Which type of marketing is better – inbound or outbound – is a debatable topic. Although both marketing tactics are useful depending on the nature of your business, inbound marketing has become a fad.
Outbound marketing is an approach to send a message to the audience even though it is not interested. In other words, you can say it as interruption marketing. TV commercials, radio ads, leaflets, brochures, flyers, catalogues and magazines are some of the famous examples of outbound marketing.
Inbound marketing is the reverse of it. It is an approach of attracting, engaging and delighting users. They will find you when they need a solution. There is no denying that inbound marketing is far better when it comes to generating leads within a budget.
If you are looking forward to moving from outbound to inbound marketing, you should consider the following steps:
Switch to Permission-Based Emails
Direct emailing to customers sounds unprofessional and unethical. It seems frustrating to the recipients. Bombarding the inbox with unwanted emails is not going to take your anywhere. Users will unsubscribe you to not wanting to hear from you.
If you do not want to bargain away your money, you should switch to permission-based emails. Set up a pop up on your website to allow users to subscribe for newsletters, updates, offers and schemes. Your traditional marketing efforts will go in vain if customers do not show genuine interest in your product or service.
Once you have a list of subscribers, it is likely to generate genuine prospects. You will get more opportunities to connect with your audience. When you send in a discount offer, they will be more likely to buy your product or service because they must have been following you ever since they subscribed to your email list.
Move From Print Ads To Social Media Ads
With so many people using social media sites, it makes sense to invest in social media ads. TV commercials aim at a general audience while social media ads aim to reach out to target audience. Social media ads are far cheaper than print ads, and they allow you to get a higher return on investment.
Even if you are a start-up, you can start investing in social media ads. In case you do not have a budget, you can take out very bad credit loans with no guarantor. Social media algorithms let you know how many users viewed your ad and took the decision to buy your product or service, which is not plausible in case of print ads.
Switch From Seminars to Webinars
Gone are the days when you would have to step out to make arrangements to host seminars. You are living in the era of the internet, and hence you should make the most of it. Spending numerous resources on travelling around the world to spread the message that you can do online does not make a sense.
Webinars are more engaging and worthwhile than seminars. People do not have to travel anywhere, and all they need is a laptop and internet connection. You can engage with your audience and answer their questions.
Hire An Inbound Marketing Agency
Though inbound marketing drives more results than outbound marketing, you must have enough knowledge to analyse where it is going. You need to continually brainstorm new ideas to attract, engage and delight customers.
If you are struggling to attract new customers or you do not know how to start, you should hire an inbound marketing agency. Their inbound marketing services will help your customers find you and communicate with you. Hiring services of such agencies can cost you an arm and a leg, but it will benefit you in the long run. In case of a cash shortfall, unsecured loans for bad credit can be an ideal option.
Inbound marketing can help you have a higher return on investment, but it does not allow for complete extirpation of outbound marketing. It depends on the type of your business and audience.
Inbound marketing allocates all of your resources effectively and helps you take measurable actions to make the most of it, which is not possible with outbound marketing. With inbound marketing, you can experience each phase of the buying journey of your customer and make efforts to improve customer experience.
To move from outbound to inbound marketing, you should try to send on-request emails instead of push emails, maintain your presence on social media to ensure that you are quick to understand what your customers need from you.
