Acquiring new customers is a full-time job. It’s easy to get caught up in feeding the acquisition machine and neglect those who have already evolved from visitor or lead to the prime position of customer.

Truth is, it costs businesses 6 to 7 times more to attract a new customer than retain an existing one. So how do you go about keeping the customers you have?

It’s no coincidence that companies with great customer service are also ranked high in employee engagement and satisfaction. But you can’t have great customer service and delight first. As HubSpot’s Loree McDonald so eloquently put it, “Inspire from within and influence outwards.”

How to convert marketing leads to customers through lead nurturing

Ever browse through a store, and a sales rep just won’t leave you alone, despite telling her that you’re “just looking”? What about getting a phone call from a sales rep just a few minutes after filling out a form on a website to download a white paper or e-book, when you’re just doing some preliminary research?

Why’s that so annoying? You’re not ready to buy—you’re just assessing your options. In marketing speak, you’re still in the “awareness” stage of the “buying funnel.” Called many things, including “purchase funnel,” “marketing funnel,” “decision journey” and more, the buying funnel is a way to describe the steps a buyer goes through as they realize they have a problem or need, educate themselves, research, compare and analyze their options, and eventually make a decision on a provider.

Michelle King and I had the privilege to attend HubSpot’s INBOUND14 conference in Boston last week. The list of speakers for the event read like the New York Times Best Seller list, with some inbound marketing rock stars thrown in for good measure. From 8:30am keynotes to wall-to-wall sessions, the trip was as exhausting as it was exhilarating.

Going through my 30+ pages of notes, I’m still trying to absorb everything I heard and learned. However, I couldn’t wait any longer to share some of the inspiration I received: