Inbound marketing is not a fad or an option in today’s business environment. It’s a necessity. Ignore it and you risk putting your business at a serious disadvantage.
But should you discard your existing traditional outbound tactics entirely?
The times are a-changing…
Many businesses are finding that traditional outbound marketing methods – newspaper and TV ads, direct mail, telemarketing, attending trade shows – are not as effective as they were. The reality is that practically everyone has moved online and consumers are increasingly discerning and savvy to the ‘old’ approach.
So, what should you do?
If it works, use it
The short answer is if it still works don’t dump it – it may just need to be refined.
Over the years you may have compiled documents, scripts, sales pitches and in-depth training materials that have yielded real results for your business. All that hard work building up a proven process that produced countless leads should not be dropped. In fact, inbound marketing guru’s Hubspot clearly identify outbound with nearly a quarter of all leads. That is a very respectable chunk of potential business.
“Traditional methods to source leads and customers generate 22% of all leads”
– Hubspot
But you do need to be aware of its limitations.
The limitations of Traditional/Outbound Marketing
Outbound techniques are essentially a one-way form of communication – as opposed to a conversation that could result in a long term relationship being established. They also tend to interrupt what your customers are doing. When you interrupt someone, they are not as likely to be receptive to your message.
What you need to do is ensure your inbound and outbound campaigns complement each other and are working in tandem. How?
Combining Inbound and Outbound Marketing
Here are 3 ways you can achieve this:
Email blasts as a part of your email marketing strategy
2.5 billion people use email worldwide. That’s a quarter of the world’s population. But the ‘old’ way often relied on buying email lists or sending out untargeted blasts to thousands of people – otherwise known as spam.
Rather focus on building your email list organically. Then use tried and tested email marketing techniques, with clear, concise and catchy messaging that entices your readers to click on one of your CTA links that brings them to your website.
Incorporate visual marketing and gain an advantage
When people hear information, they’re likely to only remember 10% of that information three days later. However, if paired with a visual aid, people retained 65% of the information.
If you attend trade shows, increase your chances of walking away with more leads by including visual and moving content to your presentation. Use TV monitors to display short clips of your service or product. Make them educational and entertaining to spark conversation. Why not make an animated video to simplify how your business works?
Add direct links to your website/landing page on your direct mailings/print ads.
Some marketers will tell you that direct mailing is a waste of time and effort. according to a USPS study, over 60% of direct mail recipients were influenced to visit the promoted website – with the greatest influence on first-time shoppers.
So make sure your print ads and flyers have your website address clearly displayed. Once they are on your site, dazzle them with creative content, easy to navigate formatting and a unified call to action. This will all help to reduce your bounce rate and enhance your conversion rate. This is also where great web design and presence is crucial.
And to summarise…
If your outbound marketing strategy is the best way your company can succeed, don’t stop doing what you are doing. These simple tweaks can help to amplify them and make sure you get an extraordinary return.
What do you think? What outbound techniques still deliver for your business? Love to hear your thoughts below.
