Choosing outbound marketing or inbound marketing? In a current environment saturated with advertising messages and promotional offers, the consumer is in high demand and becomes a difficult target to attract. In this context, what strategy should be adopted to succeed in capturing its attention and differentiating itself from its competitors?
Advertising on third-party website banners, content production on your website, emailing campaign, blogging, presence on social networks, SEO work, etc.; how to find your way through all the existing techniques to promote your brand and generate qualified leads?
Between taking the lead and presenting your products/services directly to your prospects (outbound marketing) or developing more subtle communication to let them discover them for themselves (inbound marketing), which solution to choose to meet your company's growth ambitions? In this article, discover what outbound marketing is and our advice on how to optimize the performance of your marketing strategy.
What is outbound marketing?
Outbound marketing, which literally means "outbound marketing" in French, is a marketing strategy that consists in spreading the message to the consumer. It includes communication actions carried out with the aim of reaching the future customer at the place where he is, one of the principles of advertising.
Often associated with mass marketing, this strategy is based on different levers allowing a large-scale distribution of your promotional messages in order to engage consumers. In the physical world, this means, for example, posting in places frequented by potential customers. In the digital world, which will interest us mainly here, this form of communication will be, for example, the display of advertising banners on sites frequented by the target audience.
What are the levers of outbound marketing?
Outbound marketing is based on a set of actions and marketing levers, which will exploit different distribution channels.
Here are several outbound marketing techniques, in the physical world or on the web that can be combined if relevant to reach your target audience:
- media advertising: television, radio and other advertisements,
- non-media advertising and direct marketing: press, mail, catalogue, flyer, press releases, etc,
- Web advertising: display of banners on a third party site, etc.
- advertising on social networks,
- emailing or SMS campaigns,
- sponsored links,
- The purchase of advertising space, etc.
What about push marketing?
Push marketing is often confused with outbound marketing, whereas the two marketing techniques have their differences.
Literally, push marketing is the strategy that allows the product or service to be "pushed" towards consumers. This approach goes further than outbound marketing: even more than the communication of marketing messages in the places where the consumer is located, it goes directly to meet him/her through distribution or communication events. More than a simple message, it brings the product directly to the consumer.
Among the actions used, we find among others:
- participation in or organization of events, such as trade fairs,
- the distribution of samples of the product to be tested,
- Direct sales, etc.