Inbound Marketing Vs. Outbound Marketing: Which is More Effective?

It’s nearly impossible to have a marketing conversation without hearing the words inbound marketing and outbound marketing. Once the words are mentioned, an argument about which type of marketing is more effective quickly breaks out. The interesting thing is, when you really listen to the conversations, you start to realize that many of the people who are talking, don’t truly understand what separates the two marketing types.

Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing: A Quick Explanation

Inbound marketing requires businesses to explore marketing methods that attract members of an industry’s target market to a specific brand or business. It’s a type of a pull marketing. The marketing material is created to reach people who already have an interest in the product, business or industry.

Inbound marketing methods include:

• Blogging
• Social Media Marketing
• Content Marketing
• Informative Ebooks
• Instructional Videos

In contrast to inbound marketing, outbound marketing is a push style of promotion. Outbound marketing efforts are designed to attract consumers who don’t have any personal experience or previous interest in the product, business or industry.

Types of outbound marketing include:

• Cold Calling
• Commercials
• Email Marketing (excluding subscription newsletters)
• Newspaper Flyers
• Banner Advertisements

Inbound Marketing or Outbound Marketing: Which is Best for Your Business?

In the past, outbound marketing techniques had formed the cornerstone of most marketing campaigns. The internet changed that. These days, when it comes to promotion, inbound marketing is much more effective for business.

Consumers have changed. In the past they were receptive to commercials and banner advertisements, but not anymore. Not only is today’s consumer more resistant to outbound marketing techniques, but many are resistant to marketing methods that were previously successful. For example, during commutes, more people listen to music, podcasts, and audio books they’ve downloaded and don’t hear radio commercials. Each year fewer people purchase a paper, so there are fewer eyes on newspaper inserts, 45% of promotional emails are automatically deleted, and 85% of all consumers fast forward or walk away when television commercials come on.

Inbound marketing engages the customer, encouraging them to take an interest in the fate of your company, and makes them feel like a part of your organization. Most importantly, creating videos, posting high-quality blogs, and filling your website with page after page of outstanding content gives something of value to each member of your target market.

Inbound marketing methods make it easier for you to connect to your target market. Connecting to the members of your target market and not promoting to the masses streamlines your marketing process, saving you time and money. Inbound marketing provides you with an organic way to establish your brand and naturally sets you up as an industry expert.

The biggest drawback to inbound marketing is that it’s a slow burn process of marketing. It takes time for your business to start reaping the rewards of a good inbound marketing strategy, but when it comes to inbound marketing, good things come to those who wait. HubSpot released a study that showed that 93% of companies who incorporated inbound marketing into their advertising platform experienced a noticeable increase in traffic, and for 75% it was 40% or more increase. 83.9% of the business noticed heightened traffic within 7 months of starting their inbound marketing campaign.

Inbound Marketing Reduces Advertising Expenses

In 2011, HubSpot revealed a study that proved what many entrepreneurs had already discovered: inbound marketing is cheaper than outbound marketing – significantly cheaper. According to HubSpot, the cost of a successful inbound marketing campaign was 62% less expensive than an outbound marketing campaign that achieved the same number of sales.

Embracing inbound marketing provides you with the tools needed to connect to a maximum number of high-value members of your target market, which in turn leads to a significant increase in sales. If an increase in sales is something we know you are striving for, give our digital marketing experts a call today. A free consultation can go a long way, take our word for it!