What works better? Inbound or outbound marketing?
It might depend somewhat on your goals and who you’re trying to reach. I say that because while I see a lot of people claiming only inbound marketing works (and it REALLY does), I know I’ve bought things marketed to me through direct mail or traditional advertising. So both can work–when they’re done right.
If your target audience really only stays home and reads Cat Fancy, and never gets on the internet, maybe you need outbound marketing (to place print ads). But if you can reach them on YouTube with adorable kitten videos or cute cat pictures that get shared on Facebook, you’re going to get a better response rate for less $$$.
It’s about attracting your ideal clients to you (inbound marketing — search engines, social media, etc.) vs. interrupting them with your marketing message (direct mail, cold calls, etc.).
Check out these great videos from HubSpot!
Junk Mail Doesn’t Work
Cold Calling Doesn’t Work
TV Ads Don’t Work
And if you’re not quite sure on the whole inbound vs. outbound marketing thing, watch this video from Scott Stratten of UnMarketing. You’ve read his book, right? So this is his speaking demo video. It’s too funny not to include here.
Because remember, whether you’re selling your products, your services, or whatever, you’ve got to be able to market and sell in a way that WORKS for you if you want to succeed!
Image Credit: Norebbo/StockFresh
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Thanks for the laughs! That was awesome. Pretty profound statement in Scott’s video: “Why do we market the way we hate to be marketed to?” I always ask that question about pop-ups and people reply, “Because they work.” And I say, “But I hate them!” And people say, “But they work.” And on and on it goes. I tried them for a LITTLE while, but I chose to stop . . . because I hate them :). I think Scott’s question is really valid and one I’ll keep asking about various methods of marketing, no matter what others say (but, I’m a bit of a rebel :)).
LOL Replying as someone who’s got a pop up on my site (but they honestly don’t bug me as long as they only show up occasionally, not every page view, and are easy to get rid of)… I agree with Scott completely. Loved that statement.
I’d never do cold calling, for example, because I *hate* being interrupted by marketers on my phone. That’s the worst possible way to sell me on anything. Plus it’d take years of intensive coaching to get me to be any good at that. LOL
But it’s so true. We kind of park our brains at the door sometimes when it comes to our marketing strategies.
So great work for informing us of the possibilities and following a certain path.
I really appreciate your hard work an giving us some information and inspiring others to follow.
Thanks so much.