Outbound marketing, in the form of direct mail and other external salesy messages, used to be the dominating force in the world of marketing and advertising. Now, inbound marketing has risen to become the singularly dominant force. While outbound marketing still has a place as a complementary message channel, inbound marketing tactics like content marketing and search engine optimizationare undeniably the most effective. So how did it happen?
People Got Tired of Advertising
It’s quite simple, really. Like the boring teacher you had in high school who kept repeating the same lines and generic jokes over and over again, marketers reused too many buzzwords and too many recycled slogans. The world is infested with advertising, and when people see enough of it, eventually they just completely tune out. As such, outbound marketing became essentially obsolete and people were gradually driven toward to companies they thought had the highest authority.
Technology Exploded
Google helped. A lot. When people have instant access to practically unlimited information, individual messages become exceptionally less significant. Users can now access almost anything they want within seconds, from anywhere with a mobile device. So why would they waste time with anything that’s forced on them? Instead, users are driven to find their own solutions and discover their own company preferences.
People Got Busy
You don’t have time to read through every piece of junk mail that comes to your house. Why would you expect anyone else to? The busier people are, the more power inbound marketing has over outbound marketing. And today, everyone seems to be too busy to do anything.
Inbound marketing’s gradual dominance over outbound marketing has made it an unrivaled force in the world of marketing and advertising. Don’t be afraid to use outbound marketing, but you better not neglect the inbound side.
