Tag: lead generation

  • Do Outbound and Inbound Lead Generation Have Anything in Common?

    Do Outbound and Inbound Lead Generation Have Anything in Common?

    Leads are the life source of every business. But getting them can be a real challenge, especially if you’re using the wrong marketing methods.

    Now, there are two forms of marketing brands use to boost their business – outbound and inbound lead generation. A lot of companies juggle between the two and some marketers will even say one is better than the other.

    In most cases, outbound marketing gets a bad rap, but don’t give up on it just yet. In this article, we’re going to go over what inbound and outbound marketing have in common and how (or if) you should use the two.

    Let’s take a closer look.

    What is Outbound Lead Generation?

    First, let’s review what outbound marketing is all about. Outbound marketing is oftentimes referred to as disruptive marketing. This is because you’re contacting prospects directly, which may disrupt whatever they’re doing at the time.

    For instance, giving a prospect a call, text, or email while they’re washing dishes or watching TV. Back in the day, knocking on someone’s door was a popular method for outbound salespeople. But because of the intrusion it imposes on consumers, it received a bad reputation.

    This is especially true for the businesses that abused this method and made consumers hate it.

    So a lot of the focus went to inbound lead generation.

    What is Inbound Lead Generation?

    You can look at inbound marketing as the exact opposite of outbound. In this case, prospects are coming to you, rather than you going to them. This sounds like a gold mine but isn’t always easy to pull off.

    One way to get inbound leads reaching out to your brand is to use incentives or information trails that they can follow to your business. This allows consumers to choose whether they want to interact with your brand and when.

    Now, there are various ways you can get inbound leads. Two of the most powerful tools you can leverage today are search engines and social media platforms.

    The issue is your content trail ages quickly on these channels so it requires consistency in your posts. But that’s the beauty of using content marketing, which is a form of inbound marketing.

    Next, let’s take a look at the similarities and differences between inbound and outbound lead generation.

    What’s the Difference Between the Two?

    Here’s a quick look at what you’ll get with outbound lead generation:

    • You choose when interactions occur
    • You choose the medium where the interactions occur
    • The campaign duration is finite
    • The campaign has short-term, but higher costs
    • Main mediums used included phone, web, direct mail, and email
    • Skills needed include planning, graphic design, internet, and copywriting

    Next, let’s review how inbound lead generation is:

    • Prospects choose when they interact with you
    • Prospects choose the medium used for the interaction
    • The campaign duration is indefinite
    • The campaign cost is long-term but lower
    • The main mediums used include social media, web, search engines, and email
    • Skills needed are same as outbound marketing and SEO, social media, and internet marketing

    Now that you understand the differences, let’s see what the two have in common.

    How Are Inbound and Outbound Marketing the Same?

    Inbound and outbound lead generation have key areas in common. For example, the objectives are the same – to get more traffic/calls to increase conversions.

    Both require an understanding of the core audience so the campaign is successful. Also, the two fair better when you use incentives to motivate consumers to act.

    Last, lead nurturing is essential on both fronts, which can help convert more prospects into customers.

    Which Should You Choose for Your Business?

    If there’s one thing you’ll learn about business marketing it’s that there’s no black or white. In many cases, there’s black, white, gray, blue, and a host of other variations.

    There’s no definitive method a business can use to get great results because there are so many factors at play. For instance, the audience demographic and location, the product/service you’re selling, and the mediums you can reach your audience on.

    This is why it’s recommended that you use all available options to test and see what works best for your audience and brand. You may find that a nice combination of inbound and outbound works well for converting your prospects.

    Also, keep in mind that inbound marketing yields long-term results.

    How You Can Use Both in Your Lead Generation Strategy

    Now, there are many ways you can combine inbound and outbound lead generation in your strategy. For instance, you can have a blog and social media accounts to promote your blog content on.

    And while that’s generating traffic to your blog, each post has a call to action to convert visitors into a subscriber or buyer.

    At the same time, you can use outbound marketing, such as email marketing. All the subscribers you convert from your blog are sent an email directly.

    You can promote your content, share tips, and offer discounts on your products or services. But this is just one type of strategy you can use by mixing both forms of lead generation.

    There are many different ways you can remix and add to it so definitely play around with your options!

    Getting Lead Generation for Your Business

    What’s great about the internet is that it makes it easy for brands to market their products and services. However, you need a solid strategy to make it work.

    Unless you have experience or the time to learn all there is to know about marketing and inbound lead generation, you should hire a pro.

    The experts at Hyper Target Marketing offer a range of services that can help boost the traffic and conversions for your business. This includes PPC campaigns, SEO, social media, pay per call services.

    If you’d like to learn more about how we can help grow your brand, then contact us today

  • Generational Bias May Not Be Founded

    “Know your audience” is the marketing industry’s equivalent to Socrates’ directive “gnothi seauton” (though perhaps marketing could use a little more self-awareness from time to time).

