What is outbound marketing and how does it apply?

What is outbound marketing?

Outbound marketing: Definition

Outbound marketing or “outgoing marketing” in French, is a term that includes all the communication actions that are taken by a company to Broadcast a message to its customers. Sometimes, we also see the definition of “traditional marketing” or “push marketing” to refer to this type of approach.

In the early days of corporate advertising, this concept did not exist. It was said that a brand or a company simply communicated. That is to say, she created a paper advertisement in a newspaper or a poster on the street for example.

‍ But today we are talking about outbound marketing in a context where there is alsoInbound marketing with the appearance of new tools and a new way of maintaining relationships with prospects/customers. Inbound marketing refers to actions that are taken by brands in order not to broadcast a message head-on to their customers or prospects (example: the use of content marketing).

‍ Concretely, today outbound marketing uses several processes: e-mailing campaigns, presentations at trade shows, telephone prospecting, TV advertising... In this case, the aim is to talk about your company or product so that potential customers receive the advertising messages.

We're going to go get the customer, rather than the customer coming to us.

The levers of outbound marketing

For Do outbound marketing and thus make itself known to the greatest number of people, a company has two choices:

1. Or she uses digital tools ;
2. Or does it call on physical tools ;

Here are some examples of techniques that can be used:

Social networks (sponsored ads and targeted campaigns) - a channel so important that it will be the subject of a dedicated article on Social Media Marketing;

• E-mailing and mobile marketing campaigns (SMS);
• The insertion of sponsored links on social media publications;
• The creation of Google Adwords campaigns;
• ...

Examples of physical actions:

• Ads on TV, in the press or on the radio;
• Display advertising (street marketing);
• Trade shows;
• Les press relations (press releases);
• Commercial prospecting with the Cold Calling ;
• ...

Outbound marketing vs inbound marketing: Which strategy should you focus on?

We mentioned it earlier: we often talk about outbound marketing in opposition to inbound marketing (inbound marketing or pull marketing). However, these two concepts have the same objective: promote a business and convince its prospects to offer their services or products.

Inbound marketing would be more profitable or easier to implement. True, but not always. You almost want to say: it depends! 😉

Moreover, outbound marketing can still offer good results. See a few of the ads in the streets or on TV. The latter always have an impact. Likewise, coming to meet your prospects at a trade show is always current.

In reality, inbound marketing is an extension of outbound marketing. The techniques used with inbound have been deployed with the advent of digital technology: content strategy on social networks, on websites, podcasts, organization of webinars... Anything that may concern a marketing strategy in due form.

The art of a good communication strategy is therefore based on these two complementary approaches. Talk about yourself head-on, as with traditional marketing, to make yourself known. But also opt for more interactive communication to let the customer come to you and answer their questions via inbound.

Outbound marketing: pros and cons

The benefits of outbound marketing

Outbound marketing is a technique that has been used for many years and it is still proving its worth.

First, a well-crafted advertisement, which would be funny or poignant, for example, can make it possible toAttract attention on his brand. Better: advertising has the power to create a need in your prospect.

Indeed, by playing on the strings of sensitivity or lack, an advertisement can cause a need to emerge in an individual who was not necessarily aware of it (example: an advertisement for a tourist destination arousing a desire to escape).

Additionally, outbound advertising is ideal for Work on your brand reputation. By getting people talking about yourself, via an advertisement in a local newspaper, on radio or on 4x3 ads in the subway, you draw light on your brand!

The more varied the channels, the more the brand remains visible and in the lead. A media campaign offers short-term results, for the duration of the operation, but it can contribute to create the success of a business over the long term.

Finally, outbound marketing can offer unequalled visibility to a brand. The ad can be seen/read/heard by millions of people.

For example, the return on investment The average cost of an advertising campaign broadcast on television is €5.6. That is to say that for €1 of advertising spent, it generated a turnover of €5.6 (Source: France TV Pub study SNPTV/Ekimetrics).

The disadvantages of outbound marketing

If theOutbound marketing has undeniable advantages, you must also be aware of your limits before starting.

The first disadvantage of this type of marketing is the prizes that it involves. An advertising campaign involves high expenses. Placing your brand on billboards in a city and making it visible to everyone is certainly effective, but expensive.

