Inbound and Outbound Marketing: what to use

All about outbound marketing – Outbound

Outbound marketing, also known as outbound or “traditional” marketing, is when a company or its representative initiates contact with potential customers by sending them their message directly.

Varieties of outbound marketing

Outbound marketing includes the following types of advertising:

• Television advertising. It’s declining in popularity as 99% of TV shows are available on YouTube without ads (thanks, AdBlock).
• Printed materials. These are the same flyers that are distributed on the streets. Although they sometimes bring customers, modern promotion methods make them look outdated and ineffective.
• Mailings. Paper postcards and brochures that often remain in mailboxes for months.
• Out-of-home advertising. Banners and billboards remain the most active form of out-of-home marketing.
• Traveling salesmen – are intermediaries who travel from house to house and offer goods based on catalogs. This profession has mostly remained in the past, but in the XX century it was very common.
• Newspaper ads. Of course, with the advent of Internet resources, their popularity has plummeted.

Niches and audiences of Outbound marketing

Despite the fact that flyers and mailings are associated with the past, outbound marketing has its own niches and audiences. For example, fitness clubs and spas still advertise on billboards. Developers also use this method to promote real estate. If you commute from the suburbs of the Kyiv region to work, you’ve probably noticed such ads.

Cars and apartments continue to be sold through newspapers. This is not so much due to the niche as to the age of the audience: these are mostly people aged 55-65 and older. If your target audience belongs to this category, you shouldn’t neglect outbound marketing, because it can be useful.

The term “audience” has not been defined yet, as there is no segmentation. It is impossible to ensure that only men see an advertising banner over the road and women ignore it (in online marketing, it is possible). Essentially, you are shooting in the dark, hoping to get a hit.

Benefits of external marketing

1. Simplicity. Hanging banners once, you automatically receive calls. For example, real estate agencies use this method. “For Sale” signs on buildings or fences are also effective – you just need to order printing and place an ad.
   
2. Cost stability. Unlike targeted advertising, where you need to constantly monitor budgets and data, external marketing is easier: you budget 4 publications in the weekly “Veselyi Agronomist”, place posters with a phone number on the estates for sale, and wait for calls.

Don’t mind our sarcasm: at the time of publication, some Kyiv skyscrapers have huge illuminated banners advertising online casinos. If it works, it means it is necessary.

Now let’s turn to modern methods of customer acquisition – inbound marketing.

All about inbound marketing – Inbound

Inbound marketing is a strategy that focuses on attracting new customers by providing them with useful and relevant content. Unlike outbound marketing, where the company itself is looking for opportunities to contact potential customers, inbound marketing attracts people who are already interested in a product or service.

When it comes to inbound marketing, it most often refers to the promotion of brands via the Internet.

The main tasks of inbound marketing:

• Improve brand awareness
• Generation of new leads
• Increase in sales
• Improve customer loyalty

In general, this is exactly what arbitrageurs value and receive their rewards for.

Benefits of inbound marketing

High accuracy

Inbound marketing is based on accurate segmentation. If you or your targeting specialist set up your audience correctly, your ads will reach exactly the people who need your products or services.

In addition, you have the ability to quickly make changes to ads that don’t work or correct errors in real time.

Performance

Customers and everyone else have access to almost any brand information.

This is especially true for reviews. If earlier, by signing a contract with a dubious real estate agency, you could fall into a trap, now even the slightest mistakes can lead to negative reviews on the Internet that will remain forever.

Benefit for the client

Inbound marketing meets the existing needs of customers, unlike old sales methods, where the product was imposed even on those who did not need it.

Ethical questions about creating needs are left for experts in political economy.

Elevated trust

Social media advertising is more trustworthy than random postcards. You are already “warmed up” and receive useful information that helps to solve your problems.

Customer communities

Social media and forums allow customers to share their opinions about products. Customers can read comments, ask questions, get answers, and make informed purchasing decisions.

Depending on the value of the product, the time to make a decision can vary from seconds to days.

Conclusion

• Inbound and outbound marketing are two different methods of promoting a business or brand.
• Modern business requires an inbound approach, where the company itself seeks its consumer through targeting settings.
• These methods are not mutually exclusive. In 2024, there are examples of companies in Ukraine that successfully use both Outbound and Inbound for promotion.