Is B2B Outbound Marketing Dead?

Summary

Synopsis:

The fundamentals of outbound marketing, as well as its advantages and disadvantages
The current state of outbound marketing
Best practices and how to achieve performance with outbound marketing

Despite its declining effectiveness, with only 48% of outbound marketers rating their efforts as effective, outbound marketing is perhaps still the most popular promotional method of B2B organizations. However, the increased demand for personalized buyer experiences in past years, as well as the saturation perceived by users in the digital space, have led many organizations to question the efficiency of outbound when compared to inbound marketing.

This article delves into outbound marketing’s current advantages and disadvantages, identifying best practices to boost  the performance of your outbound marketing efforts.

What Is Outbound Marketing?

Outbound marketing refers to the strategies and tactics employed by marketers that involve proactive outreach to prospects.

Outbound marketing aims to generate immediate interest in a brand's offers, leveraging tactics such as cold calling, direct mail, email marketing, events/tradeshows, advertising, and other mediums that push a brand toward a target audience. These tactics are known for several benefits, including generating immediate brand awareness, as well as being faster than inbound when it comes to generating and engaging leads. For instance, advertising is a quick and simple way to increase brand visibility with prospects who would otherwise have been unlikely to engage.

This approach is inverse to the idea of inbound marketing, which drives organic engagement through strategies such as content marketing with the goal of enabling prospects to discover and interact with  a brand on their own terms.

THE STATE OF OUTBOUND MARKETING

61% of marketers state that their business relies primarily on outbound marketing strategies, with this approach accounting for up to 90% of marketing budgets on average. In addition, 76% of B2B marketers use outbound as a primary method for content distribution.

Indeed, many businesses still successfully use traditional outbound tactics, such as email marketing. All this leads us to conclude that outbound marketing, despite being a more traditional approach in comparison to modern inbound marketing tactics, still enjoys great attention and investments from marketers across business segments.

Current outbound marketing challenges

Outbound marketing, however, also has its disadvantages. Factors such as the broader use of spam filters and ad-blocking software (utilized by 51% of desktop web users in the US in 2021), as well as “Do Not Call” regulations, high costs, and the perceived intrusive nature of outbound can pose challenges to this marketing method.

Despite its ongoing popularity, statistics reveal its declining effectiveness in the current landscape: for instance, only 18% of marketers believe outbound marketing can produce high-quality leads.

Cold calling may be one of the most affected outbound marketing tactics, as the ubiquity of caller ID, paired with the fact that 67% of calls coming from unidentified numbers in the U.S. go unanswered, leads to only 2.3% of calls resulting in meetings. Thus, the tactic can often cost 39% more per lead than other forms of marketing.

However, other statistics demonstrate that outbound still has a future ahead of it. For instance, 57% of C-level executives mention preferring contact through phone calls. 73% of marketers rank increased acquisition of new customers as a top outcome for social media marketing strategies, including paid advertising and other outbound tactics. Finally, companies that utilize it in conjunction with inbound efforts achieve a 64% higher conversion rate.

Therefore, outbound marketing remains an important part of general marketing strategies, but must be utilized mindfully to ensure the best results, aligning these tactics to the preferences of your ICP and buyer personas.

guide

Craft data-driven, precise personas with our Definitive Guide to B2B Buyer Personas

The role of demand generation in outbound marketing

Demand generation is essential to lay the foundation for outbound marketing and other direct marketing tactics, particularly as companies with established brand awareness and recognition can rely on outbound marketing with more confidence. Illustrating the point, companies tend to invest more in outbound marketing as their size increases: while the ratio of inbound to outbound marketing investment for companies with 0 to 25 employees is of 84% to 13%, companies with 201 or more employees tend to have a more equal distribution of 49% to 48%.

