There are two broad ways to approach your marketing. You can passively attract customers to you, or you can actively pursue them.
Inbound marketing earns attention from your audience organically, without interrupting what they're doing. Outbound marketing gets your audience's attention by interrupting their activity. Here are some of the key differences and trade-offs between the two:
| Campaign Elements | Inbound Marketing | Outbound Marketing |
|---|---|---|
| Cost to Acquire a New Customer | Low | High |
| Internet Clicks | High | Low |
| Fueled by | Creativity and sustained effort | Budget and repetition |
| Length of Campaign | Extends into the future | Limited by budget |
| Impressions Needed to Compel a Purchase | Many | Fewer |
| Persuasive Call to Action | Softer | Stronger |
| Time to Close a Sale | Longer | Shorter |
The data tends to back up inbound's cost advantage: according to HubSpot, inbound leads cost roughly 62% less than outbound leads. That said, both approaches have a place. There are many tactics within each category. Here are some of the most popular.
Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing helps customers find you. It draws prospects in, satisfies their needs, and encourages them to refer others to you.
Website SEO
SEO is a core inbound tactic. It passively draws visitors to your website, and while you need to keep your content fresh to maintain your rankings, the results compound: prospects can keep finding you long after the work is done, earning you a residual return on your investment.
It's also one of the most cost-effective tactics there is. HubSpot's research has long shown that inbound leads, like those from SEO, cost far less than outbound leads and tend to convert at higher rates. Because strong rankings keep working for you over time, SEO delivers a compounding return that paid, budget-limited tactics can't match.
Pay-Per-Click Advertising
Pay-per-click (PPC) advertising is a form of paid search. Your ad appears in the search results for keywords related to your product or service, and you pay only when someone clicks. When a user searches that keyword, the engine can show your ad, which links to your website. PPC ads can also appear on other websites whose owners make space for them.
Opt-In Email
Opt-in email is among the best inbound tactics, because once someone gives you their email address, you have a direct line to promote your products and services. Put an opt-in form on your website, blog, or emails, and focus on getting that form in front of as many of the right people as possible so they can subscribe.
Content Marketing
Content marketing is a cornerstone of inbound. It includes blogs, website articles, case studies, white papers, newsletters, videos, and more. It's a great way to share your expertise, and in doing so, build the credibility that leads to new business.
Press Releases
Press releases are an inbound tactic too. They let you communicate company highlights to a wide universe of prospects, and a reader who didn't know about you might reach out. The media also picks up press releases, weaving parts of them into published stories in newspapers, trade journals, and business magazines, sometimes long after you issued them, which extends their value as a long-term way to attract customers.
Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing puts you in the driver's seat of the conversation: you send your message out to your target audience.
Advertising
Most advertising is outbound, including TV, cable, radio, print, billboards, and online display and video ads. You craft the message and choose the media, but you'll need the budget to run it often enough to get results.
Advertising is very effective for raising awareness. A strong, memorable message can stick with people and lead to sales and loyal customers down the line.
Direct Marketing
Direct marketing is the fastest and most measurable form of outbound marketing. To be effective, narrow your target audience and lead with a strong, persuasive message.
Two common types are direct mail letters and email campaigns. Both can deliver a strong return compared with other tactics, as the Harvard Business Review has noted about email in particular. Email is far cheaper than direct mail and can drive a comparable or better response for online sales, with the added advantage that you can measure exactly who opened your message, what they clicked, and which parts worked best. Email can also spur an instant online purchase, a visit to your website or store, or engagement on social media, any of which can lead to a sale.
Social Media
Social media marketing is the process of earning website traffic and attention through Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, and other platforms. Its real power is sharing: a reader spreads your content to their own network. Announce a new product, and your followers share it with friends, family, and colleagues, driving word-of-mouth reach. The key is a message that's unique and genuinely worth passing along. (Social can serve both inbound and outbound goals, depending on how you use it.)
Tradeshows
Tradeshows are the ultimate form of face-to-face marketing. You can showcase select products and services, control your message, and tailor it on the spot to each prospect who stops by your booth.
Outbound Telemarketing
Outbound telemarketing involves a salesperson calling a prospect by phone to sell a product or service. It's perhaps the most disruptive outbound tactic, since people don't expect a sales call, which is why the best telemarketers lead with an opening line that engages the prospect right away. (Just be mindful of Do Not Call regulations and consent requirements.)
So What's Your Marketing Strategy?
The best strategy comes down to how you can most effectively reach and communicate with your target market. A B2B company selling industrial products will approach it very differently from a B2C company selling shoes. The wise move for most businesses is to blend inbound and outbound tactics, attracting some customers while actively pursuing others.
Not sure where to start? Get in touch and we'll help you build the right mix for your business.
This is part of our guide to marketing your small business online.
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