The Difference Between Push and Pull Marketing 

When deciding on the best marketing strategy for your business, you will have to choose between push and pull marketing strategies. But what is the difference between push and pull marketing strategies? The main difference is how you approach your customers. Do you prefer to reach out to them, or let them find you organically? In this article, we will define push marketing and pull marketing and how to accomplish each strategy. Hopefully, this will help you determine which is the right option for your business!

difference between push and pull marketing

The Definition of Push Marketing

Push marketing is a strategy that is all about a business getting their products, services, or message directly in front of potential customers, through a variety of tactics. The term “push” marketing is used because marketers are literally pushing the product at the target consumer. This strategy is all about directly selling to consumers. In push marketing, you make your products, services, or brand as  visible as possible in order to make sales quickly. It typically involves spending money.

When to Use Push Marketing

Push marketing is typically used when a company is launching a new product or is trying to stand out in a very crowded or very niche market. After all, a customer can’t find a product that it doesn’t know exists.

Here are some other instances where you might use push marketing:

  • If you are launching a new business or website without a previous reputation
  • For holiday or seasonal events, products, and sales
  • For any kind of temporary promotional campaign
  • If you are expanding to a new market or niche
  • In order to generate cash flow or sales quickly
  • To try to clear out leftover seasonal stock before the end of the season
  • To promote brand recognition when you are competing against another major brand or company
  • Or anytime you are trying to subsidize a multi-channel strategy!

difference between pull and push marketing

Forms of Push Marketing

There are several different forms of push marketing, including pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. PPC advertising is when marketers place banners, display ads, search engine ads, and shopping ads across several platforms and pay a minimal amount each time an ad gets a click.

Some other forms of push marketing are paid social media marketing strategies.

Example of Push Marketing

Push marketing is very common and you are most likely already familiar with it, whether you realize it or not. One example of push marketing is a car salesman who meets with potential clients in a showroom. Or, the candy, gum, and magazines placed at the register when you are checking out at the grocery store.

push marketing vs pull marketing

The Definition of Pull Marketing

Pull marketing is all about establishing a loyal following and drawing consumers into using your products. In pull marketing, you naturally accrue traffic through a variety of marketing channels. You allow the customer to seek out your product o services on their own. You can accomplish pull marketing by creating high-quality, valuable content for your target audience and letting them find you.

However, it is important to know that pull marketing doesn’t mean just sitting by and doing nothing. Rather, you know that there are consumers out there looking for the products, services, and/or information you offer. Your job is to make it easy for them to find it and accomplish their goal.

When to Use Pull Marketing

If your company is looking to accomplish any of the following goals, pull marketing might be the right strategy for you:

  • Ensure business growth over the long-term
  • Maintain your dominance in a specific industry or niche
  • Build customer loyalty or a customer base
  • Promote brand awareness, recognition, and visibility
  • Promote customer engagement with your brand
  • Increase social media traffic and social media sharing
  • Grow traffic to your website through organic, referral, and social segments
  • Increase your sales and revenue in a budget-friendly manner
  • Engage with your target audience before they know what they want at the beginning of the sales funnel.

pull marketing

Forms of Pull Marketing

Some of the main forms of pull marketing include SEO, or search engine optimization, social media, content marketing, and even email marketing. SEO has proven to have a reliable ROI (return on investment), whereas social media marketing is a relatively newer strategy (but still effective!)

Example of Pull Marketing

Pull marketing strategies are much more subtle than push marketing strategies. For example, perhaps you pay influencer to create YouTube videos about using your product. This creates a demand for your product without using direct advertising. It can also create word-of-mouth buzz, too.

Push Marketing vs. Pull Marketing

Push marketing and pull marketing are both successful promotional strategies. Either one can be used to reach your target market. The right strategy for you ultimately depends on your goals.

The main difference between push and pull marketing is that push marketing brings the product to the consumer, whereas pull marketing lures the consumer to the product. Pull marketing creating brand loyalty and return customers, where push marketing is more about making quick sales in a short amount of time.

Another key difference between push vs. pull marketing is the amount of money you spend. Push marketing tends to be more expensive in order to meet your goals in a short amount of time.

An added benefit of pull marketing is that consumers prefer to discover brands on their own, rather than find them through push advertising techniques.

While there are pros and cons to each strategy, we often find that our clients benefit from a combination of both push and pull strategy. If you focus on a multi-platform, multi-strategy marketing approach that combines the best of push and pull marketing, you can see both short-term and long-term growth for your business. The best option for your business depends on what your company’s goals and needs are.

push marketing

Choose the Right Marketing Strategy with SEO Design Chicago

Regardless if a push marketing or pull marketing campaign is the right strategy for your company, SEO Design Chicago can help you either way. We can help you create a quick PPC campaign for some easy wins, or create a more long-term SEO or social media marketing plan to help you grow your business over time. Our online marketing team experts can create the perfect inbound marketing or outbound marketing plan for your company.

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