This is why this type of investment is often reserved for businesses that already have a significant marketing budget.

At the same time, it's important to understand that outbound marketing is not as targeted as inbound marketing.

This means that your brand is going to be exposed to a large number of individuals. But be careful:

• You don't know exactly who will be affected by the ad. The Targeting is not accurate ;
• You'll be sending a message that may not be well received if the person doesn't want to buy at all when they see your ad. The Followed by Funnel marketing is impossible with this type of communication campaign.

You will lack data on leads generated : they can be important but it is often complex to estimate the precise ROI (return on investment) of a general and non-personalized advertising campaign.

How to take advantage of outbound marketing?

Define the right tools

Outbound marketing, especially with digital technology, offers great opportunities for businesses. Here are some techniques to consider to develop your reputation:

• The paid referencing with Google Ads: you can show paid ads on search engines. So conversions and leads can be instant! To succeed, consider creating well-optimized sales pages on your site with calls-to-actions. In addition, choose your keywords strategically: it will be more complicated to achieve results on a very competitive keyword.

• THEEmail marketing with marketing automation relies on the creation of marketing emails based on the behaviors of prospects or customers. For example, you can offer promotional content at certain times of the year. The art of email marketing is initially under the purview of outbound marketing because we use the email medium to spread a message. But, today, it is important to integrate a real reflection on the content of your e-mailing campaigns. We therefore cross the two techniques of inbound and outbound marketing.

• The mobile marketing or SMS marketing consists in sending advertising SMS messages to a mailing list. While a text message can be very relevant, it can also be very disturbing! You must therefore make sure to target your messages well and to send your message at the right time.

• La advertising on social networks (Social ads) is based on the distribution of advertisements on various social networks (Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, etc). This outbound marketing technique offers many possibilities: an advertisement can appear on a prospect's news feed, in a story, etc. Targeting options are also very precise on social networks. To succeed, you must therefore choose the right social network and have the right targeting according to your core target audience.

Avoid the use of buying lists

With outbound marketing, it can be tempting to want to test everything out as quickly as possible. ”Well, what if we bought email lists to advertise our new offer?...” Very bad idea!

Before deploying an e-mailing or SMS campaign, you must first know the legal framework. The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went through this. And now it's clear: we don't play with personal data.

The practice of buying telephone numbers or e-mails is prohibited and may result in criminal proceedings.

Between us, sending a message to people who don't know you yet—or who haven't consented to receive your promotional offers—would be absolutely ineffective. We already told you: the key to success is to target well and to send your messages at the right time!

✅ Adopt the right actions. Here's the basics:

• Set up an opt-in “I agree to receive information from the company...” to collect user consent;
• All marketing emails should contain a link to unsubscribe from the subscription list;
• SMS marketing integrates the concept of “STOP ADVERTISING”.

Adapting a 4C approach centered on the customer and not on the product

To successfully hit the mark during your outgoing communications, adopt the 4C approach. This concept is clear: listen to your customer rather than completely focused on your product.

The principles of the 4C approach:

• Customer needs (customer needs): it is necessary to put yourself in the customer's shoes and to fully understand their desires, expectations and requirements. You will be in a better position to be able to provide him with an ideal solution.
• Cost to Satisfy (price of satisfaction): being well aware of the customer's resources and especially the reasonable price they are ready to pay for your service or product is important.
• Convenience of Buying (ease of purchase): by focusing on your customer rather than their product, you must be able to set up a smooth purchase tunnel. It is necessary to anticipate what could constitute an obstacle to the purchase for the consumer (for example: too high shipping costs).
• Communication : to better interact with your customers and prospects, focus on people: listen to the signals they send you (messages on social networks, customer feedback) and adapt your communication accordingly.

Determine precise targeting to further tailor your messages

Finally, to succeed in outbound marketing, you must above all Know your target customers and prospects well.

Whenever you get the chance, gather information about them. This will help you communicate better in the future. You will be able to have finer messages that are better adapted to your target audience.

If you already have your first customers, do not hesitate to ask for telephone interviews or to send out satisfaction surveys. If you don't have customers yet, see how your competitors communicate to get an idea of which communication channels to invest in.

Knowing your target audience well will always be the best way to communicate successfully.