Outbound Marketing for Philippine Businesses 

Different years, different businesses, different strategies.

Many of these strategies were effective for the time they were developed. 

Fast forward to the digital age and marketing has developed yet again to seamlessly become part of our daily lives.

We talked about one of those strategies—inbound marketing—so now we talk about the flip side.

Outbound marketing can help businesses in their early stages as an effective, if traditional, strategy to create brand awareness, lead generation, market penetration, and sales generation. Read on to explore what outbound marketing is, its key components, and how businesses can effectively use it. 

What is Outbound Marketing? 

Outbound marketing or “push marketing” uses more traditional ways to reach its target market. We’re talking print ads, radio ads, TV commercials, telemarketing, banner displays on websites, pop-ups, and cold calls and emails. 

The goal of outbound marketing is mainly sales generation by reaching out to all audiences. Where inbound marketing caters specifically to the personality of a target market, outbound marketing does its best to reach anyone and everyone. 

Think of it this way: inbound marketing is like fishing with a fishing pole, looking for specific fish, with the tools to catch that specific fish – special bait, different hooks, custom lines, and fishing poles all working together.

INBOUND MARKETING is like fishing with a specific, customized pole, where OUTBOUND MARKETING is more like casting a wide net. (Photo by Brady Rogers on Unsplash)

Outbound marketing on the other hand is more like net fishing where the fisherman throws his net in a general area and catches any fish he can. 

Both have their pros and cons. Outbound marketing is good for start-ups to spread brand awareness, reach a broader audience, and inform their strategy to further refine it.

Key Characteristics of Outbound Marketing 

1. Proactive outreach: Outbound marketing is all about getting its presence known. You cannot afford to be passive. Create content to introduce yourself, the product, and what you want to be remembered by. Implement this content strategy in all relevant channels, to as broad an audience as you can. 

2. Broad reach: Having diversified channels is key. Be everywhere you can always be—as you make your brand known, and as you gather data to refine your strategy. Take billboards, for instance. They don’t have set KPIs. Brands on billboards are exposed to all audiences who pass by it. 

3. Immediate impact: The thing about outbound marketing and it’s “in your face” methods is that they work. Broadcasting to a larger audience directly leads to generating more sales at the onset. Casting a net might not get you a specific fish, but it will still bring in a lot of others. 

Key Components of Outbound Marketing 

Traditional Advertising 

Television, radio, and print advertisements are the traditional channels that outbound marketing does particularly well with. These coincidentally are still highly effective in the Philippines, particularly for brands targeting mass audiences. We’re big believers in the effectiveness of traditional media ourselves! 

Digital Advertising (PPC & Display Ads) 

Paid online ads, including pop-ups, Google Ads, Meta Ads, and YouTube Ads, allow businesses to reach out to the digital marketplace. This strategy can be used for both inbound and outbound marketing. The difference is that an inbound strategy will be more particular about where its ads may show up while an outbound strategy aims to be seen by as large an audience as it can. 

Email Marketing & Cold Calling

Cold outreach refers to how outbound marketing strategies will contact audiences who have no connection with the product. This is usually done through email or calls and aims to spread the brand’s message wherever and to whoever it can. 

The point of this method is to make direct sales from person to person. Though it can be rather annoying on the side of a customer, cold calls and emails remain one of the more effective methods of outbound marketing. 

SMS Marketing 

Despite the rise of digital marketing, direct calls, and SMS campaigns remain effective, especially for consumers who have ‘opted in’ one way or another. SMS marketing has recently died down, with difficulties tied to regulating these messages. People in general are more wary of SMS scams and as such do not put much weight on promos or “opportunities” that they receive by text. That said, this is your reminder: DO NOT click links within text messages!

Event Sponsorships & Trade Shows 

Participating in expos, trade shows, and sponsorships enhances brand visibility and credibility. Though it is a less in-your-face method, it is a clever way for a brand to further develop its target market. This also allows a brand to be seen by its competition and potential partners.

Advantages of Outbound Marketing 

1. Wider Audience Reach – The fish net method works, and it reaches not only one target market but several simultaneously. It enables businesses to quickly get their message in front of large groups of potential customers while spreading brand awareness.

2. Faster Lead Generation – Outbound strategies often deliver immediate results that can be used to further refine strategies for more favorable results. Because outbound marketing is proactive it is easy to tell when sales increased respective to a certain channel used at a certain time.

3. Brand Awareness Boost – High-visibility campaigns help establish credibility and market presence. Putting a brand out there for everyone to see, does exactly that – everyone will see it. This is a great way for starting businesses to spread brand awareness or for businesses that hold a large market share to spread their promos or boost sales.

4. Controlled Messaging – Businesses have full control over how their brand is presented. The message is seen through the content of the marketing campaign, and not based on what the brand aligns itself with. As inbound marketing caters to a specific audience, they tend to be more controlled as to where they release their content and as such will have to be sensitive to who or what they are connected with. Outbound marketing has no such limitation, as they are in control of what they want their message to be.

Challenges of Outbound Marketing 

1. High Costs – TV ads, billboards, and digital ads require significant investment. Outbound Marketing is not cheap, but because of its reach to a large audience the channel used is cost-efficient. It is also an efficient strategy regularly used by large corporations and businesses that can afford it.
2. Intrusiveness – The “in your face” marketing strategy that outbound marketing implements can be abrasive to parts of the audience it reaches. With changes in society, more and more people have become aware of how their environment impacts their daily lives, often resulting to a comparison between marketing and propaganda. Some customers also find unsolicited messages disruptive which could lead to lower engagement or a decrease in customer loyalty.

3. Lower Conversion Rates – Compared to inbound marketing, outbound marketing often yields lower engagement per impression. This is a direct result of being easily seen. Because the brand/product/business is so easy to come by, audiences already know more or less what the brand’s message is, after the initial bombardment of ads the audience eventually loses interest. 

Outbound marketing remains a valuable strategy for businesses in the Philippines, especially when combined with digital efforts. By leveraging traditional ads, digital campaigns, and direct outreach, businesses can drive awareness, boost sales, and generate leads – not every strategy is foolproof, however. For optimal results, a balanced approach that integrates both inbound and outbound marketing is key to long-term success. 

Partnering with a PR and Digital Marketing Agency provides a brand with the expertise of which strategies, channels, and content a brand can use to reach its goals and become the best it can be.