Push Vs Pull Marketing

When trying to gain customers as a small business, it is very important to determine what kind of marketing strategy to use.  More specifically, whether to use a push or a pull marketing campaign.  I find value in both, but I would like to go over the differences of push and pull marketing so you can make the right decision for you and your business.

Instead of explaining a technical version of push and pull marketing, I would rather describe a scenario first.  Imagine if you were a plumber and you asked everyone that you came in contact with if you could take a look at their toilet or faucet and offer your services.  Awkward right?  What if they didn't have any problems with their faucet or toilet?  What if they already knew a plumber?  That is push marketing.  Now, let's flip the position a bit.  Imagine if you were a plumber and you had a steady flow of people that had problems with their faucet or toilet approaching you and asking you for help.  That would be a much better position to be in right?  That is pull marketing or attraction marketing.   Basically creating a funnel where people are already looking for your business and you merely explain how you can help.

Push Marketing:  Anything that you push onto your potential client in hopes that the timing is right for them to do business with you is push marketing.  Examples would be direct mailers, tv commercials, social media spam posts ("hey look at me, buy from me"), radio commercials, billboards, flyers.  These can be very effective, but you are still in a position of hoping that people will respond.

Pull Marketing:  This style of marketing involves planting seeds of value in order to attract people that are already looking for your business.  Huh?  Basically, you are not offering your service or product, you are merely setting yourself up to be in front of people that are already looking for your service.   Examples of pull marketing would be search engine optimization (seo) and social media marketing.  Seo is my favorite form of pull marketing because Google is the number 1 visited website.  That means that there are billions of people searching for services and products.  All they have to do now is find you.  For example, if you were searching for a personal trainer in Plano, TX, you would type something into Google like "Plano Personal Trainer".  Neff Fitness pops up first, so most people would give him a call first.  Right?  Well, he didn't get there by accident.  He has a company optimizing his website (Dallas Seo Team) so that he can attract people looking for his services, instead of him looking for people to train.  It works the same in social media.  If you provide value to your followers, eventually they will need your services and ask you for help instead of you beating them over the head begging them to buy your product or use your services.



I am very passionate about marketing because, if done correctly, you can create a steady flow of customers without having to "sell" a day in your life.  The sale will become natural if people are actively looking for what you have to offer.  People love to buy, but hate to be sold.

If you found value in this article, please share it with a friend and feel free to leave a comment below.  I wish you all the luck in your business ventures!