Inbound vs Outbound Marketing: Standing Out

Inbound vs Outbound Marketing: Making Your Brand Stand Out

Inbound and outbound marketing is a double-edged sword. The upside is that it makes it possible for you to more quickly and easily reach and target your customers. The downside is that it makes it possible for your competitors as well. The only way to give your business the advantage it so desperately needs is to consider what it is that makes your business special. How are you different from your competitors?

Your brand has something to offer that no other brand has … and that difference is You, of course. And you can build an empire on this difference.

Inbound vs Outbound Marketing Strategy: Be Yourself

Some of the most memorable brands out there were and are built on the personalities behind the products … Ben & Jerry’s, Apple, Tesla Motors. You’re probably as cool as Ben Cohen, Jerry Greenfield, Steve Jobs, and Elon Musk. So, be who you are and put it on your website.

• Have a mission statement that reflects your personality
• Tell the story about how you came to lead your company
• Be utterly sincere and cheerlead for yourself a bit

Storytelling as brand development is a good strategy as long as it’s rooted in the truth. In a world where the marketplace is becoming increasingly intimate and segmented, this kind of honest transparency will connect you with an ideal audience of loyal customers.

Inbound Marketing Storytelling

Improve your brand by clarifying your story, addressing customer issues, and countering false images. Start by:

• Putting your mission statement and core values on your webpage
• Posting first-person blogs about activities relevant to your core values
• Starting social media conversations about your values-driven approach

As important as it is to broadcast your brand’s values and embrace your mission, it’s equally important to negate any negative buzz about your brand. Customers are hard-pressed to remember the good things, but they will always remember the bad. Be sure to counter any false images or customer issues about your brand to keep them from spiraling out of control.

Also, be sure to keep abreast of the conversations happening on social media about your brand. A social listening platform can help you track keywords, get on top of trends, or address any misperceptions about your company before they become problematic.

Outbound Marketing Storytelling

For many small businesses, outbound marketing takes a backseat to inbound marketing. But, as your marketing budget grows, you will want to extend your storytelling to your outbound marketing mix with:

• Print ads that attract new customers based on your mission statement and values
• Catalogs that present your products and services in light of your brand image
• Email blasts that connect on a personal level with your existing customers

Did you shrink away from the phrase “email blasts?” Spam gave email marketing a bad name for a while, but savvy marketers have adapted and recovered. Email marketing is again a viable and effective way to reach customers. In fact, survey after survey shows that customers are still signing up to get emails, they are opening them, and they’re linking to parent websites, particularly when email marketers use data to personalize their messages as much as possible.

Inbound vs Outbound: Reputation Management

Monitor your online reputation. Think of branding as part PR and part popularity contest, then use both inbound and outbound marketing to get attention and craft your image.

Outbound Marketing: Ask for reviews, send surveys, request feedback, and collect customer data
Inbound Marketing: Link your website to review sites such as Yelp, Angie’s Place, or Google Reviews

Our attention spans are shorter than ever nowadays. Customers aren’t going to be able to remember the difference between one graphic t-shirt design company and another unless they’re given a reason to. Make your business stand out by learning how to leverage your brand’s uniqueness. With a stellar online reputation and a killer story, you’ll leave your brand etched into the minds of your customers.