Editor's note: Nicholas Buhay is an MBA student at Wayne State's School of Business in Detroit, MI and has taken ISM 7505: Inbound Information Technology.

Using the Inbound Marketing Strategy to get your company noticed!

Have you ever felt like your drowning? Are you lost in a sea of companies with no way of standing out to potential customers? Been there, done that. Don’t become frustrated just yet, most companies have faced this challenge and I’m here to tell you there is a lifeboat with the right answers to keep your ship from sinking.

Personalization With so many competitors, it can often be difficult to get the word out about your company. So what can be done to make sure potential customers don’t overlook your organization? First and foremost, it all comes down to personalization and making sure your company stands out from competition.	My Experience For a number of years, my brother has owned and operated a Funeral Livery. Now, you may be asking yourself what is a Funeral Livery? Essentially we are a contract company that works for local funeral homes, assisting with logistical needs. Our company leases hearses and limos to funeral homes when they are need of an extra car, while also offering a vast array of casket options for sale.

Now, the funeral business tends to be behind the trends when it comes to new technology, but this is where we have found competitive advantage compared to our competition. As you may imagine, our competition has relied greatly on outbound marketing campaigns, which can be highly limiting. Take into account that a business can receive hundreds of solicitations on a given day. Guess where those paper solicitations go? You guessed it, the waste bin or shredder. From day one, we have taken pride in continued personalization. To achieve this feat, we have worked hard at being heavily integrated in social media outlets and online tools to reach current and potential customers alike. Fortunately for us, we have been able to personalize our marketing approach by enlisting inbound marketing techniques where our customers recommend our services through online word of mouth. In addition, our online platforms have allowed us to showcase our cars and products for sale.	That’s the thing, the old marketing tools of the past are just that … the past. In today’s information crazed society you need to make sure your company is personalizing itself so that it stands out from the crowd. By providing a quality product and an outlet for potential customers to learn about you, your company will be equipped to keep up with the information demands of today’s inbound marketing expectations.