Outbound marketing is not as effective as it used to be, but with the right approach and the right techniques, it can still be a powerful marketing tool.
Outbound marketing techniques involve reaching out to a possible prospect, whether it’s a specifically targeted campaign or an appeal to a mass market. Examples include direct mail campaigns, billboards, and telemarketing. Inbound efforts, such as maintaining an informative blog, have become much more successful for most companies over the past several years.
The Power of Integration
The primary key to seeing outbound marketing results is integration—using multiple platforms or multiple applications in a streamlined way that utilizes the best parts of all of them. For instance, using a direct mail campaign along with a personalized URL (pURL) tactic and a custom designed splash page is a much more powerful combination than just some random postcard in the mail. Work with a strategist to stop compartmentalizing your campaigns and unify them under a single strategy.
Alternating with a Value Focus
Another common strategy is using social media platforms as applications for outbound marketing. This can be effective—but only if you use it as a blend with an inbound strategy. Alternate your posts between inbound and outbound, and make sure your focus is on building value for your customers, not on getting them to buy something.
A Note on Tracking
No matter what kind of outbound methods you use to generate leads, make sure you’re tracking your results. It’s impossible to say for sure what techniques will work immediately—instead, you have to aggregate and analyze your gathered metrics and interpret them for future campaigns. If you aren’t tracking your results, you’ll never be able to determine whether your campaign was ultimately successful, and you’ll never be able to make improvements.
With a consistent plan and a strategic execution, outbound marketing tactics can still be relevant in a modern campaign. Just make sure your customers see a value in your company, and always keep your campaigns multi-functional.
