What Is Outbound Marketing? Ultimate Guide

What is outbound marketing? You might know it as direct marketing, interruption-based, marketer-driven or push marketing but the most important factor is the fact that the marketer initiates the conversation by sending out a message to an audience.

In other words, outbound marketing means trying to get your message in front of potential customers, in order to convince them to make a purchase. That is, these are proactive strategies, where you have to do the legwork.

In short, the outbound marketing message is sent through very direct techniques including the likes of direct mail, cold calling, billboards, exhibitions, email or advertising.

The most important question: how to make outbound marketing work for your business?

Let’s take a closer look.

Essential Types of Outbound Marketing

Of course, there are all different kinds of outbound marketing. After all, this encompasses any strategy where you’re proactively going after customers. This can involve both traditional and digital channels.

Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent outbound marketing channels.

TV and Radio Advertising

Television and radio might be old school but it is still relatively expensive. Your message will reach a very large number of people. The downside, of course, is that advertising on TV or radio tends to be expensive.

Direct Mail

Over the years, direct mail marketing has seen a transition for the better. It now includes informative content as well as the products being marketed.

While marketers still send brochures and postcards, they’re taking time to check who to send to and when (especially with the arrival of GDPR). If used correctly, direct mail can be highly responsive and drive top quality leads.

Email

Email campaigns, where you have permission to contact the potential or existing customer and a strong message, can still reach prospects for further sales. The trick is getting this permission.

Most people won’t sign up to your mailing list, unless you offer them something in return. This is known as a lead magnet. For example, you might need to give out discounts or premium content to encourage signups.

Exhibitions & Trade Shows

Attend relevant trade shows and public displays where you get to interact with prospective customers and network with business partners for a chance to put your products and services out there.

Cold Calling

In cold calling, a salesperson calls or visits a prospect who hasn’t shown any interest in the products and services being sold. Despite the Information Age, cold calling can still be an effective tactic (depending on the product).

Press Releases

Although old school, press releases are still effective at getting the word regarding your brand, a new product or service on offer out there. A press release is only as good as the writing and should, ideally, be carried out by a professional.

Billboards

Billboards are powerful tools for directing customers to your local business. Big brands with easy to remember URLs can also benefit from billboard messages and graphics even if they don’t have local establishments.

Outbound Marketing vs Inbound Marketing

Inbound marketing is the opposite of outbound marketing as outbound marketing is marketer-driven while inbound marketing is consumer-driven.

Inbound marketing is consumer-driven in the sense that the consumers can look for you whenever they need you. Examples of inbound marketing tactics include the following;

• Blogging,
• SEO,
• Email opt-in marketing list,
• Content marketing,
• Earned social media.

Reasons to Integrate Outbound Marketing

Inbound marketing has gained massive popularity among marketers with most of them ditching outbound marketing believing it is dead BUT it can be…

Super Scalable and Flexible

For inbound marketing to yield tangible results, it takes an average of three to six months. And the duration may extend if the marketer fails to implement the strategies correctly. Outbound marketing can fill out for the time taken by inbounding marketing.

Offers Better Control Over the Future of a Sale

With outbound marketing, you reach out to the prospects without first evaluating them. That also leaves you an opportunity to customise the message, so it highlights the message to the prospects in question thereby keeping you ahead of the competition.

Direct Marketing for Fast Delivery

Marketers can implement outbound marketing tactics at great speed. You’re free to engage more marketers, outsource cold calling and invest in sophisticated software to increase the number of leads.

Inbound marketing requires that you invest more time to speed up and scale.

Branding with Outbound

Sure, inbound branding is highly effective when it comes to branding, but it’s still possible to create good traction for your product using social media and without inbound marketing strategies.

For instance, instead of using content marketing to attract prospective buyers, create a product then provide direct demos.

Besides, send useful information to direct leads with the product or service on offer incorporated, and a good number might start responding to your messages.

Join the Competition

While still not so prevalent in this digital era, several B2B companies are using direct marketing efforts to reach their audiences. As surprising as it may sound, a good number of people rarely opt-in for email lists and want to be targeted directly.

