Push and pull marketing - which strategy is better?

What is a pull strategy?

The pull method includes activities aimed at attraction consumers to the brand. It involves providing them with valuable content that encourages them to purchase products or services and creates a loyal customer base.

Pull marketing is a communication strategy that is usually carried out:

• in social media, i.e. on social networks where you can publish interesting posts (Facebook) or tweets, i.e. short text messages on X (formerly Twitter), as well as attractive photos and graphics (Instagram);
• as content marketing, which involves the creation of valuable blog articles, podcasts or e-books, which can be posted not only on one's own website, but also on external sites, such as industry portals or LinkedIn;
• based on the organisation of competitions and promotions or events, as well as a loyalty programme.

Pull also requires working with influencers to influence customer preferences and purchasing decisions. An example is influencers who are active on social media. For example, you can interview them, making your brand more recognisable in the market.

What are the objectives of a pull strategy?

The implementation of the pull method aims to increase brand awareness and promote a positive image of the company in the market. This is to induce consumers to buy the products or services it offers.

Pull places emphasis on building long-term customer relations and reinforcing their commitment. The aim is to get them to use the company's offer again after they have made a purchase.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of a marketing strategy that involves attracting customers to a product or service?

In the case of the pull strategy, its main advantage is that it will effectively reach customers and encourage them to buy. The distribution of advertising material is not pushy (users are not inundated with pop-ups and banners), and much of the message has significant educational value. It is therefore useful to the audience.

With pull marketing you can make consumers associate your company with:

• valuable and unique content;
• Highly active on social media;
• participating in interesting initiatives, for example in the field of CSR, or corporate social responsibility (ecology, community development, etc.).

When they are looking for a specific product or service, they will think of you. This is the ideal way to increase sales in the long term.

In the case of pull the key to success is, however, patience. The method requires a considerable amount of time and resources, as well as careful monitoring of the effects of advertising activities. The downside is that it is easy to fall into traps. If, for example, the content is not interesting or if it lacks linking directly to your offer, many customers will simply leave the site and buy from a competitor. This is why it is always worth employing a professional agency, which will ensure that sales marketing leads to the desired results.

What are the characteristics of a push strategy?

Push marketing is about promoting an offer directly at the source, i.e. to customers. It is about suggesting to them the specific products or services in which they are interested. It is based on:

• implementation of advertising campaigns such as Google Ads, which involve the publication of text, graphic or multimedia material - which can be displayed both in the browser and on specific web pages or mobile applications;
• e-mail marketing, where recipients can be sent regular newsletters;
• calling or texting customers to present their offer.

The push strategy is to use flyers, banners or business cards as widely as possible to get consumers interested in a company's products or services. It is permission marketing, which means that the customer can read the advertising material after agreeing to receive it.

Push marketing strategy objectives

Push promotional activities aim to promote a brand's offer in a direct way. They aim to:

• increasing the level of sales, which is important, for example, if you have just founded a company or are about to launch a new product;
• to reach carefully selected customer groups.

Push promotion strategy - what are the advantages and disadvantages of a push system?

What characterises the push strategy is the ability to quickly reach those recipients who are interested in specific products or services with a personalised advertising message. It is therefore perfectly suited to customer needs.

Remember, however, that push is a rather expensive means of promotion, which in addition is not to everyone's liking. Push adverts are not always attractive, especially when the user is bombarded with them every day. Therefore, they can often discourage purchases rather than encourage them. Push marketing activities must therefore be implemented carefully.

What are the differences between push and pull strategies?

Both promotion strategies are a set of marketing tools designed to encourage customers to purchase a particular product or service. The difference is the way in which this objective is achieved.

• Pull is based on building a long-term relationship with the audience by reinforcing brand awareness and appearing as an expert to the business owner.
• In the push concept, the emphasis is on making a quick profit by investing in advertising.

Push or pull - which to choose?

Pull marketing is worth using when you want to offer a potential customer tangible value and are not concerned with making a quick sale. Pull uses an attractive, unique message to build a loyal customer base. It is worth using if your customers are waiting for a creative dialogue with you.

Push, on the other hand, means a greater chance of getting undecided people to buy. It is a concept that comes in handy when your target group needs comprehensive information about your offer. Push is often used for start-ups, among other things. You can also use it when demand for your products or services has suddenly dropped.

Is it worth mixing pull and push strategies in your business?

Despite the fact that the concepts of push and pull stand to themselves in opposition, however, their elements can be used within a single marketing plan. Nothing prevents them from being used simultaneously:

• publish valuable advice articles on the blog, as well as create sponsored texts for external websites;
• offer recipients personalised advertising on Google search or social media.

However, there is a need for a skilful balance between both concepts. It is necessary to adapt the strategy to the brand in question and the industry in which it operates, as well as to the needs of the members of the target group. It is therefore essential to know their preferences and intentions.

In order to take full advantage of the opportunities that come with pull and push systems, it is worth partnering with marketing specialists, such as the company Nicesoft. It will professionally integrate both types of marketing, which will be of great benefit to your business. It will allow you to adequately promote your business and help you achieve success in the market.

Pull - pulling, or perhaps push - pushing? You don't have to choose between these two concepts, as they are worth implementing simultaneously. Both push and pull are aimed at the same thing, i.e. increasing sales, and only differ in the ways in which this can be achieved.