Proactive Vs. Reactive Marketing
Nearly all businesses use some form of marketing, be it as complex as a multimedia ad campaign or as simple as a sign hung on the front door. In most cases, the basic function of marketing is twofold: to inform consumers of the existence of a product and to convince them to buy it. Although marketing can take many forms, you can divide most marketing into two types: proactive and reactive.
Other People Are Reading
-
Reactive Marketing
-
Reactive marketing is marketing undertaken in response to the actions of a competitor. Many reactive marketing campaigns are forms of imitation, functioning as variations on a similar campaign. For example, if a company decided to advertise a product using a sports star, a competing company using a reactive marketing campaign might hire another celebrity. Similarly, if a company advertises new, lower prices, a reactive marketing campaign for another company might trumpet its new, even lower prices.
Proactive Marketing
-
By contrast, a company using a proactive marketing strategy uses new ideas to market a product. A proactive marketing campaign develops not as a response to a competitor's actions, but as an original creation. A company working in a proactive mindset, instead of using the same advertising media as another firm, might decide to market its product using an entirely new medium. For example, it might use writing on hot air balloons or hire people to mention its product at clubs.
-
Considerations
-
Although proactive marketing campaigns are generally bolder and more creative than reactive campaigns, this doesn't necessary mean they are more effective. According to Metamend, a company specializing in Internet search marketing, old-fashioned reactive campaigns can often generate more sales than proactive campaigns. Although the reactive campaign might be "lazy," taking an effective campaign and improving on it often yields results. However, Metamend argues that although it takes more work, proactive campaigns can yield a higher potential return on the company's investment.
Internet Marketing
-
According to marketing expert Frank Reed, writing on business consultant Mike Moran's website, you can easily apply the concepts of proactive and reactive marketing to Internet marketing campaigns. Due to the quick pace as which Internet technology changes, proactive Internet marketers must not just develop new marketing strategies, but be aware of new marketing formats. For example, while in 2000, few Internet marketers used social networking websites, by 2010, it was all but essential for them to do so.
Expert Insight
-
According to Julian Stone, the chief executive of the New Zealand-based company ProActive Software, the terms "proactive" and "reactive" can describe other forms of business growth besides marketing. For example, a company may attempt to foster a philosophy of proactive sales and lead generation by aggressively pursuing potential clients. By contrast, a reactive sales philosophy is more passive, waiting for clients to approach the company.
-
