Today we are going to explore inbound marketing vs. outbound marketing. Inbound marketing (a term coined by Brian Halligan) is a marketing strategy that focuses on getting found by customers. It requires companies to “earn their way in”. An example is publishing a helpful blog. Inbound marketing is a complete contrast to the in-your-face style of marketing known as outbound marketing.

Tired methods of outbound marketing include traditional mailings, purchasing lists, trade shows and cold calling. Although, some forms of traditional outbound marketing may still have a place in your marketing plan, now is the time to consider increasing your inbound marketing strategy. Many forms of outbound marketing are comparable to searching for a needle in a haystack. In this digital age, the idea that you can just throw your message out there and hope that customers will respond is very wishful thinking.

Every day we are inundated with outbound marketing. The average human is presented with over 2000 outbound marketing interruptions a day. As a result, people are finding ways to block these forms of marketing like caller id, satellite radio, Tivo and spam filters.

Why Inbound Marketing?

It costs less! It’s been reported that inbound marketing runs companies over 60% CPL (cost per lead) than outbound marketing. The marketing ROI from inbound campaigns are higher.

Inbound marketing allows you to easily target your customers/potential customers. When you do inbound marketing, you only approach people who self-qualify themselves. They demonstrate an interest in your content, so they are likely to be interested in your products/services.

In the next part of this series we will explore different forms of inbound marketing.