From traditional marketing to Loop Marketing: when AI is redefining growth strategies

The starting point: the 4Ps

Marketing has long been based on the 4P model (Product, Price, Place and Promotion), which has structured the strategic thinking of many companies for several decades.

This framework, which was effective for a long time, was based on an essentially linear logic: designing an offer, distributing it, valuing it and promoting it.

However, the evolution of consumer behavior, the rise of digital technology, the use of artificial intelligence and the multiplication of contact points have profoundly transformed this dynamic. The classic funnel, commonly known as Funnel, is no longer enough to represent the complexity and fluidity of current customer journeys.

Inbound and the contribution of HubSpot

Faced with these changes, the approach Inbound, popularized by HubSpot, was a first breakthrough.

Rather than interrupting the customer with advertising messages, Inbound aims to attract them by creating relevant content and to support them throughout their journey. This methodology has made it possible to put value and trust back at the center of customer relationships.

However, even this approach must now evolve to meet constantly changing expectations and increasingly non-linear decision cycles.

Loop Marketing: a circular and continuous logic

It is in this context that the Loop Marketing, a modern methodology that extends and enriches the Inbound approach.

It is based on a cyclical dynamic based on four pillars:

1. Express: clarify the identity of the brand, its values and its positioning.
2. Adapt: adjust interactions and messages based on customer signals.
3. Amplify: maximize the reach of content on relevant channels.
4. Evolve: integrate learning to refine the strategy continuously.

Unlike the funnel, which involves a journey from attention to purchase, the Loop is based on a principle of constant iteration, guaranteeing better strategic agility.

At Lakhos, we know that a manufacturing SME with between 25 and 100 employees faces a very specific challenge: increasing its visibility and optimizing its digital marketing despite limited resources in the face of major players.

HubSpot Loop Marketing fits exactly into this reality. This modern methodology works like a cycle of continuous improvement. It makes it possible to clarify your brand identity, to adapt your messages to the right customers, to amplify your presence on strategic channels and to change your actions based on data.

By integrating a CRM like HubSpot and relying on AEO (Answer Engine Optimization) — which transforms the way customers find you, beyond traditional SEO — you get a powerful lever to strengthen your reputation and generate sustainable growth.

Express steps

• ICP (Ideal Customer Profile): identify the type of customer that best fits your offer. AI helps analyze data from reviews, calls, comments, or communities to create a clear and relevant picture of your ideal customer.
• Style guide: a reference document that defines your positioning, your unique value and your differentiators.
• Campaign concepts: develop creative ideas that align with your style guide, to demonstrate why your customers should choose you.

Tailor stages

• Enrich your data to capture purchase intentions and better segment.
• Create customized segments based on real needs and behaviors.
• Transform your content into personalized content using AI and intent signals.
• Never neglect human review, which is essential for validating and contextualizing AI results.

Amplify steps

• Develop a solid content strategy that focuses on buying intentions and real needs.
• Diversify your distribution channels (website, social media, newsletters, videos, etc.), with an increasing emphasis on AI response engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity).

Evolve steps

• Follow the results in real time to adapt your content and optimize continuously.
• Test and iterate quickly to identify the approaches that generate the most impact.

Artificial intelligence, a catalyst for transformation

The rise of artificial intelligence acts as an accelerator of this evolution. AI now allows:

1. Large-scale, almost individualized personalization.
2. A capacity for rapid iteration thanks to analysis and optimization in real time.
3. A multiplication of contact points, ranging from search engines to conversational interfaces.

But its most significant impact is in terms of brand visibility. While the SEO (Search Engine Optimization) structured the digital presence around search engines, we are now entering the era of AEO (Answer Engine Optimization).

AEO consists in optimizing content so that it can be understood, indexed and used by response engines (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, etc.), in order to be integrated into the responses generated for users.

From SEO to AEO: when AI is redefining the rules of visibility

Where SEO aimed to improve rankings in Google, AEO aims to optimize the understanding and promotion of brands by AI systems.

Take the example of an SME with 50 employees that manufactures custom mechanical parts:

• Customize content according to customer segments: distributors, OEM partners, and end customers.
• Adapt interactions according to the sales cycle: relevant automated follow-up after downloading technical content.
• Contextualize messages according to industry: aeronautics, agriculture, manufacturing, etc.
• Amplify with practical content: demonstration videos, technical articles, customer cases.

This assumes:

1. Clear, structured and credible content production.
2. Anticipating the intentions and questions of customers.
3. A strong brand identity, to avoid dilution in standardized responses.

Towards an integrated strategy: Inbound, Loop and AEO

The future of marketing does not lie in replacing one approach with another, but in integrating them.

1. Inbound maintains its relevance by placing value and content at the heart of attraction.
2. Loop Marketing introduces a circular and adaptive logic.
3. AEO is becoming the new visibility lever, guaranteeing the presence of brands in environments dominated by AI.

Learn more

To learn more about HubSpot's big announcements during INBOUND 2025 and to discover in detail how they are redefining CRM and marketing, we invite you to read our full article: A look back at INBOUND 2025 — HubSpot's big announcements.

Conclusion

Marketing is entering a phase of structural transformation. Companies that know how to combine Inbound, Loop Marketing and AEO will have a decisive competitive advantage: they will be able to express their identity with clarity, adapt in real time, amplify their visibility and evolve continuously in a digital ecosystem dominated by artificial intelligence.

To remember

• Define a clear KPI to guide your campaigns.
• Combining data, AI and human validation.
• Move from a static funnel to a continuous loop logic.
• Focus on AEO for visibility in AI response engines.
• Diversify your channels and test continuously.
• Integrate Inbound + Loop + AEO for a comprehensive and sustainable strategy.