eMarket2 Blogs

Inbound vs Outbound – which is more effective at generating new B2B leads? (Part 1)

“I’m clarifying the answer I thought I gave to the question I thought I was being asked.”

Alistair Campbell (at the Chilcot Inquiry).

This is getting to be something of a perennial issue, but judging by how often I’m asked about it, not to mention the huge volume of debate generated in the blogosphere on the subject, it continues to perplex.  So I’ll attempt to come at it from a different angle.  

Just to clarify: outbound marketing involves traditional pipeline management – prospecting for leads using telemarketing, e-marketing and direct mail; inbound, by contrast, is all about allowing your prospects to come to you when they have a need – search engine optimisation, social media, blogging, web video, PPC, etc.  It’s the difference between fishing with a harpoon and fishing with a lobster pot – one requires chasing; the other actively seeks you out.  And the fact is you need to run a programme which involves both methods.

For most businesses, prospects can be divided into two groups: known and unknown.  Outbound is an effective way of generating awareness about your product or service with those prospects you know you want to do business with. You know who they are, and in many cases you’ll know the identities of key decision makers. By actively communicating with and nurturing these prospects, you ensure that your business is at the forefront of their minds when they enter a buying cycle and begin to seek out a supplier.

Inevitably, there are also a significant number of prospects whom you remain unaware of. You know they’re out there, but you can’t communicate with them because you don’t know their identities.  For these prospects, inbound marketing is a highly effective tool.  By developing a broad-based online presence you can create awareness for your business in the very places where these ‘unknown’ prospects congregate. 

Tip: track your keywords

The most successful online marketers invest time and money in developing relevant keywords.  Do the same. Drive the most relevant visitors to your site, blog, etc. Do ongoing research into exactly what your prospects are searching for and give it to them.  Bid on keywords that are so specific they are like sniper shots; unearth those difficult-to-find long tail keywords: they may get few impressions per day, but can still turn out to be the best search phrases and leads you’ll ever get. Write blog articles (like I am doing here) on highly targeted subjects to drive organic search.  

Bear in mind also that although an active outbound / inbound marketing programme is right for the vast majority of businesses, there are occasional exceptions to the rule. For instance, if you’re marketing a unique, obscure or especially unusual product or service then it’s unlikely that people will be searching on your key words and phrases. In these circumstances you’ll be better served by focussing your resources on a highly targeted outbound campaign.  I’ll be continuing with this discussion next time.

Until then…

A newly promoted sales manager was asked by his boss whether he had any strategies for keeping his sales team on their toes. After lengthy consideration, the manager replied, “Raise the urinals?”

That’s it for now. Thanks for reading and, as ever, your comments and ideas are very welcome. 

And always to a higher response!

Norman

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