Combine Inbound and Outbound Marketing Strategies to Achieve Marketing Strategy Goals

There are two categories that just about all marketing activities fall under, inbound and outbound marketing. You may have heard of these two buzzwords and thought that marketers, again, just put another word in front of the word “marketing” to make it sound trendy and cool. Though I have to say I do like when people look at me in that puzzled way as if to say “I don’t know what you’re talking about but please tell me more.” I often feel like a marketing hipster just saying “inbound marketing.” The fact is these two terms just represent new and old marketing techniques.

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Inbound marketing is the technique of earning a potential customer’s attention organically, which is a pull strategy. The most common methods include SEO, blogging, video content, and social media. The idea is for customers to find your information when they’re researching. It’s a precise targeting method. It could exert a great deal of effort to implement but can be very effective and comes with a lower cost. This is especially attractive to upper managers who think if they solely concentrate on inbound marketing strategies then the marketing budget will shrink. This might be true but it’s important to think about your marketing strategy goals and how the marketing mix will help you to achieve those goals.
 
Outbound marketing is the technique of sending a message out to a potential customer, also known as a push strategy. The most common methods of this technique include radio, TV, print advertisement, direct mailing, email, and trade shows. The problem with this technique is the potential customer is being fed information, most of the time at the wrong time when they’re not researching. This method is also used to reach a broader target. These methods tend to cost more than inbound methods and have been around a lot longer. Some of these methods might be old but they tend to be effective. For example there is something to be said for exhibiting at a trade show where you are exposed to hundreds of potential customers that could be willing to have a face-to-face discussion about your products or services.  
 
Many marketers and business professionals see outbound marketing as archaic. They believe that if you stick to the new marketing methods used to organically pull in the attention of a customer then why would you need to push out a message? Well, as much as I believe in the power of the pull strategy, it’s not enough. A lot of time you need a vessel to help deliver the message. An example would be to use direct mailing or email to help deliver a message that you may have also discussed in a blog article. It would also make sense to buy sponsored ads for a social media post about a new blog article to help expand your reach. In a way your using the push to help complement the pull strategy to reach a wider audience.
 
It’s good to have a well laid out and balanced marketing plan that uses a combination of inbound and outbound marketing methods that fit in your budget. Choosing just one or the other is not enough. The two strategies should work in harmony to help you achieve the marketing strategy goals.

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