Outbound and inbound marketing – do you know the difference?
Posted: Mon Dec 23, 2024 5:00 am
In this article, we will briefly discuss the main differences between outbound and inbound marketing strategies and how they can work together .
To begin, let's understand what outbound and inbound marketing are . Both are communication and marketing strategies used in the advertising market.
Inbound Marketing is also known as attraction marketing, in which the customer comes to you through tools that help you attract this lead in an almost spontaneous way. In other words, through content marketing, for example, you attract the person to your website , to fill out a form and convert a material, etc. Content marketing is just one example of the multiple channels used in Inbound. Ultimately, the customer comes to you.
Despite also using digital tools, the central materials used in an Outbound Marketing campaign are more traditional in the advertising universe , such as the use of physical materials.
How does Outbound and Inbound Marketing work in practice?
Before we discuss how these strategies work, it is important whatsapp mobile number database free download to emphasize the importance of good planning. It is within this planning that Outbound and Inbound Marketing actions will be directed; whether one, the other or both will be used.
To do this, you need to know your business very well, the market in which it operates and, of course, your persona. Now let's understand a little about the difference between Outbound and Inbound Marketing and then discuss how each strategy works .
Differences between Outbound and Inbound Marketing
While in Inbound the focus of communication is on producing content that teaches, entertains, establishes relationships that attract and ultimately presents your business as a solution for your client ; in Outbound the focus is more directly on the promotion and direct sale of the product.
A classic difference between the two strategies is that in Inbound the customer looks for your company, while in Outbound your company's sales team looks for the customer.
Within the Inbound communication strategy, there is a two-way street where the marketing and sales teams communicate. In this exchange, the marketing team has the opportunity to listen to the customer, through the statements of the sales team, which is on the front line and understands the demands. And in this context, Outbound operates on a one-way street, where communication is based on research with a more macro perspective; that is, based on the target audience rather than having personalized knowledge of the persona .
Another classic difference is the means of prospecting for the customer to get to know your brand or company. In Inbound, leads or customers are attracted by digital campaigns using:
Search tools
Segmentation for targeted and assertive communication, on the various social media platforms in the online universe, etc.
In Outbound , this prospecting is done in a more random and generalized way in less personalized materials, such as via billboards, flyers and mass advertisements.
And finally, but without exhausting the subject, as there are other differences, are the means and tools to measure results. Inbound has digital mechanisms that calculate click rates, conversion and results metrics that Outbound cannot measure.
So Outbound is offline and Inbound is online? No, that’s not it. Keep reading to understand better.
Inside Outbound Marketing
Remembering that the focus of the Outbound Marketing strategy is to offer products and services directly, the idea of attracting or seeking/prospecting this customer is always active and does not always generate interest in a relationship with the brand or company.
Going back a bit (lol) in the history of advertising , which began in the mid-1800s when TV didn't even exist, we had pamphlets and newspaper ads. At the time, they were used to promote products. Shortly after, with the emergence of radio, came jingles. Taking leaps in history, just to contextualize the origin of the Outbound strategy, TV (black and white) arrived and then color TV, which strongly marked the history of advertising.
Returning to the 21st century, the Outbound marketing strategy uses in its planning:
Radio spot and jingles
Television campaign
Advertisements in print media such as newspapers and magazines
Direct mail
Posters and Billboards
Event sponsorship, among others.
Finally, the most traditional methods follow the evolution of communication media for advertising. But this strategy is not only made up of offline media. Within the Outbound communication planning, you can use digital advertisements such as:
Advertising at the beginning, middle or end of a video on YouTube (this is outbound)
Banner
Non-personalized mass emails
Pop-ups, among others.
All of these are digital, but used in the Outbound strategy. It may seem very traditional or old-fashioned, but Outbound has a lot to do with the profile and strategy of the communication planning for the business. For example, a bakery that is also a café and accepts orders.
It is a business that can benefit from the Outbound strategy with some specific actions*, such as:
Promotional leaflets distributed at the doors of schools near her
A billboard at some strategic point on the way to the establishment indicating that the person is X km away from the location
And even a radio spot on a local station
*It is worth noting that these actions can generate more effective results in a normal scenario. With the current pandemic situation, we recommend greater investment in digital actions.
Speaking of Outbound digital actions, it is possible to enter into an online banner partnership for promotional actions for Christmas or frozen food orders; frozen food makes life much easier for those who continue working but need to cook during the children's vacation period...
These traditional actions, despite not being targeted, will certainly reach at least one target, even if only momentarily . In other words, one person among all those who will be impacted by the communication may be attracted to save that flyer or look for the coffee shop's social networks to place an order. And then, we can take advantage of it to implement the Inbound Marketing strategy.
Exploring Inbound Marketing
Inbound Marketing is known as “attraction marketing” because that is its meaning in free translation. Focused on attracting and retaining customers, the goal of Inbound is to arouse , through digital strategies, the interest of the lead so that they see in your product or service the solution they are looking for. In other words, the customer comes to you without the need for direct and active guerrilla marketing ; not that this doesn’t happen subliminally, okay?
Content marketing is what we can call the “flagship” of Inbound. Without relevant, strategic, targeted and quality content, Inbound does not happen.
Attract – Convert – Close – Retain. How many times have you read about this cyclical funnel of the Inbound strategy? Well, that’s exactly what it is. The other steps are outlined from this funnel.
