In contrast to Inbound Marketing, which seems to concentrate on online marketing tools, Outbound Marketing is the tactic in which you purchase, or “buy” space for attention. You are actively taking your message to your customers and prospects versus them finding you.
Tactics normally considered outbound marketing, where you take your message to the door of your customers and prospects, include direct mail, advertisements, sales flyers, telemarketing, and trade shows.
We believe solid marketing involves both inbound and outbound marketing working in concert. Google has looked at its statistics and has brought the concept of “Zero Moment of Truth” to today’s marketing professionals … the need for some type of stimulus to bring about online searching for products and suppliers.
We also look at marketing in a holistic way, and look for opportunities to maximize effectiveness by integrating online and offline tactics for a blend of inbound and outbound marketing.
Here are a few reasons why we support an integrated marketing approach. First, inbound marketing makes it difficult to target specific audiences. When utilizing outbound marketing tactics, you can pinpoint messages to particular audiences, such as e-Newsletters, direct mail postcards, and trade show participation.
Outbound marketing drives people to action instead of waiting for them to take action. Looking at the Google “Zero Moment of Truth” model, it is outbound marketing strategies that will be the stimulus for inbound marketing to be effective.
Outbound marketing does not rely on high levels of automation, or for participants to be tech-saavy. Think about the majority of people in the JanSan industry … how many are tied to their desktops or laptops during the day? How many are frequent Facebook users for business?
As an example of how outbound marketing can fill a need that inbound can not … take look at direct mail. It is 100% deliverable whereas E-Newsletters and e-Mails can be easily deleted or blocked. Likewise, consider the longevity of a printed piece or magazine article. It tends to hang out on a desktop or in a travel briefcase … it is not easy to hit a delete button on a printed piece.
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