    Know your audience. It sounds like a simple imperative, especially when big data allows us to see trends that in the past would have seemed unfathomable or strictly hypothetical. This understanding is even more available when we consider all the interactions that occur publically across different social media platforms, providing direct feedback on our marketing efforts.

    Understanding your audience is essential during the brainstorming process before launching a marketing campaign. However, from a practical standpoint it is necessary to know where that audience resides. Traditionally choosing a platform for a particular marketing campaign has relied heavily on demographics, such as using print media and television for Baby Boomers and social for Millennials. But as hinted at in our previous post on multi-pronged marketing, and expounded upon by Liane Dietrich in her recent post on Marketing Land, this arbitrary division of different platforms should come to an end.

    We (Were) the Future

    Oldmancafe
    (via Unsplash.com by Jeff Sheldon)

    Liane writes, “Cross-device behavior is often seen as being associated with Millennials. This young, tech-savvy demographic group of digital natives is known for using multiple platforms to connect with brands, research, and shop for products.” As a member of Generation-Y myself, I understand the point that she makes here. I use Twitter for social interactions, LinkedIn for business networking and Netflix for entertainment. Not only that, my entire career has taken place sitting in front of a computer screen (a little sad, but true).

    Often times the driving force behind this level of engagement across different platforms comes from a generational desire to do things better, more efficiently and to not heed the warnings and advice of earlier generations (for better or worse). In fact, old media in some ways has been dubbed “old” because of its association with its primary demographic. I remember one time when I wanted to get a new bed. I mentioned something about it at a family dinner to my grandmother. One week later, she came back to the house with a bundle of newspaper clippings of different beds. Little did she know that earlier that week, I got a bed off Craigslist, ordered sheets from Ikea and had a custom pillow made on Etsy.

    Change is Happening (Not Where You’d Expect)

    Whether due to the increasing integration of “things” with the internet, increased exposure, or negative feedback like the situation described above, the demographics of those using multiple platforms is changing. According Liane, a study done by ComScore reveals that people over the age of 55 are now the fastest growing group of multi-platform adopters. So it high time that we abandon our preconceptions about where our target audience is. We live in a global society, but it is important to not forget about the generational diversity that exists across different marketing platforms.

  • The Benefits of a Multi-Pronged Marketing Plan

    Fact: Every business needs customers. That goes undisputed. Generating qualified leads should be in the fore mind of every person working in the digital marketing sphere. This circle continues to expand as traditional marketing disciplines finally shuck their aversion to going all-in with digital services.

    “By 2019, 35% of ad spending will be online. Digital marketing is getting to be a bigger piece of the pie — and that means that traditional marketing and advertising agencies are moving into the digital space in a big way.”

    – Moz webinar (4/7/15)

    Photo via Unsplash.com by Todd Quackenbush
    Photo via Unsplash.com by Todd Quackenbush

    Changing of the Guard

    This is so true. Many old-school PR and advertising agencies have struggled to embrace the online marketplace. I remember in the mid-1990’s when most companies thought “this whole having-a-website thing” was a passing fad. Furthermore, popular sentiment back then was businesses that included a URL in their marketing materials or ads were thought to be pandering to a silly trend.

    My, how things have changed! Marketing and advertising are the latest industries to fall prey to the “how-the-heck-do-we-go-digital” trap, but these industries are certainly not alone in their battle to stay relevant.

    Print media (book, magazines, and other periodicals) and entertainment (traditional television, the entire distribution system of both music and film) have struggled with this evolution for the last 20 years, with no end in sight.

    These industries, and many others, have to continually reinvent themselves. The threat of becoming obsolete has proved to be a real one. Trying to compete with the constant barrage of new ideas and platforms is tough. Staunchly holding on to outdated, conventional methods and hoping the “trend” will pass isn’t a recommended strategy.

    So, what are the recommended strategies then? With all the online chatter, what’s the best way to stand out from the crowd? What does a thorough marketing plan really need?

    The Multi-Pronged Approach

    Luckily, the best marketing strategy is a comprehensive one: a plan that includes both modern marketing methods and long-established promotional techniques. There are plenty of ways to spread the word online: SEO, pay-per-call/click,  mobile promotions, link building, social media advertising, PR campaigns, pre-video snippets, native or sponsored content, banner ads… The list goes on.

    The goal is to get your brand or message in front of the right set of eyes. The goal is to target consumers who are already actively interested in your product or service. But this must be done in a natural way.

    We live in a consumer culture. Some people get squeamish when human beings are referred to as “consumers”. But hey – I buy things. I’m a customer, a purchaser, a user of services. I consume, therefore, I’m a consumer. I’m fine with that. It’s far preferable to legislators referring their constituents as “taxpayers”. But I digress.

    Furthermore, I don’t mind being “targeted” when I’m actually on the hunt for something – whether that be granite countertops, red cowboy boots, or a refinance on my mortgage. The objective of any marketing company is bringing together those who provide, and those in need – regardless of specific industry.

    Make your marketing/advertising campaigns count. If you put the needs and desires of people in the forefront of your mind, qualified leads and conversions will follow.