Those who are familiar with online marketing might wonder what inbound and outbound marketing is. This refers to the place of origin of the lead, which is where it comes from when it is generated. The question can be answered by asking another one: “Is this a lead that has come to you (inbound) or one that you went out to find (outbound)?”

“Most businesses are using way too much of one and not enough of the other,” said Tad Chefitz, president at Broadsuite Inc. in an article for HubSpot News. “Those who are doing both…are seeing incredible success.”

“Inbound marketing is still king,” according to Sean Malseed of WebpageFX in an article on Inc.com. “Content is king.”

Well-crafted inbound strategies are moving the lead generation process away from data-mining and unsolicited emails towards more personal, relevant experiences with content that is important to potential buyers. However, there are still businesses that rely too heavily on this type of online marketing.

Malseed makes an excellent point when he says that information found online has to be validated with data on the ground. This is why it’s important to have both inbound and outbound marketing strategies because they are inherently different beasts. He states that inbound marketing is not about the time it takes to build trust with customers; it’s about customer acquisition at any cost.

“Inbound is ideal long-term, but if you don’t have the resources or expertise to manage it, outbound can generate immediate results,” said Julie Bacchini of HubSpot in an article for Inc.com. She says that outbound marketing refers to any marketing effort, in whatever form it may take, that you initiate yourself to attract leads.

Bacchini’s definition of outbound marketing suggests that inbound strategies are dependent upon the strength and popularity of a business’ website. However, this need not be true. A company may decide to use expensive, high-profile outbound methods like television ads to promote their products or services when money is no object.

This means that outbound strategies can be used in conjunction with inbound tactics to improve a company’s lead generation process.

Conclusion

Inbound marketing is all about drawing customers towards you rather than pushing products or services outwards from your business. Outbound marketing is any form of business-initiated contact with potential customers.