At the early stages of traditional marketing, there have been used techniques that are becoming less effective as time goes by. Old marketing is interruptive, intruding and forces content to the masses without building any kind of relationship.
It is based on repetition and it strongly depends on the budget of a company.
On the other hand “Inbound” marketing is focused on people and their needs. It is attractive, helpful and most importantly interactive. It is based on personal efforts and creativity but it is not expensive.
Modern consumers love this kind of marketing and they have a chance to discuss with a company before they make a purchasing decision.
Inbound vs Outbound Marketing Techniques
Larry Kim from Wordstream has presented a beautiful list in a mini-infographic
Outbound
- Search spam
- Paid/rented email lists
- TV, radio, print ads
- Billboards, outdoor advertising
- Throwaway press releases
- Pop-Ups & Pop-Unders
- Contextual Ads
- Outbound sales calls
- Interstitial pages
- Trade show booth
- Paid social media advertising
- Forum, comment and UGC spam
- Banners and display ads
- Paid app reviews
- Video Ads
Inbound
- SEO & PPC (keywords , targeted demographics)
- Opt-in email lists (earned usually in return for something valuable)
- Authoring books/print media
- Supporting/sponsoring events
- Press & public relations
- Thought leadership
- Community building
- Influencer outreach
- Blogging
- Public speaking
- Earned social media
- Word of mouth & viral marketing
- Content creation & marketing (research / white papers, infographics, webinars, podcasting, Q&A sites)
- Organic app store visibility
- Video content
Wikipedia explains that “Inbound” marketing refers to marketing activities that bring visitors in, rather than marketers having to go out to get prospects’ attention.
HubSpot analyses … Instead of the old outbound marketing methods of buying ads, email lists and praying for leads, “Inbound” marketing focuses on creating quality content that pulls people toward your company and products, where they naturally want to be.
HubSpot Defines “Inbound Methodology”
There are 4 stages of marketing and 5 types of people (depending on which stage of the buying cycle they fit)
- In the beginning, we have the “Strangers” that we need to “Attract” (blogs, keywords, social) and turn them into “Visitors”.
- On this 2nd stage we “Convert” visitors into “Leads” (forms , call to action , landing pages).
- On the 3rd stage we “Close” leads into “Customers” (CRM, email, workflows).
- On the last stage we “Delight” customers into “Promoters” (surveys, smart content, social monitoring).
…and the cycle begins again when the “Promoters” or our continuing marketing efforts bring new “Strangers”
Now that the experts analyzed everything how can I provide some additional value to this subject?
I thought to create a short video using the Pow Toon maker
Final Words
What type of marketing techniques are you using?
Do you think that some of the old methods are still effective?
How much of Inbound and how much of Outbound tactics shall we apply to our marketing efforts?
… Did you enjoy my video?
That’s it, another article has finished, here on Web Market Support. I am waiting for your comments and thoughts as always. Till next time…
I think outbound marketing still works. But only for those with the financial power to do it on a large enough scale. Ad space in the Superbowl instead of popups on a web site.
Also some forms of outbound marketing are not necessarily interuptive. Billboards for example or giving away coffee mugs with your website url printed on them.
I do agree that focusing on creating a “buzz” that brings in visitors to check you out is the better way to succeed.
Hi there Chazz, both methods work if done effectively. Another detail that I missed on mentioning in the article is that Outbound marketing resulted in information overload with thousands of people trying to create that “buzz” for their brands and clients.
Do you think we move into a different era?..Where both methods mix for a better approach?
It’s interesting how the times have changed, as you talked about old marketing, how it’s like door to door selling, phone calls, etc.. These days with the internet it’s a lot more subtle, and in my opinion more effective as you build relationships through social media and blogs. Great article and keep up the good work.
Times have changed JP , but for the better.Some old methods are still effective as many companies use them but the new approach is the one I like.The relationship you are building with social media and through blogging is the ultimate human technique.
Thank you for this visit and your kind words , all my best.
I was a bit confused about the difference between inbound and outbound marketing, but your article did a great job in explaining the deference.
