Most marketers are used to generating leads through Facebook ads, cold calling, or email blasts, a strategy called outbound marketing, aka traditional marketing.
But marketers are beginning to look for ways to connect with consumers and increase their brand value by implementing inbound marketing to their overall strategies for lead generation purposes.
What is brand value? Brand value refers to the way a consumer views the value of a product or service.
Now let’s take a look at each strategy, and then we will compare the main differences between inbound vs outbound marketing.
What is outbound marketing?
Outbound marketing refers to the traditional method of marketing where a company places an offer in front of an audience. This strategy is disruptive but can reach a wide range of consumers. It is the opposite of inbound marketing, where customers find your products or services.
Outbound marketing consists mainly of the following activities:
- Cold calling
- TV Commercials
- Radio Ads
- Print Advertisements
- Facebook Ads
- Trade Shows
- Sending Email Blasts
Each of these methods allows the message to be spread widely, hoping that it will resonate with consumers in the marketplace.
What is inbound marketing?
Inbound marketing is a strategy used by marketers to connect with potential customers by ensuring their online presence is highly visible. This can be done by providing quality content on as many digital marketing channels as possible.
It means making sure that your business and content can be found on:
- Social media channels
- Online directories
- Organic search rankings
- Topic Blogs & Forums
- Ebooks
- Viral Videos
- Webinars
- Lead magnets
The idea here is for your business to be easily found when people actively search for your services, products, or valuable information (which should be available since you are an expert in your field, right?).
What is the difference between inbound vs outbound marketing?
Outbound Marketing is when a company focuses on generating sales leads by paying for media that will reach hundreds if not thousands of people. Like I mentioned before, this is done through various channels, including TV, radio, print, websites, and social media.
The outbound marketing strategy is very effective when done correctly. Understanding that your message will be interrupting users who may or may not be interested in what you have to offer is key here.
It is also important to understand that these people may not be aware that you want or need your offering. Therefore, your advertisement must begin with describing the issue that your product or service solves along with the benefit that your offer provides.
Another benefit of outbound marketing is brand awareness. The rule of 7 states that a consumer needs to hear a message seven times before taking action. Psychologists also say that we must repeat something that we want to remember seven times implement it to our conscious mind.
When a consumer sees your brand 5-7 times, they will begin to trust it more and see it as authoritative to the industry. Therefore willing to do business if they want or need what you have to offer.
But the fastest way to increase revenue with outbound marketing works best when your advertisement reaches people who require your product or service. Your message can also resonate with existing consumers, allowing you to take them from your competitors.
Now let’s take a look at the other marketing strategy.
Inbound marketing is like fishing or throwing a hook with bait to catch something. The reason that it works so well is that the intended prey believes that they are acting out of “free will.” But it only works if the subject is interested in the bait itself, which is perfect because that’s what we want to serve.
Inbound marketing takes place when the consumer is fairly advanced in the buying process. If a potential customer is actively searching for your content, product, or service, they will likely participate in some form of inbound marketing.
Another reason that inbound is so effective is the lack of trust that many consumers have towards businesses. Even though they are consistently being bombarded with offers (from outbound marketing), they want to know for a fact that the business can provide what they are looking for. So they will actively look for proof before they decide who they want to business with.
These types of consumers will look for your online reviews, social media engagement, blog posts, articles, and videos to make sure that their experience with your company will be delightful.
Why should you use outbound marketing?
Outbound marketing is all referred to as traditional marketing, not because it’s old but because it works, and yes, marketers have been using it for centuries. However, there are many befits, such as the ones that I highlighted previously in this article.
For newer companies that want to grow their brands and get more exposure, this marketing type can work best because they can quickly reach a wider audience. But it does require some “Mula,” so you better have a budget that you can invest with.
Unlike inbound marketing campaigns, which take a lot of time and resources to create quality content, advertising campaigns can give you results faster, especially if you know how to target the right audience with the right message.
