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Types of marketing activities generally fall into one of two categories: push marketing and pull marketing. To marketers, it's as basic as breathing in and out. If you think of your business as a physical (or virtual) doorway, and just on the other side of the doorway is your product or service. And, unknowing about the existence of your doorway, or reluctant to enter the doorway, are potential prospects. How do you get them to come in...with marketing! Think of marketing as a type of force that moves prospects to action. You can choose to pull the prospect through the door or you can push them through the door.

What is push marketing?Push marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies geared toward your sales and distribution channels to entice them to promote your product. Consumers rarely see this type of marketing when it is directed to your sales force or distributors. It might include wholesale discounts, kickbacks, bonuses, and other types of support. It's all designed push prospects through your channels to the door. Referral and word of mouth marketing are other types of push marketing. When companies encourage happy customers to spread the word to their friends and families, that's a type of push marketing. You can also create a "buzz" with press releases, articles and participating in blogs - that's another type of push marketing.

What is pull marketing?Pull marketing is where you develop advertising and promotional strategies that are meant to entice prospects to buy your product or service directly. Some classic examples are "half off!" or "bring in this coupon to save 25%" or "buy one get one free", etc. With pull marketing, you are trying to create a sense of increased time-limited value so that the customer will come through the door to buy.

Why you need both.Most companies need to employ both strategies to create a great marketing mix that powerfully entices customers to come through the door. Some customers react to one type more than another. For example, bargain hunters might react to pull marketing tactics, while socially-aware buyers might respond to a push marketing campaign. Or, if you have a product that requires a lot of convincing to buy, a "double barreled" approach might help to ensure action.

Some companies rely too much only on push marketing. The best companies utilize a multi-channel approach that incorporates both push and pull marketing. In the old days, marketing options were limited to print media, television, radio and direct mail, which functioned to support sales and develop leads. Now days, email blasts, blogs, Internet advertising, web sites and all forms of social media are vastly less expensive than those traditional methods.

When you review your annual marketing plan, make sure that you are scheduling marketing 7 days a week, 52 weeks a year, utilizing both push marketing and pull marketing throughout the entire year. Identify your marketing efforts as push marketing or pull marketing. You'll see that they overlap sometimes and always support each other. Make sure that 365 days a year you are doing both! It will be worth it!

Touchstone can help you review your marketing tactics and develop strategies that makes sense for you! Contact our office today at 303-278-7501 to schedule a meeting or visit www.touchstonebiz.com for more information on Touchstone's services.