Pull Marketing vs Push Marketing

Pull Marketing vs Push Marketing

advertisingIn advertising, there are two methods of marketing. They are push and pull marketing. Push marketing is similar to outbound marketing. This type of marketing is the traditional style of advertising. On the other hand, pull marketing is the same concept as what is known today as inbound marketing. This technique utilizes social media and search engine marketing. We’ll take a look at what factors determine which style of marketing advertisers should implement.

What factors would push an advertiser toward one approach or the other?

A company that is fairly new will use the push method of marketing. Advertisers will use push marketing to put advertisements in front of people who are not necessarily familiar with the advertiser’s company (“Brick Marketing Blog”). It involves taking the product to the consumer by any means necessary (“Marketing Made Simple”). It places the product in front of the customer to ensure they become aware of its existence (“Boundless”). This strategy can work with impulse purchase-type of products, low-value items or with products where the customer has an established relationship with the manufacturer (“Boundless”).

Large companies that rely on mass market penetration to hit the numbers they need to sell their products also use push marketing (“imFORZA”).

The push marketing strategies include cold calling, advertising banners, or generating referrals. Other push marketing strategies involve speaking at (instead of with) prospects and customers, sending out messages to unwilling, unreceptive people, and creating campaigns or experiences that ignore user wants and needs (“inFORZA”). Examples of more push tactics are (“Marketing Made Simple”):

  • Trade show promotions to encourage retailer demand
  • Direct selling to customers in showrooms or face to face
  • Negotiation with retailers to stock your product
  • Efficient supply chain allowing retailers an efficient supply
  • Packaging design to encourage purchase
  • Point of sale displays

On the other hand, pull marketing is an advertising strategy used by advertisers to get consumers to find the company on their own (“Brick Marketing Blog”). Pull marketing is the same concept as inbound marketing. If branding is done correctly, consumers will seek out the company rather than the company taking the product to the customer. Pull marketing takes less energy and effort and is less expensive; therefore, unless the corporation is large and can afford to throw resources at push marketing campaigns, then pull marketing is the best method to use (“imFORZA”).

Pull marketing takes advantage of social media marketing and search engine marketing. It motivates customers to actively seek out a brand. Pull marketing is also recommended to use for new products. Examples of pull marketing are: blogging, social media marketing, speaking engagements, and e-mail campaigns.

What are some ways marketers can assess the effectiveness of the message?

Determining the success and effectiveness of a message can be analyzed using several metrics. These include (“Campaign Success”):

  • ROI (Return on investment) – Divide total spent by total return (“Common Online Marketing Terms”)
  • Click-through rate – Divide the number of people who viewed the message by those who actually click it.
  • Open rate – Divide the number of people who view an e-mail campaign by those who opened the e-mail.
  • Impressions – The number of people who viewed a message.
  • Bounce rate – The number of people who visits a website, but exits without navigating the site.
  • Conversion rate – Divide the number of conversions by number of total visitors.

A marketer will also have to take into account cost per lead and cost per acquisition metrics. Cost per lead measures how many people are interested in what the company has to offer. Cost per acquisition determines what it costs to acquire a client. The cost has to be lower than the value of the customer (“Campaign Success”). It is difficult to calculate the costs to convert a potential customer. It would require dividing all expenses dedicated to acquisition by the number of new customers acquired over the same period (“Optimove Learning Center”).

Marketing activity is easy to see and measure (costs going out the door), but marketing results are hard to measure (“Marketing Metrics & Analytics”). ROI is easier to calculate if the activities are quantifiable.

It is also difficult to determine the ROI on intangible benefits, for example, building a brand, because it is difficult to measure brand awareness (“The E-Marketing Plan”).

Overall, companies tend to use a little of both the push and pull marketing strategies. If a company is new or the product is an impulse-purchase or low-value, then push marketing strategy is used. For branding purposes, pull marketing strategy is used. Pull marketing will cause the consumer to seek out the company. Push marketing seeks out the customer.

References

Barbera, Vinny La. Pull Marketing vs Push Marketing: imFORZA. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.imforza.com/blog/pull-marketing-vs-push-marketing/>.

Campaign Success. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division [AIPOD]. 2011. Web. 9 September 2014.

Customer Acquisition vs. Retention Costs: Optimove Learning Center. 10 December 2013. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.optimove.com/resources/customer-acquisition-vs-retention-costs>.

DiSilvestro, Amanda. Push versus Pull Marketing: Is Your Company Using Both Strategies?: Brick Marketing Blog. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.brickmarketing.com/blog/push-pull-marketing.htm>.

Push and Pull Strategies: Boundless. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/integrated-marketing-communication-12/selecting-the-promotion-mix-for-a-particular-product-84/push-and-pull-strategies-425-4128/>.

Push and Pull Marketing Strategies: Marketing Made Simple. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.marketing-made-simple.com/articles/push-pull-strategy.htm#.VA-dhjxkSSp>.

Barbera, Vinny La. Pull Marketing vs Push Marketing: imFORZA. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.imforza.com/blog/pull-marketing-vs-push-marketing/>.

Campaign Success. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division [AIPOD]. 2011. Web. 9 September 2014

Common Online Marketing Terms. The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division [AIPOD]. 2011. Web. 9 September 2014

Customer Acquisition vs. Retention Costs: Optimove Learning Center. 10 December 2013. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.optimove.com/resources/customer-acquisition-vs-retention-costs>.

DiSilvestro, Amanda. Push versus Pull Marketing: Is Your Company Using Both Strategies?: Brick Marketing Blog. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.brickmarketing.com/blog/push-pull-marketing.htm>.

Judy Strauss, Raymond Frost. “The E-Marketing Plan.” E-Marketing. 5th. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2009. Web. 9 September 2014.

Push and Pull Marketing Strategies: Marketing Made Simple. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.marketing-made-simple.com/articles/push-pull-strategy.htm#.VA-dhjxkSSp>.

Push and Pull Strategies: Boundless. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <https://www.boundless.com/marketing/textbooks/boundless-marketing-textbook/integrated-marketing-communication-12/selecting-the-promotion-mix-for-a-particular-product-84/push-and-pull-strategies-425-4128/>.

The Definitive Guide to Marketing Metrics and Marketing Analytics. n.d. Web. 9 September 2014. <http://www.marketo.com/definitive-guides/marketing-metrics-and-marketing-analytics/>.

 

Your Thoughts

RJ's Digital Solutions, LLC