Marketing is a relatively new field. Since it began, however, the world of marketing has grown through three distinct eras, each with a specific approach that leveraged the tools available at the time. Today, outbound, inbound, and nearbound marketing represent different stages of industry evolution. We’ll examine the role each model plays in modern marketing.
Where Marketing Began
While the principles of persuasion can be traced all the way back to ancient Greece, the marketing industry really found its footing in the early 20th century when mass media like radio and television became common.
This was the era of “traditional” or outbound marketing, in which brands proactively reached out to potential customers.
Outbound marketing’s goal is to capture the attention of cold prospects with a solution or benefit that they didn’t know they needed. More specifically, outbound uses direct and company-branded communications that are meant to intrude on prospects’ attention to get their message across.
Modern Outbound Marketing
Today, outbound marketing includes cold calling, direct mail, billboards, and broadly-targeted online ads. These tactics are still viable for top-of-funnel marketing goals like building brand awareness. (That’s one reason Super Bowl commercial placements cost so much.)
Most marketers today have moved beyond these “spray and pray” outbound marketing methods, however, in part because these tactics can’t be directly tied to measurable results. Businesses in niche markets, for example, are better served by sharing targeted content with specific audience segments.
The Evolution of Outbound Marketing
Brands and marketers are unlikely to rely exclusively on outbound marketing today. But it can still play a useful role in your Digital Marketing Strategy.
Tactics like email marketing to cold lists, paid advertising on search platforms or social media, and sales enablement collateral combine the proactive outreach of outbound marketing with modern updates for tracking and data collection.
“While we wouldn’t recommend an exclusively outbound marketing strategy, these tactics can still deliver good results in specific instances. We’ve partnered with clients who have successfully grown market share through outbound marketing, for example, and others who have generated more qualified employee applications with outbound outreach.”
— Jeff Soto, VP of Strategy & Client Relations
Notably, the enhancements that make outbound tactics more effective also coincided with the rise of search engines, social media, and eCommerce.
As a whole, these changes made inbound marketing more valuable than outbound as the 21st century began, signifying a new era of marketing and a new toolbox for marketers.
Modern Inbound Marketing
As online opportunities for marketing grew with platforms like Facebook and Google, businesses and advertisers increasingly built their marketing campaigns using inbound marketing tactics.
Unlike outbound marketing, which proactively interrupts and diverts attention to an offer, inbound marketing attracts prospects by leveraging user intent in search queries and data points related to preferences, past purchases, demographics, and other information.
Inbound methods include organic content creation like blogs and social media posts, as well as paid promotion boosted by personalization options made available through the platforms themselves.
The early days of inbound marketing often felt like the promised land for early adopters. Minimal restrictions on platforms like Facebook and Google made it easy to capture user information and market to them with targeted ads designed to resonate and pique their interests.
But times are changing again. Competition, data privacy restrictions, and an online user base conditioned to tune out ad content have made it extremely difficult to achieve marketing and business goals through inbound alone.
The Evolution of Inbound Marketing
Inbound marketing tactics like website optimization for search engines, social media marketing, and conversion rate optimization are still potent components of most marketing strategies. Building the back-end infrastructure you need to support inbound marketing is especially valuable for identifying and nurturing qualified leads.
All that said, inbound marketing is no longer the magic bullet that it was for marketers a decade ago.
Even niche markets are saturated with resourceful advertisers and professional service providers. They’re employing inbound tactics too, making the competition stiffer than ever and increasing customer acquisition costs.
Further, AI-infused updates to ad auctions and platform algorithms have eliminated many of the ways that marketers could game the system and reach leads with relevant content.
In short, if you’re a marketer who has gotten good results with either inbound or outbound marketing in the past, you’ll need new ways to cut through the noise and generate qualified leads.
And in a world where digital data and door-to-door deals don’t deliver reliable results, marketers are turning to a new source — nearbound marketing through an ecosystem of trusted partnerships.
Nearbound: Marketing’s Next Evolution
Nearbound marketing is a strategic approach that generates high-quality leads through existing relationships. Businesses that are actively partnering and co-marketing with trusted service providers, influencers, and existing clients are finding new ways to reach and convert their ideal prospects.
“Nearbound creates a lot of exciting opportunities because, for many businesses, the fundamentals are already in place. If you have strong existing relationships with customers, vendors, or affiliates in your professional network, you can create value that benefits all parties and position your brand as a trusted advisor for strategic recommendations.”
— Katie Wagner, KWSM Founder & CEO
As a strategy, nearbound marketing requires a mindset shift that involves the entire organization. By expanding partnership cultivation responsibilities to all departments, including sales, customer support, and operations, businesses can maximize the potential of their existing relationships.
Learn More: What is Nearbound Marketing?
Also, unlike outbound and inbound tactics, nearbound can act as an overlay that enhances existing campaigns. It provides a framework for identifying and nurturing mutually beneficial partnerships through data-driven insights, further enhancing the effectiveness of your ongoing marketing efforts.
Nearbound marketing can include tactics like co-sponsored events or offers with strategic partners, a referral program that leverages and rewards your existing network, and targeted outreach through credible influencers and public relations.
Why Businesses Need a Custom Mix of Outbound, Inbound, and Nearbound Marketing
As marketing and lead generation continue to evolve, a one-size-fits-all approach is no longer effective.
For sustainable growth that maximizes your return on your marketing investment, you need to understand the strengths and limitations of each approach. It’s time to adopt a multifaceted strategy that incorporates outbound, inbound, and nearbound marketing tactics. You can leverage the best elements of each era to connect with your audience and achieve your goals.
Learn more about how we strategize and execute nearbound marketing initiatives for clients.
