Keeping up with ever-evolving marketing jargon can feel like a game of chess, where you’re always two moves behind. Add digital marketing and continuously changing Google algorithms to the mix, and it’s no wonder CRM software is so popular. In this article, we’ll get you up to speed on inbound vs. outbound marketing and which strategy may be best for your business.

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Article Roadmap

• Key Differences
• What Is Inbound Marketing?
• What is Outbound Marketing?
• Next Steps

Key Differences

Batman and Superman are both superheroes but suit different methods and audiences, just like inbound and outbound marketing. The shared goal is to generate leads and bring in sales. Outbound marketing follows a more traditional approach; think the entire plotline of Mad Men. Inbound marketing targets an interested audience, like ads you may see while scrolling through Instagram.

We’ve spelled out the differences below:

• Target Audience: Inbound marketing is precise and specific. Experts create campaigns with a target audience in mind, usually providing users with content aligning with their interests and needs. Outbound marketing is more generic. Content and advertisements reach a diverse audience, regardless of interest or demographic.
• Content Focus: Inbound marketing strategies focus on filling a gap in customer needs or solving a problem. Outbound marketing strategies keep the product or brand front and center and highlight USPs to build awareness.
• Communication: Two-way communication is the norm with an inbound approach. Marketers formulate content to build interaction and engagement between the brand and consumers. Outbound marketers follow a one-way street communication style. They communicate with customers without opening a channel for feedback or engagement.
• Engagement Tracking: Tallying up engagement numbers is par for the course in a inbound marketer’s world. Tools like Google Analytics, social media metrics and click-through rates make it easy to monitor how successful your messaging is. It’s well nigh impossible to know how many people see a billboard or a print ad, making it tough for outbound marketers to track engagement.
• Platform: Digital platforms are the medium of choice for inbound marketing. Blogs, ebooks, search engine results and social media generate leads. Outbound marketing uses more widespread platforms like television ads, billboards, mass emails and telemarketing to increase visibility and awareness.

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What Is Inbound Marketing?

Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on meeting the user intent of a target audience to gain customers. It’s also known as pull marketing and primarily uses content marketing and digital platforms to reach interested users. A defined buyer journey brings in customers using interests and problem-solving.

Examples

We’ve all experienced inbound marketing. Just like oxygen, it’s pretty much omnipresent. Say, you’re looking for a romantic restaurant to patronize. You decide to google options near you. The first options are articles containing the keywords you’ve typed in. It may appear random, but those results are carefully curated by Google using your intent and how well the content matches your needs. What you’ve experienced is an example of search engine results page (SERP) inbound marketing.

Other examples include social media marketing, webinars and podcasts and long-form digital content like ebooks and email newsletters.

Primary Benefits

Incorporating inbound marketing into your strategy has its perks. Check out the benefits it brings to your business below:

• More Cost-Effective: You don’t need to be a millionaire to create a website or an account on social media and start building your brand. Even if you don’t pay for ads, you can reach your target audience by creating engaging content and filling stop-gaps in knowledge online.
• Higher Quality Leads: Because your content focuses on meeting your customer’s needs and interests, the leads you capture will be more relevant to your product or service.
• Easier To Quantify: Want to know how many people have visited your website or viewed a tweet? That’s easy. Reporting and analytics features in marketing automation and CRM software help you see what’s working, what needs improvement and whether you’re meeting KPIs.

Challenges

Receiving a bombardment of content is a staple of life in the 21st Century. It’s tough to stand out. A major challenge with inbound marketing is delayed gratification. It takes time and effort to reap the rewards of creating consistently great content. You also have less control over customer engagement as they come to you, not vice versa.

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What Is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound marketing is a traditional marketing technique that targets mass audiences to make a sale. It focuses on your product or service and how it helps customers. Also known as push marketing, its goal is to reach a large audience and gain large sales returns.

Examples

Traditional advertising is peak outbound marketing. Think billboards, television commercials and print advertisements. A great example is the distinct black and white ads and “Diamonds are Forever” tagline created by De Beers. A cultural staple for over seven decades. Today, digital marketing has added website banners, mass emails and pop-ups to the list of examples.

Primary Benefits

Like peak Michael Jordan for the Bulls, a well-done outbound marketing strategy is a winner. We’ve outlined the benefits below:

• Quicker Results: Hitting the brief can bring in the bacon immediately. Miller’s turned the stereotype about lite beer on its head by getting masculine role models to rep the product and dominate the market.
• Increased Brand Awareness: Great outbound marketing campaigns live on. Nike’s “Just Do It” tagline or Snickers’ “You’re not you when you’re hungry” ad is immediately recognizable. And it carries over into social media conversations. Nike’s 3D AirMax billboard going viral is a testament to quality outbound marketing.
• Better Control Over Messaging: Since communication is one-way, you have more control over your messaging and the image you want to portray. Barbie’s first-look trailer and breadcrumb approach dropped clues about the underlying message but still brought the fun of Barbieland.

Challenges

The biggest downside of outbound marketing is how expensive it can be for the average company. Creating and promoting advertisements takes a large budget. It can also be difficult to gauge the return on investment. Measuring engagement on offline marketing channels is impossible, so the specs from mass emailing or website banners may skew inaccurately. Additionally, customers may find it intrusive or annoying since they have no control over when they see outbound marketing.

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Next Steps

Marketing strategies aren’t like the Sith Order; they don’t deal in absolutes. It often takes a potpourri of marketing methods to reach your target audience. Picking inbound versus outbound marketing isn’t a decision you necessarily have to make. CRM software provides a convenient way to mix and match your strategy to meet KPIs. Check out our free comparison report to measure how top products suit your needs.

How does inbound versus outbound marketing affect your company’s marketing strategy? Let us know in the comments below!