Inbound Marketing Vs. Outbound Marketing: Which is Better?

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In the marketing world, the debate between inbound marketing and outbound marketing is still ongoing. Both sides both have their ups and downs.

However, for someone who is not yet familiar with these two, deciding on what to prefer could be challenging. But there is no need to fret if you are caught in this dilemma. We have written down below a simple guide in understanding the two, which will ultimately help you choose.

What is Inbound Marketing?

Let us begin by defining the two terms.

Inbound marketing is a new marketing approach that attempts to entice potential customers with interesting content. In here, you can safely call on content marketing as part of it. Some examples are the following:

  • Blog posts
  • Social media
  • Infographics
  • Whitepapers
  • Email newsletters

Simply put, inbound marketing aims at the modern buyer who, on average, do 70% of their own research about a product before buying or contacting the company. It is, therefore, letting your product be naturally discovered when customers are looking, not forcing them even if they are not interested. It follows the Buyers’ Journey, which is a natural process a modern buyer goes through when searching online for a solution.

What is Outbound Marketing?

On the other hand, outbound marketing is a more traditional marketing approach. It is basically just another term for “traditional advertising methods”. Therefore, you can expect to see the following:

  • Television and radio advertising
  • Print advertising
  • Telemarketing
  • Direct mail
  • Outdoor advertising
  • Cold calling

As you may have noticed, outbound marketing is an interruptive kind of marketing. It tends to push itself to the audience no matter if the audience wants it or not. The aim of outbound marketing is trying to reach as many people as possible. Instead of people to naturally come to the business, it goes and presents itself to them.

The rise of the Internet has obviously lessened the impact of outbound marketing.

Which of the Two is Better?

The question begs to find which between inbound and outbound marketing is better. The answer to this may sound disappointing. But we are going to say it anyway: it depends.

Both marketing approach has its own advantages and disadvantages. This also greatly depends on the situation and environment of the marketer. And it would be unfair to cancel one out for the other.

So to give both their credits, let us learn both of their strengths

Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is best because it provides value to your prospects. It is educational and often non-promotional. Inbound marketing is best in how it respects the Buyer’s Journey.

Therefore, if you aim to make a good impression on potential customers, then inbound marketing is the one for you.

Outbound Marketing

For outbound marketing, the good thing about it is that it has the ability to promote the business to a large number of people quickly. It definitely could gain the business its much-wanted visibility.

However, marketers have to be cautious not to overwhelm and turn people off. Also, outbound marketing could ask you to spend more.

For many small businesses, we recommend starting off with an inbound marketing approach as it is cheaper and tends to be more effective in the long run. To find out how our strategies can help your business, get in touch today.