One of the most often asked question when talking to customers is: what is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing and why do you focus in the first one? Although it is quite broad topic, people usually want to know it right away so they can jump into the topic immediately.
So the very simple answer might be something like that.
Outbound marketing means that you as a company are actively looking for a customer, when inbound marketing means you are letting customer to find you when he needs you.
Outbound marketing makes noise and anger
There are also other names for that kind of outbound activities: interruption marketing or persuasion marketing. It shows precisely what we are talking about and how it can be closed in the following mindset.
- We – as a company – know exactly what is best for the customer.
- We would like everyone to know about our products and actions whenever we decided to start talking.
- We tell our message to everyone. We do not care if they are interested or not.
- If they are not interested our goal is to make them.
- We pay ourselves huge bonuses if reach goal number 4.
As you can see outbound marketing is really ambivalent. From one perspective it really destroys the bond between company and customer – bond based upon the trust. But from the other point of view it can be interpret as something valuable, especially when the marketer is changing the market or customers’ habits.
The most popular artifacts, channels and methods of outbound marketing are the following.
- Press, TV and radio ads.
- Cold calling.
- Internet banners.
- Outdoor billboards.
- Mailing.
Inbound marketing builds trust and confidence
On the other side of this marketing comparison you will find the inbound activities. We believe they can be very well described as a completely different mindset of marketing specialists. Let us define it.
- We – as a company – have a product that can be helpful for certain people or other companies.
- We would like everyone who can be interested in our product to let us find whenever he decides to look for a solution.
- We prepare our message only for specific people who – we believe – may be interested in our product.
- We leave our message in the internet and tag it properly so it cannot be confused with anything else.
- If customer is not ready to buy from us, we start providing him valuable content so it is easier for him make a decision.
Looks nice, doesn’t it? Well, it also works as a charm. There are many metrics you can check when talking about the inbound results.
- 45% of direct mail never gets opened,
- 200 million people are on the national Do Not Call Registry,
- 85% of people fast forward through commercials
- 84% of 25–35 year-olds are likely to click off a website with excessive advertising
- you have a better chance of surviving an airplane accident than having someone convert on a banner ad,
- companies that published over 16 blog posts per month received roughly 3.5X more traffic than companies that published 0-4 blogs per month,
- B2B companies that blogged over 11 times per month received 3X more traffic than B2B companies that blogged 0-1 time per month,
- 47% of buyers view 3-5 pieces of the company’s content before talking with a sales representative
- 96% of B2B buyers want content that has input from industry thought leaders.
The most popular artifacts, channels and methods of outbound marketing are the following.
- SEO and PPC campaigns.
- Opt-in newsletters.
- Content marketing (blogging, white papers, case studies, e-books).
- Influencer outreach.
- Supporting events.
Where to start my inbound marketing journey?
Many people wonder where to start their inbound marketing journey to be most successful as there are many artifacts, actions and processes to be taken into account. We – Arche Publishing – believe that the inbound marketing process starts and ends with the terrific content.
That is why we strongly suggest you to check our article How we change online traffic into the growing customers?. There you will see the whole process of inbound marketing and where to start your own.
Sources
[…] Most of the clients we work with quickly and accurately sense the benefits of inbound marketing, which we described in our article What is the difference between inbound and outbound marketing?. […]