When Push Comes to Pull

Marketing these days is different. In our new hybrid work world, some tried and true marketing methods just plain don’t apply anymore. But there is an underutilized marketing tactic that your firm should be implementing - pull marketing. What is pull marketing and is your firm using it to its full potential? Let’s dive in.

Several weeks ago our team presented on this topic at the SMPS Southern Regional Conference. If you weren’t at SRC, here are some key takeaways from the presentation, as well as a link to our full article on the topic in Marketer magazine.

A Gallup survey in June of 2022 found that 8 in 10 people are working hybrid or remotely, while only 2 in 10 are entirely on-site. And an AT&T study found the hybrid work model is expected to grow from 42% in 2021 to 81% in 2024.

What this means for us as marketers is that getting in front of clients and potential clients is becoming even more challenging. The ability to pop by a client’s office for a visit, send a client appreciation gift, or connect with someone at an event is reduced, while the burden to stay top of mind and help bring in work remains a priority.

There’s no easy way to maintain relevance and stay top of mind in an increasingly disconnected work environment, but there is one marketing strategy that can help—pull marketing. Pull marketing works exactly how it sounds, utilizing promotional activities to draw clients toward you. This strategy stands in opposition to push marketing, which references pushing marketing materials out to try and canvas current and potential clients.

• Pull marketing is client-focused; push marketing is self-focused

• Pull marketing is an ice cream shop providing a mint chocolate chip sample on a hot day; push marketing is an ice cream shop mailing a flyer about how their ice cream is the best.

• Pull marketing is a parenting magazine sending monthly articles about baby milestones; push marketing is a parenting magazine spamming an inbox with baby products to purchase.

You get the gist. So, why does pull marketing matter? It matters because an increase in the remote workforce means a decrease in organic connections and business development encounters. As marketers, we have to work even harder to engage with existing and potential clients. It’s far more effective to engage contacts through pull marketing than to push information that may or may not be useful.

What are some pull marketing activities that are valuable and specific to the professional services industry? Two great examples are knowledge-based marketing and public relations, by way of article pitches or award submissions. Want to learn more? Check out our full Marketer article to learn how to develop and implement a set of pull marketing tactics that works for your firm.