I am a big believer in inbound marketing because I believe that people should come to you for help. I really hate it when people call or mail me just so that they can sell me a product. If I want to buy something then I will come to you.
Cannot agree more Viljoen.It is like the offline stores and shops where we buy things every day.We know what we want , know where to find it , we step inside and take it.
Don’t bombard me with offers whenever you want.Respect my privacy.Don’t call me on the phone when I might be sleeping.
Of course some of the outbound techniques are smoother so we may apply any of them if needed.But generally I am on the inbound side , at least 90 / 10.
Thank you so much for another visit and for your awesome participation.Happy New Year.All my best..!
Hey Tasos,
This is a timely article, I’ve been wondering what outbound and inbound means – there are several websites I came across talking about them like Hubspot.
It seems that inbound is a much better and ethical approach of growing our online business and now that I think of it, it does feel much better when people come to us because they need us rather than going out chasing after them.
Welcome back Riaz , you are right.I love Inbound tactics because we have to try to attract visitors by offering the best we can.Otherwise we would have been using these old methods that are intrusive.
I believe it is better for everybody.Thank you so much for another visit and for your participation in the comments.All my best.
Hi Tasos,
Traditional marketing, advertisements, ways- are quickly getting out of fashion. Like you say, they are truly intrusive, ‘interruptive’, and forceful to consumers- and many of them do not like this anymore.
Effective marketing must turn (I liked this part most) strangers into visitors, into customers, into promoters.
That was quite an eye opening article.
Welcome Boniface , I am glad you agree with me on this.Traditional methods are not used as in the past.That was a result of people’s need that changed and of course because marketing science has progressed.
I am glad you found the last part interesting and thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind participation in the conversation.All my best.
I like this concept of inbound marketing it really does make a lot of sense.
Another term for this kind of thinking is push marketing vs pull marketing. Old school methods are pushing the message onto consumers and ‘forcing’ it down their throats.
Pull marketing is, like you say, creating value and pulling consumers towards that value. Better for everyone involved I think.
Thanks for sharing 🙂
Welcome Tim , your definition is spot on.Push vs Pull , yes we can use these terms as well.I really enjoy new school methods as they are a progression of the old ones.
People’s need change constantly and marketing always evolves , quality content is a must.Everyone is tired of the ad bombarding during the last decades.
Thank you so much for this visit and for your participation in the comments.
Hi Tasos,
Fascinating stuff, is it fair to say the advent of the online world has increased the importance of inbound marketing?
It seems no one wants ads and pop ups in their faces anymore when they browse online! The subtler tactics of inbound marketing are much more effective and they work in with customer’s natural thought patterns.
Thanks for the great info,
– Luke
Welcome Luke , you are so right.Internet has changed our lives to the better , although still there are a lot of people that are afraid to use it.
Inbound marketing is attractive and visitors have the choice to select any topic they are interested in at they own time and pace.
I hate ads and pop ups as well , I don’t like to be interrupted with irrelevant information.
I am so glad we agree , thank you for this visit and for your kind words.All my best.
Great piece. It is amazing how many companies are still stuck in the outbound marketing world. I happen to have my foot in both worlds currently. Outbound at my day job and inbound in my entrepreneurial venture.
Your point is spot on. The old method is expensive and inefficient. Companies spent 80-85% of their sales cost just get a qualified lead to engage.
Inbound is the way to go. It is a more natural approach and is not so intrusive.
Great video. I look forward to reading you latest soon.
-JP
Welcome Justin , yes , still there are a lot of companies that are using outbound methods.Quite often I meet teams or entrepreneurs that don’t even have an affiliate program running for their products and they are paying for direct advertising.
They are not taking full advantage of the internet opportunities , at least for the moment.
On the other hand I have met brands that believe that Inbound tactics are not effective for them and they get better results by using traditional methods.
I agree with you though and I am fan of Inbound methodology.But I am willing to try some old methods just to test the results.
Thank you for this visit , your kind words and I am very glad you enjoyed the video.All my best.