Inbound Marketing vs Outbound Marketing

There are two main types of marketing - inbound and outbound. Both marketing strategies are helpful for businesses and to grow their customer base, however, the objectives of these strategies are quite different, as are the techniques. What is Outbound Marketing? This is where a business promotes and advertises their services and products via direct mailers, television, radio, print ads, and trade shows etc. The return on investment of this type of marketing can be hard to track, as much of it only aids a buyer’s decision making process, without directly leading to a sale. However, for brand exposure, the audience reach can be significantly better, especially in the early phases of an overall digital marketing strategy. Benefits of Outbound Marketing • Familiarity - Repeatedly advertising to an audience who aren’t directly looking for your product or service at that time, can serve well to generate brand awareness. • Large reach - The scope in appealing to a wide audience is significant. It works as an information gathering exercise, and educating the consumer that there is an alternative to the places they would usually look for a particular product or service. What is Inbound Marketing? This is an online strategy that involves creating reasons for customers to click on your message, to send them through to your website to connect further with your social media page. There’s the ability to target specific demographics, which in turn makes it easier to track the success of any campaign. Benefits of Inbound Marketing • Share content online – Post videos, articles and blog posts on social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. To guarantee better engagement, ensure that the content or video you post more informative, and less sales. Depending on your message, it has a chance to go “viral”. • Offer incentives - On blog posts, reward your loyal readers by offering them, for example, a free e-book on a topic such as a “How To” guide. • Customer interaction – Allowing for direct communication with your potential customers is crucial. By using social media, you can ask for their feedback regarding your services and products, and help to resolve any negative criticism, in order to turn them into someone who will rave about your customer service, rather than bemoan the fact that they felt aggrieved about an experience. Both of these marketing strategies are useful in their individual ways, however, if you’re wondering whether these strategies can work together, the answer is ‘Yes.’ Regardless of the fact that these two digital marketing strategies are very different, combining both forms a powerful way to win over your next customer. To implement bespoke marketing strategies to your marketing campaign, get in touch with Five Rivers. Call 0203 397 7545 for a free consultation.