It’d be a disservice to your business if you let this category of people who value direct marketing go untapped. Therefore, if you want to gain a competitive edge, incorporate these outbound marketing tactics into your promotional efforts.

Five Ways to Supercharge Your Outbound Marketing Efforts

First off, outbound marketing is not dead. In modern marketing, the conventional wisdom tells us that outbound marketing is dated, saturated and no longer functional.

Let’s think again! With outbound you can:

Prove You’re An Expert

Instead of being a generalist, strive to become a leader in your chosen industry. That means choosing a single niche and devoting all your efforts and resources to it.

With that, you’re sure to reduce the number of competitors while at the same time demonstrating your expertise on the subject matter to your prospects.
Select Your Marketing Medium Based On

Your Demographics

Gone are the days when you created your PPC ads based entirely on desktop use. Recent stats reveal that in 2018, 52.2% of the total website traffic was generated from mobile phones, a slight increase from 50.3% the previous year.

Today, most internet users and your prospects visit a website or a landing page through their mobile phones and tablets. In the light of that fact, you must take your time to research what platforms your target audience is using and dedicate most of your marketing resources to it.

Be Unique & Creative

If you continue using the same beat-up strategies, chances are that you’ll also see reduced results in your outbound marketing. Stop pasting logos on someone else’s marketing messages and strive to stand out by using all the venues you have at your disposal.

Incorporate video and funny, compelling images into your content and marketing messages for a lasting impression on your prospects.

Regardless of the mediums you use – billboards, print, PPC and video marketing – don’t be afraid to tell your story! Craft the message you want to communicate and know how to get it to prospective customers.

At the same time, expand your mindset and do more than direct email, email blasts and trade shows. The secret to killing it in outbound marketing is thinking outside the box.

Quality Matters

For a moment, take a break from focussing on ROI, the percentage of response, the number of leads and traffic to your website. Take your time to create compelling content that not only takes direct marketing a notch higher but also catches your audience by surprise.

Focus on providing pure value, and you’ll be rewarded with a high number of high converting leads and an impressive ROI.

Combine Digital and Traditional Outbound Marketing

There’s a notion that outbound marketing is only print. Yes, maintain some aspects of traditional marketing tactics but incorporate digital marketing, find the overlap and you can win with both.

With digital marketing, your business has even more effective mediums and opportunities for disseminating your marketing messages. Don’t limit yourself!

Five Ways to Blend Your Inbound and Outbound Marketing

There’s no denying inbound marketing is the major trend in this digital age. But the truth of the matter is outbound marketing is making a resurgence. If you want to gain a competitive edge, consider intermarrying inbound marketing and outbound marketing techniques.

Here are five ways to do this.

Create Laser-Targeted Content

Invoke highly personalised experiences throughout your content. Whenever they interact with your brand, the prospects want to feel like you’re speaking directly to them. Address their interests, needs and capture their pain points and you’ll earn their attention.

Balance Both Sides of Earned & Paid Social Media

Since organic social media reach is on the decline as the platforms focus on introducing new and more paid options, you should be moving with change. Keep implementing new tactics for reviving organic social media growth while setting aside budgets for paid social media reach.

Make Skilled Salespeople Part of the Team

Outbound marketing isn’t everyone’s strong suit. Hire a group of salespeople with excellent skills in human interactions so they can establish trust, listen and close the deal.

Your salespeople should follow-up on the customers’ interactions and handle the leads that are yet to be sales qualified, then move them down the funnel with the aim of converting.

Avoid Being Too Salesy

Traditionally, outbound marketing – particularly using email and direct marketing – were too salesy. Understand what your customers really want, and personalise the emails and direct mail messages.

People hate being sold to!

Pull It All Together

If you want to achieve success from your inbound marketing and outbound marketing efforts, then you should set up a process to measure your performance. Take advantage of the digital marketing tools available to track the success of your efforts.

Define your goals and objectives and then connect the related marketing resources such as blog posts, emails, social media posts, SEO, landing pages, and paid search. Then, you can measure how much you’ve achieved.

