Today, the methods of drumming up Internet business have completely changed. While outbound marketing, such as cold calls, seminars, trade shows and unsolicited emails are still widely used, their effects are not felt as strongly as in the past. This is mainly due to the fact that consumers are bombarded with literally thousands of outbound marketing techniques on a daily basis. As a result, they are constantly finding new ways to ignore the message and completely tune it out, thus negating any effects of outbound marketing techniques. The fact is that using outbound marketing techniques today is almost as pointless as searching for that elusive needle in the haystack.
There is another reason for the poor results of outbound marketing techniques. The cost of searching for information, a product or even an idea is much less expensive through the World Wide Web. The cost of attending a seminar or trade show can be high, whereas a quick search on the internet can provide the needed information at virtually no charge. Additionally, with the introduction of webinars and online workshops, your target audience will likely see no point to travel in order to access information that is readily available from their living room.
If outbound marketing techniques are becoming ineffective, how can you drive new customers to your business? Simply implement the techniques of inbound marketing. Once you learn the process and methods of this technique it will actually make much more sense. Instead of hoping that someone will respond to a commercial or ad, create your website to “get found.” This means that you need to create a website that is essentially a “hub” for your specific niche. This will ensure that you attract visitors due to search engines, social media and the blogosphere. The fact is however, that most marketers today still focus the majority of their efforts on outbound marketing.
The simple fact is that consumers do not access information, products or services the way they did even a decade ago. This has become an instant gratification society. Consumers want what they want, when they want it. This means that a consumer searching for a service or product that you offer wants to be able to put in the one word that is relevant to what they are searching for and instantly be taken to you. The only way that this will happen is if you have created your site to draw these people in. This is done through SEO optimization, a strong social media presence, providing worthwhile content and focusing on your inbound marketing strategies.
While outbound marketing is not going anywhere anytime soon, businesses should seriously consider putting more time, effort and money into inbound marketing strategies. These strategies are definitely a way to achieve long term results that provide consumers what they want as well as give them the ability to find you instead of you having to search for someone who may be interested in what you have to offer. This is the transformation from the interruption of outbound marketing to the permission of inbound strategies, which can also transform the results you see with your marketing strategy.
