Inbound versus aggressive marketing
- Written by Emma Sharp on
Getting customers is the backbone of every business. However, as competition increases, attracting and securing custom is becoming more challenging.
Getting customers is the backbone of every business. However, as competition increases, attracting and securing custom is becoming more challenging.
With so much choice, consumers have the luxury of flitting online between websites, so grabbing their attention has never been more important.
Because of this, many marketers have turned to the practise known as aggressive marketing, in the hope of bombarding their prospects into taking action. These marketing techniques can take many forms, all of which aim to create an immediate impact.
This should not be confused with outbound marketing, which involves actively seeking out your prospects, often through paid channels.
This is in opposition to more passive forms of marketing, which aim to build relationships over time, by strengthening brand awareness, and offering their prospects content and information that they are seeking.
These inbound methods develop trust gradually and are less forceful than aggressive techniques. The aim of inbound marketing is to satisfy an existing need, so that when prospects find you, they are already seeking your solution. This is achieved by improving visibility, driving traffic and gaining leads.
Let’s first look at the different methods involved with each approach.
Examples of inbound marketing
Inbound marketing techniques are all geared to your prospects finding you easily, because they want what you offer. Methods include:
Examples of aggressive marketing
Aggressive involves any immediate and forceful technique, that prospects find hard to ignore. The aim of such techniques is to persuade prospects to immediately click to find out more, and include:
The pros and cons of each approach
So, which of these techniques are more effective? Let’s look at the pros and cons of both forms first.
Inbound marketing
The pros of inbound marketing include:
The cons include:
Aggressive marketing
The pros of aggressive marketing include:
The cons include:
The takeaway
Both techniques have pros and cons, and many businesses employ both approaches to some extent or other. However, the problems start when the balance is tipped to favour aggressive marketing.
A study conducted by The Tuck School of Business in conjunction with New York University and the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania demonstrated how more aggressive ads performed poorly compared to more passive methods.
Affiliate marketing is aimed at providing prospects with something of value and connecting with the right brands. Using your content or blog to promote your links is one of the most recognised forms of affiliate marketing because it works.
Awin provides the tools for publishers to link and track your sales easily, leaving you free to work more on your inbound marketing methods.
It’s clear to see why aggressive marketing doesn’t work as although prospects are generally looking to buy, they want to make their purchases on their own terms, not yours. Forcing them to consider your products without taking the time to build a relationship is a recipe for failure.
However, occasionally employing a strong call-to-action technique with a warm audience can help an indecisive buyer make up their mind.
Just make sure you never use deceptive marketing methods, or you will soon lose any relationship you have with them.
© 2019, AWIN AG. All rights reserved. Awin is part of Axel Springer Group. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright owner.
We blend international reach with local expertise.