To talk about the differences between outbound marketing and inbound marketing, it is necessary to remember the definition of Marketing, marketing or marketing, which is nothing more than the method dedicated to analyzing the behavior of markets and consumers. Marketing studies the commercial behavior of companies with the purpose of attracting, retaining and earning the loyalty or fidelity of customers through the satisfaction of their needs.
Now, just as everything has evolved rapidly in recent times, the action of “marketing” does not escape this reality, so to start vibrating in the same frequency, below we present the important differences between both trends, those who pursue the same, doing it with different strategies.
Traditional Marketing or Outbound marketing focuses mainly on sales, where the protagonist is the product and/or service that is offered, its channels of action being the conventional means of mass communication such as direct sales through the press, radio, television, fairs and exhibitions, advertisements or printed materials (POP material), sponsorship, these invasive methods interrupt and, in some cases, cause annoyance to users. Old marketing has aggressive aspects and strategies, based on bringing the product or service closer to the customer.
For its part, Inbound Marketing (attraction marketing) is closely linked to attraction marketing, which is why it induces two-way communication between the company and users, creating a bond of trust with its potential clients by providing valuable content. This individual or personal characterization acts as a magnet that attracts potential customers when they are looking to satisfy a need. Attraction Marketing is based on gaining people’s interest instead of buying it, trying to understand what the customer wants and offering it in an appropriate format.
In summary, through a comparative table a series of marked differences between both strategies have been identified:
| No. | Outbound marketing | Inbound Marketing |
| 1 | Focused on the product or service | Focused on the individual |
| 2 | Breaks into the client | Attracts the customer |
| 3 | Use traditional/digital media | Use digital media |
| 4 | One-way communication | Two-way communication |
| 5 | Reaches the general public | Reach qualified audiences |
| 6 | Looking to sell (Offers little added value) | Seeks to educate and entertain (Provides added value) |
| 7 | Higher cost | Lower Cost |
| 8 | difficult to measure | Measurable results |
1. Focus and objectives
Outbound marketing has an exclusively commercial approach, focusing on products/services and using techniques that are intrusive for users. Their messages are general and focus on getting customers on a massive scale.
Inbound marketing, although its ultimate goal is also sales, focuses on the customer and empowers the user with information, providing them with what they need when they need it in a personalized way, and trying to create a relationship with them throughout the maturation cycle. the client’s.
2. Presence
Outbound marketing applies techniques that disrupt the life of the consumer, potential client or user. This generates systematic behavior in companies and the need to go in search of their potential buyers aggressively.
Inbound marketing attracts the customer like a magnet, allowing users and potential customers to find you on the Internet and learn about your products and services. It is about offering value in a non-intrusive way, this technique seeks to get customers to come to you.
3. Media
Outbound marketing uses traditional mass media such as direct sales through the press, radio, television, fairs and exhibitions, advertisements or printed materials (POP material), sponsorship, among others. Although outbound marketing campaigns can also be carried out on the internet, its methodology does not change and continues to focus on being disruptive and highly visible.
Inbound marketing uses digital media that reach an audience with Internet access because it is more than an option but a necessity. These channels are generally websites, social networks, blogs, online courses, emails, content networks, among others.
4. Communication
Outbound marketing works with a type of linear, one-way communication, where the brand is the sender and the customer is the receiver, with the user being completely passive, directing the message through mass media in order to influence their purchase and where the receiver It does not have the capacity to generate a direct response to the company.
Inbound marketing allows interactive and two-way communication, where customers can send their feedback to brands. Your opinions, doubts, comments can be a wealth of information to improve both the product and/or service, as well as the purchasing experience or the conversion funnel of our clients. It allows direct interaction between the company and the user almost immediately. This type of communication allows you to generate relationships with customers, and adapt behavior based on the person with whom you are interacting. Dialogues are created to generate trust and credibility.
5. Public
Outbound marketing bases segmentation on classic attributes such as age, geographic location, salary, among others.
Inbound marketing is mainly based on interests and needs, as well as demographic characteristics that allow greater precision in reaching the target audience.
6. Strategy (added value)
Outbound marketing uses push strategies, is impersonal and offers little value to users except the differential of the product and/or service compared to its direct competitors. In this sense, the more visible the brand is and the more repeated the message, the aim is to position the product or service at the top of mind.
Inbound marketing tries to attract the customer, seeking to inform, educate and entertain, providing added value to users. Furthermore, one of the main purposes of this methodology is to captivate and engage customers by providing value in all stages of the strategy, to convert them into loyal followers of the brand and surely its promoters.
7. Profitability
In Outbound marketing, the minimum investment in traditional channels is usually high, so the cost per lead is very expensive. The investment of large sums of money is required to hire space for advertisements in the media, be it television, radio, printed material or the Internet.
In Inbound marketing, the prices of the channels used are cheaper, so the cost per lead is lower and the actions to be carried out are more affordable for brands, not requiring large sums of money for their application, as it is less expensive. It is usually the preferred option for small and medium-sized businesses. In addition, this type of marketing can be developed by the entrepreneur himself; with basic knowledge and creativity, it is not usually necessary to hire a separate service.
It is important to keep in mind that although inbound marketing at the beginning can be completely free, if we want to have a greater reach we must have a budget, however this investment will always be less than what may be required in traditional marketing. .
8. Measurement
Outbound marketing does not allow specific measurement of each person who is interacting with your brand, so extrapolation methods are usually used and KPIs cannot be very specific. The results are measurable in terms of mass and do not allow identifying changes for each segment of the public.
Inbound marketing mostly uses one-to-one tracking metrics (lead scoring, workflows, behavior), which allows the measurement of results and the establishment of precise KPIs. The Web 2.0 and 3.0 environment makes it possible to develop applications to measure the impact of actions quickly and accurately and even know consumer opinions on social networks.
Measurement in both strategies represents a key difference, because digital marketing allows us to apply measurement mechanisms and obtain results practically immediately, and its flexibility allows us to modify it instantly based on the results of the measurements.
The boom of inbound marketing
It is important to note that the low popularity of traditional marketing is due to a radical change in customer behavior, due to the control they have over information and how it is received. Invasive or aggressive advertising has tired consumers, who no longer fall prey to television ads, pages with irrelevant advertising or even cold calls from call centers.
The public searches for and wants quality content, which does not sell them a product or service directly, they want to be the one who goes in search of that aspect. The influence of social networks (RRSS) are giving companies potential clients only with the content displayed, without having to be behind them. Not only is the investment lower in costs compared to traditional marketing. In addition, it has high performance compared to old techniques.
Which marketing strategy to use?
Everything will depend on the objective you intend to achieve and the type of communication you want to establish with potential clients. In no case does it mean that both strategies are mutually exclusive, but quite the contrary: in many cases, they are complementary, and can enrich the actions carried out to achieve the expected results.