Furthermore, demand generation practices, such as omnichannel marketing, can help drive the efficiency of outbound marketing strategies, enabling marketers to reach their prospects in the channels they frequent and deliver a more cohesive brand experience.

guide

Get started with demand generation to drive engagement with your TOFU prospects in 4 steps

HOW TO ACHIEVE OUTBOUND MARKETING PERFORMANCE

In this section, we outline some of the best practices to be applied to common outbound marketing tactics in order to ensure optimal results:

Cold calling best practices

Develop a compelling and concise value proposition to inform your company's call scripts
Craft comprehensive, yet flexible scripts, which allow SDRs to adapt as needed to allow personalization and a more natural conversation in general
Conduct in-depth research on each prospect before calling, in order to properly understand their needs and pain points
Adopt a client-centric point of view when addressing objections and concerns, highlighting how your prospects can overcome these challenges with your solutions, rather than simply detailing what your business does
Always schedule follow-up calls, and keep strict track of calendars and agendas to not miss any opportunities

Cold emailing best practices

Craft engaging, yet natural subject lines (SLs) that avoid common sales language tropes and read more like a co-worker reaching out
Personalize the copy in the body text, mentioning the recipients’ name and company, as well as specific challenges they face
Write concise copy that is scannable and demonstrates the value at a glance for the reader
Monitor metrics such as open rates, CTRs, and conversion rates to inform future optimizations
A/B test different SLs and copy with specific segments to improve conversions

Event marketing best practices

Invest in booths and incentive programs (such as competitions or raffles) that make your brand stand out at the venue and encourage visits
Train BDRs to effectively communicate your value proposition briefly, as well as to answer objections on the spot when questioned at an event
Promote event dates on your company’s marketing channels
Implement QR codes and scanners to improve UX and allow seamless integration from the event into your systems for nurturing leads after the event
Set KPIs and goals prior to the event to keep track of its results

Advertising best practices

Utilize copy and visuals that clearly communicate your value proposition at a glance
Use and continuously refine your targeting options to accurately reach your desired audience
Monitor performance and implement optimizations
Employ A/B testing to identify the ad strategies that resonate the most with your audience
Identify the most appropriate channels for your target audience based on observable data on their channel preferences, leveraging different channels in tandem to create an omnichannel experience

Outbound omnichannel marketing best practices

Integrate your outreach channels to deliver your prospects a unique, holistic experience that reaches them where they are
Strive to deliver a data-driven personalized experience that caters to your prospects' needs and pain points
Leverage platforms that enable marketers to sync messaging across different channels, compiling all information into a dashboard, to keep track of their buying journeys
Automate where possible to decrease workload and increase productivity
Track metrics across channels and implement updates regularly to cater to inconsistencies in your process

guide

Discover the key elements to building a high-performance omnichannel strategy in four steps

CONCLUSION

Outbound marketing, when utilized with attention to these best practices, demonstrates enough flexibility and strategic uses to engage audiences and leads in a quicker timeframe than possible with inbound methods. However, marketers must utilize it mindfully to avoid irrelevant messaging, wasted budgets, and alienating their target audience.

Furthermore, a strong framework of demand generation marketing has the potential to support and boost the effectiveness of your outbound marketing campaigns.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Employ demand generation techniques to drive brand awareness in the space, which will then bolster your outbound marketing efforts
Utilize outbound to engage audience members quickly, and follow-up with touchpoints that are relevant and drive further brand interest
Leverage inbound and outbound marketing approaches in tandem to ensure maximum efficiency of both
Develop your omnichannel marketing strategies to create a seamless experience and reach prospects in their preferred platforms
Ensure your communications convey your UVP (unique value proposition) in a concise and compelling manner
Monitor KPIs closely to inform ongoing optimizations

DEVELOP OUTBOUND MARKETING CAMPAIGNS THAT EXCEED YOUR EXPECTATIONS

Get in touch with 1000+ demand experts across the world to plan your demand generation strategy. Our team is available 24/5 to discuss your goals and drive a brand experience that exceeds your expectations.

Contact the team at [email protected]

About the Author

Dan Freeman
CRO

For nearly 30 years, Dan has used his deep expertise in business, technology, and sales processes to help businesses succeed. As a founding member of INFUSE and its Chief Revenue Officer, he has overseen the company’s growth from startup to a global organization of over 400 employees with six offices on two continents.