer even makes their first purchase!

Some marketing channels that can create inbound leads and buyer awareness are blogging, event marketing, content marketing, email marketing, social media, SEO, webinars, ebooks, and video creation.

The best part about inbound marketing? It requires little to no marketing budget. Rather, it relies on organic lead generation. So, what’s the catch? Inbound marketing can be time consuming, requiring some patience and a lot of dedication.

Inbound methodology

Inbound marketing can be applied during these three stages of your customers’ journey:

ATTRACT
Making the right people aware of your brand through content creation with the goal of engagement.

ENGAGE
Demonstrate your value to your prospective buyer through engaging conversation and effective customer service.

DELIGHT
Follow-up with and support your customer after their purchase to encourage return business.

How to apply this methodology to your custom apparel business

ATTRACT

The most effective inbound marketing strategy to attract potential buyers is through creating and publishing relevant content. Our suggestions: blogging, social media, and SEO (search engine optimization).

Write insightful blogs that are relevant to your business. Some ideas include:

• Post a customer testimonial or a spotlight feature detailing a customer’s success story

• Answer your most frequently asked questions

• Provide a behind-the-scenes look at your shop

• Showcase a product or create a weekly showcase for even more content

• Run a contest or giveaway

• Profile your employees so your customers can get to know the people behind your business

• Share the history of your business – include triumphs and hardships

• Summarize your most recent social media posts

Social media is an excellent tool for attracting potential buyers to your custom apparel business or t-shirt shop. Again, relevant content should be provided on a regular basis. Create a publishing calendar to help you stay consistent with posting. Be sure you include high-quality photos that will attract the customer you’re trying to reach.

READ: CUSTOM APPAREL PHOTOGRAPHY 101

Leverage your content creation using SEO or search engine optimization. Simply put, an SEO strategy is using common keywords or longtail keywords in your content to ensure your customers will find your business when they search for products or services your company provides.

There are many tools and services to help you map out the right keywords to make your business searchable, including Google Keyword Planner. This tool will allow you to discover new keywords and get search volume and forecasts so you can stay on top of potential changes.

Here are some keywords that may be applicable to your custom apparel business:

custom shirts, custom t-shirts, custom shirts near me, personalized shirts, custom tees, custom t-shirts online, custom merch, custom screen printing, design your own t-shirts, best custom t-shirts, local t-shirt printing, design your own t-shirt, design your own merch, jersey printing near me, custom jerseys, custom sports apparel, custom long sleeve shirts, promotional t-shirts, t-shirt places near me, custom hoodies, bulk custom t-shirts – this list goes ON AND ON!

Other tactics for attracting potential buyers and gathering valuable leads include a newsletter sign-up form on your website, exclusive content provided to customers who fill out a contact form, or even running a contest or promotion.

ENGAGE

It’s important to engage with your audience in a way that encourages brand awareness and brand loyalty. Yes, even before they make a purchase!

Be sure you’re providing high-quality customer service when a potential buyer calls or emails your shop. Focus on providing a solution focused experience rather than a sales focused experience. This will make your potential buyer feel valuable and encourage them to make the purchase.

Another way to engage your audience is to use a chat feature on your website. Even if you can’t respond instantly, being able to follow up with your leads will increase your chances of converting your potential buyer into a long-term customer.

DELIGHT

Perhaps the most important step to building long-term relationships with your customers is to ensure they are happy and satisfied – even after their purchase. One of the best ways to do this is by simply following up with them to ask about their experience.

Howard Custom Transfers owner, Jeff Howard, has followed up with every single new customer purchase with a simple phone call since he started the business nearly 20 years ago. While some might argue this approach is antiquated and time consuming, it’s a pillar of who we are. Customer-focused, experience-focused service is the best way to encourage brand loyalty.

Maybe you can’t call every customer who makes a purchase. Another simple way to follow-up is to send a survey. Ask your buyer about their experience. Not only will this make them feel like their purchase and opinion is valued, but it will provide you with excellent, potentially constructive feedback that could help you improve your customers’ experience.