Push and Pull Digital Marketing

When learning the fundamentals of marketing, we tend to come across a range of theories. Push and pull marketing are one of them. These theories, however, were taught within the sphere of general marketing that included traditional ad outlets such as newspapers and radios. However, with a surge in the applications of digital marketing, let’s analyse the push and pull marketing theory through the lenses of modern day digital marketing.

What is Push Marketing?

As the name suggests, this is a marketing technique wherein the organisation spends the extra dollar to ‘push’ the product towards the customers. This is usually performed by investing upon marketing campaigns that are promoted over various platforms. Push marketing is typically used when launching new products or selling a niche product. In the context of digital marketing, push marketing can be used by displaying ads or images on external websites. Clicking on the images can then redirect the user to the company’s website. In addition, mobile app notifications and e-mails to promote a particular product can also be a form of push marketing. Besides, spending on Instagram and Facebook ads can also be a form of push marketing as you can choose your target customer and pitch the ads to them accordingly.

What is Pull Marketing?

On the other hand, pull marketing is a different game altogether. In this type of marketing, customers are already aware of the product they are looking for and thus search for companies selling similar products. Therefore, companies don’t need to spend an extra effort promoting their products and services. This usually is more cost-effective because companies can save money. Pull marketing is usually an outcome of positive word-of-mouth, and is likely to occur for existing brands that hold a strong reputation. In the light of digital marketing, search engine optimisation can be a form of pull marketing wherein the company’s name organically appears on the top of the search engine listings. Moreover, social media pages such as Facebook and Instagram can also represent a type of pull marketing when visitors naturally come across an interesting post, and thus decide to either check out the brand’s profile or visit the business’ website.

In conclusion, while push marketing allows a company to reach out to the customers and communicate their existing, pull marketing is more cost effective as customers themselves search for the company’s services. Nevertheless, it is highly pragmatic for companies to aim for a mix of both push and pull marketing in order to reap the advantages of both.

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