Turning Outbound Sparks into Long-Term Flames: Lead Nurturing and Sales Enablement Tips

Outbound marketing can ignite initial interest, but turning those sparks into long-term flames requires strategic nurturing and an empowered sales team. Here’s how to integrate powerful lead nurturing and sales enablement tips with your outbound efforts for lasting impact:

Lead Nurturing:

• Personalize the Path: Don’t blast generic emails! Segment your leads based on their interests, behaviors, and pain points. Craft personalized content journeys with relevant messaging and offers.
• Content is King (and Queen): Provide valuable content that educates, informs, and builds trust. Think blog posts, white papers, webinars, case studies, and how-to guides tailored to each stage of the buyer’s journey.
• Nurture with Automation: Don’t drown yourself in manual follow-ups. Utilize email automation tools to nurture leads with drip campaigns, triggered emails based on their actions, and personalized sequences.
• Listen and Engage: Go beyond sending. Monitor lead activity, track engagement metrics, and respond promptly to their questions and concerns. Spark conversations and build authentic relationships.
• Score and Qualify: Implement lead scoring systems based on engagement, interests, and firmographics. This helps prioritize hot leads for sales and ensures resources are focused on the most promising prospects.

Sales Enablement:

• Equip Your Champions: Provide your sales team with access to all lead nurturing content, data, and communication history. A centralized CRM or knowledge base empowers them to personalize their approach and close deals faster.
• Train for the Win: Invest in training programs that equip your sales team with outbound communication skills, objection handling techniques, and deep product knowledge.
• Align Strategies and Goals: Foster collaboration between marketing and sales. Set clear goals, establish shared metrics, and ensure both teams are working towards the same objectives.
• Leverage the Power of Analytics: Track the impact of your combined efforts. Analyze which nurturing content resonates best, identify conversion points, and measure the ROI of your outbound and nurturing activities. Optimize your strategies based on these insights.

Integrating with CRM and Tracking Pipeline Impact:

• Choose the Right Tools: Invest in a CRM system that seamlessly integrates with your marketing automation platform. This ensures lead data flows effortlessly, eliminating manual data entry and providing a holistic view of the customer journey.
• Track Every Touchpoint: Monitor all interactions, from initial outbound contact to closed deals, within the CRM. This builds a complete picture of the lead’s engagement with your brand and pinpoints the most influential touchpoints.
• Measure Pipeline Impact: Analyze how lead nurturing activities affect sales pipeline growth, conversion rates, and deal size. Identify which nurturing campaigns contribute most to qualified leads and ultimately, closed deals.
• Refine and Iterate: Use data-driven insights to refine your outbound efforts and optimize your lead nurturing sequences. Continuously test and improve your approach to maximize the impact of your combined strategies on pipeline health and sales success.

Remember:

• Outbound marketing is just the spark. Lead nurturing and sales enablement are the fuel that keeps the fire burning bright. By implementing these tips and leveraging technology, you can transform fleeting interest into lasting relationships and turn outbound efforts into a sustainable engine for long-term sales success.

Bonus Tip: Embrace personalization across all stages! Use dynamic content and data-driven segmentation to tailor your outbound messages, nurture content, and sales interactions for each individual prospect. This personalized approach fosters deeper connections and boosts the effectiveness of your efforts.

How to Use Outbound Marketing Effectively

Inbound marketing has become, without a doubt, the most popular marketing strategy among most digital marketers. However, inbound is most effective when combined with strong outbound marketing.

If you want to reach new audiences and meet your revenue goals, inbound and outbound marketing can’t exist in isolation. Success in marketing can come from integrating both the inbound marketing and outbound marketing strategies so they can work alongside each other.

Examples and Templates for Outbound Success: Emails, Cold Calls, and Direct Mail

Spark attention and drive conversions with these impactful outbound marketing examples, tailored to resonate with current trends and audience expectations:

Emails:

Subject Lines:

• Intrigue: “The Hidden Hack Boosting [Competitor]’s Leads (Hint: It’s Not Ads)”
• Benefit-Driven: “Unlock [Desired Outcome] in 5 Steps: Free Guide Inside”
• Personalization: “[First Name], Your Industry Needs This (and We Can Help)”
• Question-Based: “Are You Making These 3 Costly [Industry] Mistakes?”

