What is the Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing?

An Easy Way To Understand The Difference Between Inbound and Outbound Marketing Strategies

Imagine a game of darts where there are two players and 6 darts. It can be assumed that each player gets 3 darts. But, in this particular game, player one has the money to pay for four additional darts where player two decides to use what he has been given. They decide player one goes first. He is so confident with his investment he barely looks at the target as he throws all seven darts at once. He looks back, dismayed, to see that only 2 have taken hold on the edges of the board. Player two readies himself, taking time to plan where and how to throw his darts. All three times he reaches closer to the bull’s eye than player one could ever have reached throwing them all at once. This analogy is the main difference between outbound and inbound marketing.

The Main Difference

In their most basic terms, Inbound Marketing is targeted toward specific audiences and is shown to generate leads, sales, and growth while Outbound Marketing is a more traditional method meant to broadcast to a mass audience.

The epitome of outbound marketing is pushing a message as far out as possible. This method values quantity. The logic behind it is that the more people that are reached, the higher the rate of potential customers receive the message. While the logic is sound, a key part of this method is the consumer actually receiving the message. Think about it, how often do consumers read their junk folder, pick up telemarketing calls, refrain from skipping commercials, or pay attention to advertisements in the mail. In this day in age, most (if not all) of these methods are met with indifference at best and resistance at worst.

Quality over Quantity

Quality and quantity are the deep distinction between these two methods. Inbound marketing is focused on pinpointing audiences and pulling them in – “permission-based marketing.” There are two large premises at the center of inbound; first, communication through mediums you have been given permission to communicate through and, secondly, answering questions people ask and publishing those answers in anticipation of common questions. It is fairly easy to get permission and keep it when asking to communicate through subscription-based email marketing, social media, blog subscription, etc. The best part is, if they do unsubscribe from your communication you can now put your time and resources into communicating with quality customers who are interested in what you have to say.

Always Remember

The world’s attention is a very precious thing. Audiences are becoming more disenchanted with big billboards, commercials, and radio ads. The internet has revolutionized the way we interact with customers. The Inbound Marketing Era is upon us and has been for a bit of time. Don’t be afraid to choose quality over quantity.

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the differences between inbound and outbound marketing, discover these Online Marketing Trends That Cannot Be Ignored.