There are only two major categories in marketing – Inbound and Outbound.
Those who are involved in marketing world often use either or both strategies and are growing in popularity when it comes to choosing a strategy for marketing any business. It is one of the most important steps to decide on a tactic because no matter what people think of marketing itself there is a world of difference between inbound and outbound marketing. Because the number of websites launching and running in the cyberspace is growing exponentially by leaps and bounds daily. The demand for marketing online is growing rapidly but not enough tech or data savvy people who can work with you to measure and analyze the ROI of your business while navigating the marketing technology. It is truly becoming a science unto itself.We will walk you through the basic information that allows you and your business work well with both types.
Let’s start with Outbound Marketing
Outbound is commonly known as “push or interruption marketing” because this approach is where a marketer contacts any prospect seeking engagement with the prospects so it is usually up to the marketer to initiate and share the marketing message to a potential customer so the goal is to get the customer become interested in what the marketer is offering. Some examples this outbound method’s usage:
- Advertising on search engines
- Paid or sponsored ads on publishers’ websites
- Radio, Print Campaigns & TV Commercials
- Cold calls (telemarketing)
- Sending emails to paid lists
What is Inbound Marketing?
Inbound marketing, known as “pull marketing or advertising”, helps customers find you online via a variety of tactics so you don’t have to seek them out like a typical marketer using outbound method would do. To see inbound method in action a marketer would provide interesting, informative or helpful content on websites, blogs or social media that engages potential buyers. Additionally, inbound marketers frequently optimize web pages to rank higher in search engine results so potential buyers would be able to find them. This also is known as “search engine optimization” or SEO.
Marketer-Driven, “Push” Marketing
Broadcast and print advertising Social media advertising Search Engine Advertising Emails to purchased lists Display advertising
Consumer-Driven, “Pull” Marketing
Blogging Earned social media Search Engine Optimization Emails to opt-in lists Pay per click
Choosing the Right Strategy
Both outbound and inbound marketing have merits. It comes down to your future goals of your business like what kind of situation or stage you are at and resources available to you. Let’s consider what are the pros and cons to each method. With outbound marketing, it is much simpler and less time consuming to distribute your marketing message to your targeted audience if you already have solid leads. It’s easier to place a link here and there for anyone to click on but it doesn’t automatically convert a buyer of your product or service. It takes a process to separate a small or large volume of leads into quality leads so consider inbound marketing for this. However, with inbound marketing, the funnel is much narrower because the quality prospects sought out your content or information, and they want to learn more about what you are offering which leads to less energy spent on converting leads into paying consumers. It’s all about nurturing the relationship. Therefore, inbound marketing is growing in popularity and is the most popular method. However, a con of inbound marketing is that it doesn’t generate results overnight and the overall process takes longer before seeing any results.Next Steps If you need help choosing the right method for your business or wish to get more information to narrow your choices? AG Digital Co, as a management consultancy, can assist you with your business needs by doing an audit of your business, your website, and go over your short-term and/or long-term goals. Let’s talk about how we can help your business needs.
