outbound marketing-advertisers start the conversations with potential customers
inbound marketing-customers actively seek out a brand for two- way communication
warm lead-internet traffic that has already expressed an interest in your product or service
Tinkers sold their wares all over Ireland. They had a bell that signaled their entry into local villages. Whatever they were selling, they advertised by shouting and talking to their potential customers. In essence, they went to their customers and then tried to sell as personally as possible. This happened all over Europe and early America before radio and television. As long as people have something to sell, there have been marketers. Once technology came into play marketers focused on starting conversation personally through tradeshows, TV commercials and cold calls. Impersonal avenues include radio commercials and print advertisements such as newspaper ads, magazine ads, flyers, brochures, catalogs, cold calls, and email blasts.
Outbound marketing does not have the highest ROIs in addition to being a challenge to track. The DNC or the federal do not call list hinders reaching potential customers on the phone. The advent of TiVo makes commercials near obsolete, spam filters make direct marketing emails invisible, and postcards became birdcage fodder. All these avenues can be high cost and low yield. According to statistics, 44% of direct mail sits unopened in landfills. 86% of people fast forward through commercials .84% of 25 to 34-year- olds, the prime targeted age demographic, have exited out of pop up ads.
On the opposite end of the spectrum is inbound marketing. Outbound marketing in this digital age comes across as yelling whereas inbound marketing sees the clients come to the brand. Potential clients use Google to find the brand from dish soap to teacup pig breeders seeking them out on avenues such as social media or webpages. These potential clients would be considered warm leads in which they have already expressed interest and can be swayed towards your brand with the right presence. Social media plays a key role with inbound marketing as your warm leads can have multiple exposures to your brand and perhaps interact with your brand as well. The goal is to benefit warm leads and turn them into clients. You can do this by offerings white papers or relevant blog content.
Content is queen with inbound marketing. Your website should be relevant and provide two-way communication. As outbound marketing declines each day, inbound marketing is increasingly being viewed as the only way to go. Inbound is cheaper than outbound marketing and can yield higher revenues.
If you are uncertain about the advantages of inbound marketing, do some research on the topic. You just might leave outbound marketing in the last century where it belongs.