What is the Difference Between Push & Pull Marketing?
The main difference between push vs pull marketing is in how customers are approached.
Push Marketing
Push marketing forces products or services on to people, puts the brand in your face, like in sales displays at your supermarket where as pull marketing is to establish a loyal following and draw customers to the product or service
Pull Marketing
The goal of pull marketing is to get the customers to come to you, hence the term pull, where marketers are attempting to pull customers in. Common sales tactics used for pull marketing include mass media promotions, word-of-mouth referrals and advertised sales promotions. From a business perspective, pull marketing attempts to create brand loyalty and keep customers coming back, whereas push marketing is more concerned with short-term sales.
Push vs Pull Marketing in the new Social Media environment
The social media environment has changed the way we now do marketing, many customers are moving from push based promotions used by many offline based companies in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Back then, push-based strategies were used, in which companies tried to find ways to get in front of someone to show them an offer. TV and radio commercials are push-based. The advertising is placed in the path of the consumer, they haven’t asked for it; they’re just put in the path of whatever it is their doing or enjoying.
Customers interact with businesses so differently today. Consumers are now move savvy, more informed, they make their purchasing decisions after lots of research including checking out recommendations and reviews. Most people will have researched their last purchase online and may have asked their friends online whether they should buy it. They would have read a few posts or articles about the business and what they offer. Maybe they have even read through a few tweets or posts on the business’s Social Media platforms.
The pull based (attraction based) strategies are the new way to advertise and help business to know if they are being helpful by partaking in online conversations (which increases Search Engine Optimisation)