Despite having the same connection, there are big differences between Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing.
What is Outbound Marketing?
Let’s start with Outbound Marketing, the longest-lived technique in this field. This is the type of traditional marketing that only tries to attract customers to sell them products, without first getting feedback from consumers or providing interactive information that is of interest to them.
Normally, they have a “cold relationship” with the client, since they only focus on the sales of a product and/or service.
Over time, this type of marketing has had some changes, since the budget and other means are expensive and high, and the expected results are not achieved.
What is Inbound Marketing?
This is the type of marketing that allows you to captivate and subtly attract new potential customers, without imposing anything on them.
It is also known as attraction marketing since it uses technical innovations to attract customers in a less intrusive way, that is, less aggressive.
Differences between Inbound and Outbound Marketing:
To better detail and explain how each marketing technique works, we have summarized the main differences between Inbound Marketing and Outbound Marketing.
The methodology they use to convert customers
The first difference between both techniques is the type of methodology they use. Let’s go step by step to understand how they work.
The inbound marketing methodology is focused on the consumer or potential customers, that is, who seek to satisfy their needs, giving them the best so that they can have a wide variety to choose from.
To do this, try to earn their trust by offering entertaining and relevant content. Instead, outbound marketing focuses on the product, that is, they look for ways to highlight features.
In addition, it offers the product and/or service abruptly, which can cause some rejection by the consumer.
Types of techniques to attract customers
In this second point, we will talk about what types of techniques each one uses to attract customers and offer them new products and/or services.
Inbound marketing manages to attract your business customers subtly since it offers content of interest to its audience.
On the other hand, outbound marketing surprisingly interrupts the customer, and it does not arrive at the right time. Even the information it offers may be irrelevant, not convincing you to purchase the product.
Digital channels and traditional channels
Another characteristic that makes a difference is the types of channels they use to transmit their communication messages.
On the one hand, inbound marketing manages to adapt digital channels, such as social networks, and web pages, among others that manage to connect effectively.
Instead, outbound marketing uses traditional channels, such as TV, radio, press, written media, and all mass media. In this case, there is usually a lack of interest from the majority of clients, since not all of them have the same need.
Customer connection with the brand
How do you manage to connect the customer through inbound marketing? This technique uses content that informs and entertains the customer.
And how does outbound marketing manage to connect with customers? Well, in this case, it is the brand that the customer is looking for, the opposite of the prior art.
Budget type
The next difference between inbound marketing and outbound marketing is the budget.
In the case of inbound marketing, the budget is less expensive, since digital channels and digital strategies have different plans, according to the brand’s budget. Thus, your brand can invest in Ads with little money, and have good results.
And what is the budget for outbound marketing? It is much more expensive since traditional channels become more expensive.
Type of communication
The type of outbound marketing communication is unidirectional, that is, it has only one direction, without receiving a channel for feedback.
While the type of inbound marketing communication is bidirectional, that is, two directions manage to establish contact with both the client and the brand. In addition, it is possible to know in depth the needs and opinions of the client.
Methods of informing about the product
There are different methods to inform the customer. For example, outbound marketing only seeks to sell, since it has a commercial focus.
On the other hand, inbound marketing manages to entertain and inform, thus gaining the trust and loyalty of the client.
Metrics and analytics for both types of marketing
Finally, we show you the last difference between both techniques. On the one hand, inbound marketing allows you to know the scope of the results thanks to metrics and analytics.
But, in outbound marketing, it is a little more difficult to achieve the results, since when using traditional channels, the public is massive, and we do not get to know how many potential clients we have obtained unless the customer service area offers you a detailed report.
As we can see, both techniques are used for the same purpose, but the techniques and methods they use change a lot.
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