Outbound Marketing and Inbound Marketing – what is the difference and when should you use them in your strategy?
To start off, let’s think of outbound and inbound as the technical term for traditional and modern marketing tactics. Outbound and inbound marketing are both important, however, the difference between the two is how your brand’s message is often received.
Outbound marketing is marketer-driven, meaning it is often given to or “at” the consumer. Outbound marketing has developed a reputation to be product-based with a simple one-way interaction. The marketer is seeking the customer out instead of vice-versa.
We could also describe it as 1:Many, meaning one marketer to many customers, each given the same message.
Inbound marketing is a little different. Inbound marketing is consumer-driven; it’s timely, content-heavy, and often creates a two-way interaction between marketer and customer. It is, ultimately, the act of drawing customers to you.
Let’s look at inbound as 1:1, meaning one marketer to one customer, customizing the experience to cater to specific customers and their needs.
One is not better than the other and they work in tandem to provide the best results for your business. Depending on your products and services, your strategy may focus more heavily on one than the other, but overall a strong strategy would always include both inbound and outbound. Remember, each brand is different; each has a different target market with different demographics to cater to. What works well for one brand might not be the best for another.
A mixture of the two can very well be the perfect way for your brand to attract new customers, while still keeping your current customer base. By implementing both outbound and inbound, you can learn which tactics are most effective for your unique business.
Let’s look at which popular marketing avenues are considered outbound, and which are considered inbound.
While each of these lists have different mediums, may be directed towards different segments of your audience and require their own unique messaging, they all work together to make your marketing strategy robust. Your audience isn’t always going to be one spot, so diversifying your approach is essential to the success of your overall strategy.
To learn more about the outbound and inbound marketing services SMG provides, visit our website!
