When I begin talking through the possibilities of an inbound marketing program with a potential client, they’re eager to start capturing leads and building their brand through engaging content, a new or updated website and more.
But before we can even begin to think about the how, we need to determine the why.
That’s why we insist on conducting an Inbound Marketing Readiness Assessment. Without this foundational step, there’s the potential for some major disappointment (on both sides).
Here’s why we consider an assessment so important for our prospective clients’ success and what it involves:
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT: 7 Elements of an Inbound Marketing Readiness Assessment
Hi, I’m Nicole Mertes, head of business development and client services at Weidert Group. Today I’m going to answer one of the more common questions I get before we start work on a proposal, and that is, “What is an Inbound Marketing Readiness Assessment, and why do I need it?”
A Readiness Assessment is a meeting during which we ask a series of questions about your company’s situation. With this, we can help identify the best path forward to help your company achieve its growth goals.
Key internal stakeholders should be involved in this meeting so the organization can ensure alignment on these seven important areas:
1. Intentionality
We’ll start by discussing how your company “wins” in the marketplace—what are your business’ aspirations and goals, where you compete, how you compete, and who you compete with? When we understand your intentionality with your business, we can better put together a plan that aligns inbound marketing to that strategy.
2. Expectations
During this part of the assessment we start to learn the expectations of the stakeholders in the room. Things like: When will I receive payback on my investment? What role does an agency play, and for how long? These and other questions help us all get on the same page.
3. ROI or Payback
During this part of the assessment we’ll outline the metrics that we need in order to predict your estimate for ROI. These metrics also help us understand some of the initial KPIs for your sales funnel so your team understands what kind of site traffic and conversions are needed to achieve your goals.
4. Alignment
We’ll take a look at how well your Marketing, Sales, and Service teams are aligned in pursuit of your goals, and how well coordinated they are throughout the entire customer's journey with your business.
5. Acceptance
This is where we talk about managing the change that will be needed across your organization. Inbound marketing often means deep change throughout the entire organization, and this means your leadership team needs to be ready to walk the talk — and not just at the beginning of the program.
6. Execution
This is about getting the right things done the right way. We’ll look at how your Marketing, Sales and Services teams can leverage your capabilities and tools, both current and new, to achieve your goals.
7. Resources
We’ll discuss what an inbound marketing program requires in terms of time, talent, and funding, as well as the split of roles and responsibilities between your team and ours.
At the end of this Assessment meeting, our team will have what we need to create some very thoughtful recommendations for you — a plan that’s customized to your goals and the way you operate.
Reach out to me if you’d like to talk more about the value of the assessment and how it informs the best inbound marketing proposal!
Is it the Right Time for Inbound?
Sure, our marketing agency loves gaining new clients, but if those clients don’t fully understand what it takes to have a successful inbound program and aren’t all-in, we’ll both be sorely dissatisfied in the outcome.
And yes, there have been times when we’ve met with a B2B company to assess their readiness for inbound and we both came away realizing it wasn’t the right time...yet.
Related: 7 Steps to Assess Your Organization’s Readiness for Inbound Marketing
To determine whether your company is ready to reap the rewards of inbound marketing, contact us. We’ll walk you through an assessment to help you make the right decision. And if you’ve been wondering what else might be involved in implementing an inbound strategy, check out our short-yet-helpful eBook below covering the top 15 questions we get asked.
