The ongoing buzz about inbound marketing, and its potential to generate organic leads has made it a preferred choice among present-day marketers and business owners.
The rise in content marketing, social media marketing, video marketing, etc., has further made inbound methods a much more appealing, cost-effective, and profitable option.
In fact, present-day marketing has become a synonym for content creation & social media.
Does that mean the scope of outbound marketing has been reduced? Has outbound marketing lost its relevancy? Is it dead now?
These questions are constantly asked and lots of debate and discussion are common these days. Companies like HubSpot advocate inbound marketing to an extreme level and implement them in the majority of their marketing efforts.
Does that mean, they don’t run paid ads? Are they completely untouched by outbound marketing strategies? What about those benefits that are possible only with outbound marketing?
Can inbound marketing completely replace outbound marketing?
In outbound marketing, there is a high chance that people may notice your products/services through TV ads, print media, or YouTube ads. It guarantees brand awareness.
Even Brian Halligan (co-founder of HubSpot) who coined the term “inbound marketing” has admitted,
“If you are not using ads in your marketing mix, you are likely not doing everything you can to help your customers.”
If you are still confused about the effectiveness of outbound in today’s scenario then, read this blog till the end to find its relevancy.
Starting with what outbound marketing is.
What is Outbound Marketing?
Outbound marketing is considered “traditional marketing” where a company initiates conversation with potential customers to attract and convert them.
Cold calling, mass emails, event sponsorships, radio, print media, trade shows, paid ads, and door-to-door selling is some examples of outbound marketing.
The goal of outbound marketing is to build a relationship through engagement and targeted communication. With outbound marketing, companies throw a net and hope to gain customers by continuously showcasing their products or services.
This process is also referred to as the “spray and pray” method of marketing. The sales team is responsible for taking follow-ups and developing business relationships with these potential customers.
Click here to read: All about guerilla marketing and its strategies
Advantages of Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing is a bit more expensive than other forms of marketing. However, organizations still spend more than 80% of their budget on outbound marketing as it offers a guarantee in some way.
For instance, when you invest in ads or cold emailing methods, there is a higher chance that the maximum number of people will see it and may consider buying.
The older generation still considers TV or newspaper and often gives a positive response to door-to-door selling while the modern generation has shifted towards social media platforms before purchasing any product.
A few benefits of outbound marketing are mentioned below:
- Aids in brand awareness with the help of mass media and email marketing.
- Helps in developing preference psychology in the customer’s mind by repeatedly displaying your products.
- Supports word-of-mouth marketing and hence lead generation.
- It provides a guarantee to reach people and gives a good ROI.
Outbound marketing can become more effective by having a relevant and large amount of data to attract customers. It can be the first step in marketing strategy to introduce your brand.
As said by Mr. Vitthal Jagtap (Co-Founder and CMO of Avis Pixel),
“When any organization wants to initiate new products/ Services in the market viz the first time in India or their state. Outbound marketing is the best solution for the same because their short goal is not to generate the leads from the first day itself.
Companies or organizations want to stable their products in the market by doing branding activities. They want more people should know about their new products/services via cold-calling, cold-emailing, direct mail, billboards, event sponsorships, tradeshow presentations, advertising through TV, radio, print and online, etc”.
There are several outbound marketing strategies that a company may consider to gain new customers.
6 Most Effective Outbound Marketing Strategies
It is difficult to achieve success in marketing without having a good strategy. Therefore, here are some proven outbound marketing techniques that can help in boosting the sales and marketing aspects of your business.
1. Cold Emails
Again for this strategy, you need to research the data of your prospects. Emails are sent in bulk form to the prospects in a hope that they will revert and may be converted into leads.
It should not be repetitive that it goes straight to spam. Instead, it should stand out and some discount offers should be there so that a consumer feels like clicking on it.
According to a report, 70% of marketers still prefer sending emails to attract customers.
Point to consider: Always conduct thorough research before reaching out and personalize your outreach.
2. Cold Calls
The primary purpose of outbound marketing is to get quantity by reaching new audiences. However, a quality conversation is also important to engage your customers by giving out the details of your product.
To achieve this strategy, you should have a huge prospect list, reliable software where all data are kept and a customer executive who knows who to engage them.
3. Paid Ads
This strategy is expensive but helps in acquiring a large audience. It is the way of displaying your products and subconsciously influencing the consumers to buy your product.
Some creativity is also needed to make ads appealing rather than annoying. Online search ads have proven to deliver a higher ROI in recent years due to SERPs.
4. Direct Mails
It is a traditional method of sending mail through postcards or advertisement letters. This method is also known as “Direct mail marketing” and is helpful when your business is not fully online. Direct mails have an engagement rate of 10-15% according to last year’s reports.
It provides a medium to target specific customers in a way that grabs their attention and makes them feel more personal while showing that a company can help them digitally or non-digital way.
5. Trade Shows
It is about conducting events or participating in trade fairs to display your products and inform the consumers about your brand. Networking is the key here. People do business with people they already know and trust them.
Industries like automobiles still showcase their latest models in trade shows and convey all the details. This method will give you great exposure that helps in building new connections.
Proper planning and budgeting are needed to build this strategy.
6. Mass Media
TV, Radio, and Print Media
This is the oldest and most commonly used strategy for displaying your products through mass media.
It is a one-way method but covers a large audience. The average audience between the 50-65 age groups spends at least 2 hours a day on TV or Radio.
People read newspapers first in the morning, so it is also relevant to consider it for your marketing campaign. Magazines, pamphlets, flyers, and brochures are the most common types of print media.
Point to consider: Understand the demographics and display ads with creativity.
These were the 6 strategies of outbound marketing that are still relevant. Though they are a bit costly, a higher ROI can be expected from them in terms of capturing the masses.
Also read: The interview of Meera V about storytelling and marketing
A New and Reliable Approach to Outbound Marketing
Outbound marketing can be proved valuable to your marketing efforts when done correctly with proper planning and strategies. Some new approaches are there that can be considered to get the best from this marketing method.
1. Conduct surveys through questionnaires and deploy focus groups
Due to the one-way nature of outbound marketing, it is not possible to get immediate feedback or leads. So, companies should conduct surveys and focus groups to get feedback and modify their strategies.
2. Give more personal touch during cold calling
People might think that cold calling is dead but that’s not true. It is still very much alive and can be effective in your marketing mix. It’s just that you have to make it more fun and treat your prospects like a human rather than some name on the list.
3. Combine inbound tactics with outbound
Yes, you heard it right.
Inbound marketing is great but if your customers are not aware of your brand or product then how are they going to search for it?
Therefore, one solid solution is to combine both tactics such as increasing awareness of your brand through outbound methods of paid media and then building a connection with your lead prospects through blogs or emails.
This hybrid technique will also help in narrowing down your potential customers. It will speed up your marketing process.
Conclusion
It’s not wrong to admit that outbound marketing may have a positive or negative effect on consumers; it can either attract customers or estrange them.
Therefore, it’s important to make an ironclad strategy by doing some research on recent trends and customers’ demands. Do not over-use a single medium or repetitive emails that might irritate your potential leads.
You can take help from the above-mentioned strategies to incorporate them into your overall marketing approach.