Value Propositions:

• Quantifiable Results: “Increase ROI by 20% with our data-driven marketing strategies.”
• Pain Point-Focused: “Eliminate wasted leads and streamline your sales pipeline.”
• Unique Expertise: “Our [niche expertise] gives you the edge over the competition.”
• Exclusive Offer: “Get a free consultation & custom growth plan (limited spots).”

Call to Action:

• Clear and Actionable: “Download our free ebook now.”
• Low-Risk Incentive: “Schedule a no-obligation demo.”
• Scarcity and Urgency: “Limited offer: Claim your 20% discount before it expires.”
• Personalized Request: “Let’s chat – tell us your biggest [industry] challenge.”

Template:

Hey [First Name],

I noticed [mention something relevant you found about their company or industry]. At [Your Company], we help businesses like yours [achieve desired outcome].

[Briefly explain your value proposition and showcase a relevant success story]

We’d love to learn more about your specific challenges and explore how we can help you achieve [desired outcome]. Would you be interested in a quick 15-minute call next week?

Best regards, [Your Name]

Cold Calls:

Opening Lines:

• Personalized Connection: “Hi [First Name], I read your article on [topic relevant to their business].”
• Problem-Focused: “Many [target audience] struggle with [common industry pain point]. What’s your take on it?”
• Value-Centric: “I’m excited to share how we’ve helped companies like yours [achieve successful outcome].”

Key Points:

• Briefly introduce yourself and your company.
• Focus on understanding their specific needs and challenges.
• Highlight your value proposition and relevant case studies.
• Offer a clear next step, like a demo or meeting.

Remember: Be conversational, listen actively, and focus on building rapport.

Direct Mail:

Headline:

• Make it relevant, benefit-driven, and attention-grabbing: “Boost Sales 3x Faster: The Proven [Industry] Growth Strategy”
• Use personalization: “Hey [First Name], Your Competitor is Doing This (Don’t Get Left Behind)”

Visuals:

• Use professional photography or eye-catching graphics that reinforce your message.
• Highlight testimonials or data visualizations to showcase impact.

Call to Action:

• Offer a free consultation, ebook download, or limited-time discount.
• Include a QR code or unique URL to track responses.
• Make it easy for recipients to take the next step.

Bonus Tip: Personalize your direct mail by segmenting your audience and tailoring messaging to their specific needs.

Remember: These are just starting points. Adapt and personalize these examples to fit your specific industry, target audience, and brand voice. Test different approaches and track your results to see what resonates best and drives the highest conversion rates. By constantly iterating and optimizing your outbound strategies, you can ensure your efforts ignite flames of success in the long run.

FAQ:

Q: Why should I integrate different outbound channels?

A: An omnichannel approach amplifies your reach, increases brand awareness, and creates a more cohesive customer experience. Different channels reach different audiences and provide various touchpoints for engagement, ultimately driving higher conversion rates and sales.

Q: Is direct mail outdated in the digital age?

A: Not at all! Direct mail stands out in the digital clutter and adds a personal touch that can resonate with audiences accustomed to online ads. When combined with online channels, it offers a unique and memorable touchpoint that can enhance your overall campaign effectiveness.

Q: How can I track the success of an omnichannel campaign?

A: Utilize marketing automation platforms and CRM systems that link data from across all channels. Analyze engagement metrics, click-through rates, conversion data, and attribution models to understand which channels perform best and how they contribute to your overall goals.

Q: What are some resources for creating omnichannel outbound campaigns?

A: Several marketing platforms and tools offer resources and guidance on designing and implementing omnichannel campaigns. Look for free templates, case studies, and best practice guides from reputable platforms like Mailchimp, HubSpot, and Adobe Campaign.

Conclusion:

In today’s digital landscape, a siloed approach to marketing simply doesn’t cut it. To truly ignite success, modern businesses need to orchestrate a harmonious symphony of both offline and online outbound channels. By integrating direct mail with paid social, email marketing, and other tools, you can create a powerful omnichannel strategy that resonates deeply with your target audience, elevates brand awareness, and drives sustained growth.

To find out more about crafting an effective marketing strategy for your business, contact ProfileTree today.