Is outbound marketing dead? The answer is clear: no!
Despite the rise of inbound marketing, this strategy still has a bright future ahead of it. The secret is knowing which techniques to employ based on your industry, your goals and your budget.
After a quick reminder of what outbound marketing is, let’s focus on the 10 strategies that always work!
What is outbound marketing?
Outbound marketing is all about proactively reaching out to your prospects to let them know about your products or services.
You can use it to increase brand awareness, increase sales, promote your offers, and more.
This strategy has made a comeback in recent years, as not all companies have taken advantage of the “new” marketing methods. Or to a lesser extent, which encourages them to return to core techniques.
While outbound marketing is generally more expensive than inbound marketing, it sometimes offers a better return on investment. It all depends on your target audience, the techniques used and your goals.
Finally, if outbound marketing has long been considered intrusive and hardly customizable, it now has great targeting and personalization capabilities.
Outbound Marketing VS Inbound Marketing
“Outbound” versus “inbound” marketing: if their terms are really contrary, they still agree on the desire to bring value to prospects and customers.
However, while outbound marketing looks for leads directly, inbound marketing aims to attract them to your products and services. This strategy essentially revolves around content intended to attract Internet users who are looking for offers similar to yours or who need advice to solve a problem.
Outbound marketing aims for short-term conversions, while inbound marketing is long-term.
These two methods are different, but complementary …
10 Outbound Marketing Techniques That Work!
Do you want to complement your current strategy with one or more outbound marketing campaigns? Here are 10 techniques you can try!
1. A TV commercial
For 55% of the French, it is the advertisements broadcast on television that capture their attention the most. Furthermore, 56% of them believe they memorize these types of ads better. And that’s not all! The effectiveness of TV ads is proven: 62% of ads immediately increase the volume of purchases and generate 23% of additional sales in the short term.
If you thought TV was a historical medium, it’s time to change your strategy! Especially as Smart TVs pave the way for new, more personalized forms of advertising. In fact, programmatic allows you to broadcast targeted ads based on the viewer’s geolocation, but also based on their behavior.
In addition, Smart TVs offer the possibility of broadcasting interactive advertisements. Ask the viewer to click a button on the remote to get more information about the product being marketed. This increases immediate conversions.
2. Print advertising
According to a survey by the CMO Council, 79% of consumers take action after reading printed ads, compared to 45% of online ads.
There are several reasons for this performance. First, newspapers, posters and magazines inspire more confidence than an Internet publication. When a consumer sees a billboard in a subway station or on the street, he judges the company to be established and reputable.
Furthermore, newspaper readers are more attentive than Internet users. Result: they are more likely to remember a print advertisement. Remember that more than 97% The French read the press every month.
Good to know: You can combine your physical ads with an online experience. Thanks to a QR code printed on your ads, you can direct consumers to dedicated landing pages.
3. Trade shows and professional events
Trade shows and professional events help to strengthen the reputation of your company and the trust of your customers. They also offer the opportunity to generate leads for your business. Demonstrations at your stand, as well as an exchange with your teams, promote your brand image.
In addition to collecting the contacts of the people who visit your stand, you have the list of speakers or exhibitors provided by the organizers. This is an opportunity to find new customers or partners.
Finally, most trade shows and events have their own social media hashtags, which you can use to recruit new followers on your pages. It’s also an opportunity to discover potential customers and follow them on LinkedIn, Twitter, or even Instagram.
4. Cold calling
Cold calling is one of the main outbound marketing techniques. It consists of calling a potential customer, with whom you have not yet had contact, to offer them your services.
While cold calling is sometimes considered an intrusive sales technique, it remains effective in the B2B industry. Especially when we know 57% of business leaders prefer to chat over the phone with a sales representative.
For this strategy to be effective, do your research on business needs and create a custom script before contacting the decision maker. With social networks such as LinkedIn or Twitter it is easy to get to know your interlocutor better.
Also, instead of selling your product / service directly, you can offer free advice to solve a problem.
5. Sending cold emails
As with cold calling, the goal of cold emailing is to introduce your business to potential prospects, generate interest in your offers, and generate interactions. This outbound marketing method allows you to expand the reach of your brand and win customers back from the competition.
As with cold calling, you need to customize your approach! Enter the prospect’s name in the subject line and write a personalized message, showing that you know the recipient’s needs. Finally, it ends with a clear call to action.
6. Relations with the press
Relations with the press consist of building and managing one’s reputation and maintaining a bond with journalists and the media. The target. the goal? Make them become promoters of your business.
In principle, this relationship is beneficial to both parties. The reporter gets privileged access to information, expert commentary and other documents to animate his media. The company benefits from advertising in newspapers, TV shows or trade magazines, as well as on niche blogs or YouTube videos.
In outbound marketing, press relationships help you generate leads and build notoriety.
7. Sponsorship or advocacy
Sponsorship consists of supporting financial or in-kind activities. These can be cultural events, fairs, associations, charities, etc.
What do you earn?
- Generate positive feelings about your brand
- Promote your products
- To increase sales
- Increase your reach through word of mouth
- Take advantage of media exposure
- Stay ahead of the competition
- Establish partnerships
In addition to visibility and notoriety, sponsoring or sponsoring an event offers the opportunity to interact directly with potential customers or your current customers. You can also get valuable attendee data to use in your outbound marketing strategy.
Whatever type of business you sponsor, make sure it aligns with your company’s values.
8. Direct mail
Direct mail is another effective outbound marketing technique. Mail was a popular marketing channel for a long time before the advent of the Internet.
However, it hasn’t lost its luster! The reason is simple: fewer and fewer brands are using direct mail, giving you the ability to stand out from the competition.
Especially since this technique is always effective: memorization of the brand is 70% higher with direct mail than with online advertising. Paper is also easier to read, requiring less than 20% cognitive effort than digital media.
The key is to demonstrate how your product or service can solve a problem. Remember to insert a promotional code in your email, to encourage purchases, but also to evaluate the performance of your direct mail.
9. Social Media Ads
In both inbound and outbound marketing, you need social media ads. The difference is that with an outbound strategy, you are looking to introduce your business or products to a new audience.
You will then target an audience similar to your current customers, but who don’t know you yet! This is an opportunity to increase your notoriety, to recruit qualified subscribers, to generate traffic to your site, but also to increase your sales. To do this, don’t forget to add a call to action corresponding to your goal in your ad.
10. Search ads
The benefit of outbound marketing is the ability to generate instant conversions. Search ads are no exception, as 50% of PPC ad traffic leads to conversions. This type of ad can generate an ROI of 200%.
However, to get such positive results, you need to optimize your ads:
- Target less competitive keywords your potential customers use at the end of the purchase journey.
- Optimize landing pages to maximize desktop and mobile conversions.
- Limit the number of fields on the form so you don’t discourage potential customers.
- Include social proof: testimonials, social media posts, case studies …
Our advice
Outbound marketing strategies have evolved with the digital age. They remain efficient to build your company’s reputation and increase your sales. To maximize results, consider combining your outbound techniques with your inbound strategy. The more consistent your marketing across channels, the greater the return on investment.
Whether you’re looking for a graphic designer for your print ads, a community manager for your social media ads, or any other skill that supports you in your outbound marketing strategy, you can run an ad on the encoder !