One of the best strategies is to run pay-per-click (PPC) ads so that you can target a specific demographic and interest-based criteria. This will allow you to serve your ads to the right persona or “ideal customer.”
The key to an effective outbound campaign is to be strategic. People who say that outbound doesn’t work don’t know what they are doing.
If you’re thinking about running an outbound strategy, you must first find your persona or ideal customer. You need to understand where they work, their likes, age range, and foods they like. (ok, maybe you don’t need to know that unless you run a restaurant) But you do have to understand their interests, and you need to send a crystal clear message that will prompt them to take action.
Why should you use inbound marketing?
An effective inbound marketing strategy allows you to connect with high-quality leads actively looking for your product or service.
Like I mentioned previously, an inbound strategy is a long-term process that can take a long time to perfect. It would help if you created a lot of content, and I mean a lot of content, to be successful.
But believe me when I say that it’s well worth it. There is nothing more powerful for a business than when customers come to you. Not only do you spend less money, but these potential customers already know that they want or need your service or product and require minimal persuasion.
Many marketers often unrecognize the following pro tip.
Many consumers begin their journey believing that they can do something themselves. So they set out to find relevant information about the issue they want to resolve. They read blogs, watch videos and join social media groups in the quest to become an expert.
But once they realize just how much time, resources and effort it actually takes to do it themselves, they will seek out someone they trust to do it for them. That’s why it’s so important that business owners lose the “limited mindset” of not wanting to share their expertise with others because they might do it themselves and become the competition.
It takes a lot to run a business or become a supplier of goods, as you already know. Plus, if someone really wants to know how to do something, they will figure out a way to do so.
These types of consumers are some of the best customers/clients that you will ever have. This is because they already know a lot about what it takes to do what you do. So you spend less time trying to convince them of why they should do something, and they will appreciate what you do even more.
So, which marketing strategy is better?
I often get asked by business owners and other marketers which strategy is best. And my answer is always the same, “they both are a must.” Both strategies work, but they each require an understanding of how and why they work.
Every business owner should consider implementing both strategies at the same time.
But that’s not all. It’s critical to understand which strategy will attract potential consumers and what stage they are in the sales funnel. So let’s take a quick look:
What stage is the customer at on the conventional funnel?
Understanding at what stage each lead is in is crucial to the success of your conversions.
One of the biggest mistakes that I see, especially with small businesses, is the lack of understanding of this process.
With both inbound and outbound marketing, you will get leads, and your entire team must take the time to analyze at which stage of the sales funnel they are in, also known as referencing the buyer’s journey.
To understand this a bit better, let me explain the 3 main stages:
TOFU: Top of the funnel or awareness stage.
Your business will probably get a lot of leads in this stage. These are people who are barely getting started, and they are not sure if they want, need, or can afford your services or products.
Your team will want to provide a lot of information and nurture these leads with patience and back and forth communication.
MOFU: Middle of the funnel or consideration stage
At this stage, consumers are aware that they have a problem that needs to be resolved or consider purchasing a product.
Your team will want to build trust with these prospects without being too pushy. People require a bit of persuasion and assurance that your company can provide what they are looking for at this stage.
BOFU: Bottom of the funnel or decision stage
Leads at this stage are known as sales-qualified leads (SQL), and they are ready to take action. They have done their research, identified the best solution, and probably deciding which company to do business with.
These leads will want to talk to someone about moving forward. It’s important not to sound too pushy or desperate. Instead, take a consultive approach and provide them with your best deal to close the deal.
Sales teams must identify each lead’s stage level is simple: you can’t handle a prospect at the top of the funnel the same way you would handle someone at the bottom of the funnel. Again this is because the communication and sales processes are different.
I have seen business owners trying to treat all leads the same, and they don’t understand why they can’t close more deals. I’ve even seen sales teams handle leads at the bottom of the funnel as if they were on the top and lost the business because of it.
Final thoughts on inbound vs outbound marketing
Now that you understand the differences between inbound and outbound plus the difference between both, it’s time to start implementing both strategies into your business. If you have any questions or need help, contact us today.