To attract people, you need to know their interests. Here, we develop a persona so that we can use this profile to develop all communications in a personalized way , hit the target and convert sales.
To begin, let's understand what outbound and inbound marketing are . Both are communication and marketing strategies used in the advertising market.
Inbound Marketing is also known as attraction marketing, in which the customer comes to you through tools that help you attract this lead in an almost spontaneous way. In other words, through content marketing, for example, you attract the person to your website , to fill out a form and convert a material, etc. Content marketing is just one example of the multiple channels used in Inbound. Ultimately, the customer comes to you.
Despite also using digital tools, the central materials used in an Outbound Marketing campaign are more traditional in the advertising universe , such as the use of physical materials.
How does Outbound and Inbound Marketing work in practice?
Before we discuss how these strategies work, it is important whatsapp mobile number database free download to emphasize the importance of good planning. It is within this planning that Outbound and Inbound Marketing actions will be directed; whether one, the other or both will be used.
To do this, you need to know your business very well, the market in which it operates and, of course, your persona. Now let's understand a little about the difference between Outbound and Inbound Marketing and then discuss how each strategy works .
Differences between Outbound and Inbound Marketing
While in Inbound the focus of communication is on producing content that teaches, entertains, establishes relationships that attract and ultimately presents your business as a solution for your client ; in Outbound the focus is more directly on the promotion and direct sale of the product.
A classic difference between the two strategies is that in Inbound the customer looks for your company, while in Outbound your company's sales team looks for the customer.
Within the Inbound communication strategy, there is a two-way street where the marketing and sales teams communicate. In this exchange, the marketing team has the opportunity to listen to the customer, through the statements of the sales team, which is on the front line and understands the demands. And in this context, Outbound operates on a one-way street, where communication is based on research with a more macro perspective; that is, based on the target audience rather than having personalized knowledge of the persona .
Another classic difference is the means of prospecting for the customer to get to know your brand or company. In Inbound, leads or customers are attracted by digital campaigns using:
Search tools
Segmentation for targeted and assertive communication, on the various social media platforms in the online universe, etc.
In Outbound , this prospecting is done in a more random and generalized way in less personalized materials, such as via billboards, flyers and mass advertisements.
And finally, but without exhausting the subject, as there are other differences, are the means and tools to measure results. Inbound has digital mechanisms that calculate click rates, conversion and results metrics that Outbound cannot measure.
So Outbound is offline and Inbound is online? No, that’s not it. Keep reading to understand better.
Inside Outbound Marketing
Remembering that the focus of the Outbound Marketing strategy is to offer products and services directly, the idea of attracting or seeking/prospecting this customer is always active and does not always generate interest in a relationship with the brand or company.
Going back a bit (lol) in the history of advertising , which began in the mid-1800s when TV didn't even exist, we had pamphlets and newspaper ads. At the time, they were used to promote products. Shortly after, with the emergence of radio, came jingles. Taking leaps in history, just to contextualize the origin of the Outbound strategy, TV (black and white) arrived and then color TV, which strongly marked the history of advertising.
Returning to the 21st century, the Outbound marketing strategy uses in its planning:
Radio spot and jingles
Television campaign
Advertisements in print media such as newspapers and magazines
Direct mail
Posters and Billboards
Event sponsorship, among others.
Finally, the most traditional methods follow the evolution of communication media for advertising. But this strategy is not only made up of offline media. Within the Outbound communication planning, you can use digital advertisements such as:
Advertising at the beginning, middle or end of a video on YouTube (this is outbound)
Banner
Non-personalized mass emails
Pop-ups, among others.
All of these are digital, but used in the Outbound strategy. It may seem very traditional or old-fashioned, but Outbound has a lot to do with the profile and strategy of the communication planning for the business. For example, a bakery that is also a café and accepts orders.
It is a business that can benefit from the Outbound strategy with some specific actions*, such as:
Promotional leaflets distributed at the doors of schools near her
A billboard at some strategic point on the way to the establishment indicating that the person is X km away from the location
And even a radio spot on a local station
*It is worth noting that these actions can generate more effective results in a normal scenario. With the current pandemic situation, we recommend greater investment in digital actions.
Speaking of Outbound digital actions, it is possible to enter into an online banner partnership for promotional actions for Christmas or frozen food orders; frozen food makes life much easier for those who continue working but need to cook during the children's vacation period...
These traditional actions, despite not being targeted, will certainly reach at least one target, even if only momentarily . In other words, one person among all those who will be impacted by the communication may be attracted to save that flyer or look for the coffee shop's social networks to place an order. And then, we can take advantage of it to implement the Inbound Marketing strategy.
Exploring Inbound Marketing
Inbound Marketing is known as “attraction marketing” because that is its meaning in free translation. Focused on attracting and retaining customers, the goal of Inbound is to arouse , through digital strategies, the interest of the lead so that they see in your product or service the solution they are looking for. In other words, the customer comes to you without the need for direct and active guerrilla marketing ; not that this doesn’t happen subliminally, okay?
Content marketing is what we can call the “flagship” of Inbound. Without relevant, strategic, targeted and quality content, Inbound does not happen.
Attract – Convert – Close – Retain. How many times have you read about this cyclical funnel of the Inbound strategy? Well, that’s exactly what it is. The other steps are outlined from this funnel.
To attract people, you need to know their interests. Here, we develop a persona so that we can use this profile to develop all communications in a personalized way , hit the target and convert sales.