There’s always great excitement for the next new shiny marketing tactic. There’s a tendency to drop the “old ways” and chase after the next big thing. Inbound marketing has been gaining momentum as the “new marketing” method and some are proclaiming that outbound marketing is dead. However, the prediction for the demise of outbound marketing, especially in B2B marketing, is exaggerated. For most organizations a well-rounded marketing strategy includes a mix of inbound and outbound tactics.
What can inbound marketing do for you?
Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on creating content rich websites that help your customer find your company and product when they are actively involved in searching and seeking information. Typical inbound marketing tactics include using SEO, blogs, podcasts, video, eBooks, newsletters, whitepapers, and social media that serve to make the company easier to find, draw customers into their website and to engage them with interesting content.
| Providing valuable content and encouraging a two way dialogue between you and your target customer are the underpinnings of inbound marketing. |
Inbound marketing tactics can be very powerful for:
- Building your brand
- Building authority and credibility and establishing your company as an industry thought leader
- Attracting new visitors to your website and generating leads
- Collecting behavioral data and measuring campaign ROI
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What can outbound marketing do for you?
Outbound marketing uses tactics that buy attention such as traditional advertising (print, radio and television ads), direct mail, sales flyers, cold-calling and telemarketing just to name a few. Outbound marketing can help bring awareness about one’s brand, product or services to a wide audience that may or may not be looking for those particular products and services.
| For high value products with long sales cycles and complex internal landscapes, inbound marketing tactics alone are not enough. |
Outbound marketing tactics can be very powerful for:
- Building Brand
- Building relationships
- Providing personal touch and a human face for your company
- Educating your customer and answering questions
- Managing multiple stakeholders through the buying process
What's the right mix of outbound and inbound marketing tactics?
How you decide on the right mix of inbound and outbound tactics? It comes down to having solid marketing fundamentals:
- Segmenting your marketing at targetting appropriately
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Understanding the buying cycle and your customers' decision making process
Couple these fundamentals with diligent measurement and benchmarking of your marketing effectiveness and you’ll be able to optimize your marketing budget for maximum ROI. By analyzing this data you can adjust your mix of tactics as your markets, customers, company, and products evolve.
Does your company focus primarily on inbound or outbound marketing techniques? Which strategy works best for your needs, or is it best to employ a mix of the two? Share your thoughts in a comment below.
Need help developing a campaign with the right mix of outbound and inbound marketing for your organization? Request a consultation.
Jacqueline Murray is a Marketing Strategist for DardenLentz, a B2B Marketing and Branding Agency focused on healthcare and technology. Jacqueline heads the firm's Ohio office, established to support the region's bioscience industry. She has held senior positions with global marketing responsibilities for both diagnostic and medical device companies.