In today's digital age, a well-thought-out marketing strategy is crucial for companies to reach their target groups and to sustainably position their products or services. There are various marketing strategies that companies can use to address their target groups. In this article, we will discuss the differences between pull and push marketing and show how Feedbax can help you with pull marketing, with little or no budget.

Please remember that a marketing strategy agency can help you a great deal with pull marketing.

  1. 1. Push and pull marketing: definitions and differences
  2. 2. Push marketing: creating demand instead of meeting demand
  3. 2.1 Advantages of push marketing:
  4. 2.2 Disadvantages of push marketing:
  5. 3. Pull marketing: Attracting customers naturally and arousing interest
  6. 3.1 Advantages of pull marketing:
  7. 3.2 Disadvantages of pull marketing:
  8. 4. Push or pull?

Push and pull marketing: definitions and differences

An important difference between push and pull marketing is not only which marketing channels are used, but also how data is collected. In push marketing, the focus is on extensive analyses of the target group, the market and the reach. Campaigns are often very carefully planned and tested for success in advance.

In contrast, pull marketing works with an even larger amount of data. Internet giants in particular often provide this data for ad placement and optimization free of charge. The campaigns are continuously monitored and adapted to become more and more effective. Companies can get to know the target group and their needs better and use completely new, targeted advertising opportunities through the use of algorithms and big data analyses. This enables highly personalized advertising.

Push marketing: creating demand instead of meeting demand

Push marketing is a traditional marketing strategy in which companies actively advertise their products or services to customers. Instruments for this are paid advertising, e-mail marketing and telephone acquisition, but discounts and special promotions can also be classified as push marketing. Push marketing is an aggressive marketing strategy that aims to address customers directly and encourage them to buy. Push marketing is used, for example, when launching a new product or service or if you are active in a niche market.

Advantages of push marketing:

  • Easily scalable by increasing the marketing budget
  • Short-term success as high reach can be achieved through targeted campaigns, especially for product launches or expansion of the service portfolio
  • Hardly any alternatives with the same effect
  • Increase in brand awareness
  • Competitive advantages, especially in saturated markets

Disadvantages of push marketing:

  • Generally negative perception of advertisements and sponsored postings.
  • Large wastage because push marketing is almost always played out across the board.
  • No consideration of the needs and characteristics of the target group.
  • Not sustainable. Effect ends immediately when the marketing budget is exhausted.
  • Inefficient with small target groups
  • High costs - black hole
  • One-way street of communication

Pull marketing: Attracting customers naturally and arousing interest

On the other hand, pull marketing aims to attract customers naturally by providing them with valuable information and resources that pique their interest. This can be achieved through content marketing, SEO optimization or social media marketing. Pull marketing is a gentle and sustainable strategy that aims to attract customers rather than persuade them. Pull marketing is mainly used when customers know what they are looking for or when branding plays an overriding role. Pull marketing channels are, for example, your own website, PR and generally all content marketing touchpoints with the target group.

The advantage of pull marketing is that potential customers are already interested in your offer before they come to you. They are therefore more likely to interact with you and make use of your services. Pull marketing can also provide long-term benefits by helping to build awareness of your brand and business among your target audience and gain their trust. This can lead to repeat customers in the long term, sustainably supporting your business.

One of the most important measures in pull marketing is branding. This is about making your company and your brand known and creating a positive perception among your target group. Online reviews are a good way to achieve this. According to a study by G2-Crowd, approximately 92% of B2B customers look for information and reviews on online review portals to make their purchasing decisions. It is therefore important to have an effective review management system in place to collect positive reviews from satisfied customers and proactively deal with negative reviews. Review management can help to actively encourage and monitor reviews from satisfied customers.

Advantages of pull marketing:

  • Targeted approach to the target group
  • Efficiency through optimization
  • Sustainable and effective in the long term
  • No high costs
  • Qualitative branding

Disadvantages of pull marketing:

  • Unsuitable for unknown products
  • Not so easily scalable
  • No short-term success
  • Manual effort

Push or pull?

Push marketing will continue to be a proven tool. For established brands, push advertising methods are still crucial for creating incentives to buy, securing market leadership and informing potential customers about new products - especially if the target group is large.

For smaller companies, on the other hand, the effort and return are often out of proportion. In such cases, pull marketing methods are often a much more efficient choice. Nevertheless, in many cases it is advisable to choose the combination of push and pull marketing that results in a brand being well positioned and able to sell products successfully.