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Meaning & use

proactive marketing

noun·Academic

Last updated

UK/ˌprəʊæktɪv ˈmɑːkɪtɪŋ/
US/ˌproʊæktɪv ˈmɑːrkɪtɪŋ/

Meanings

  1. noununcountablebusiness

    the business practice of planning and starting marketing activities before problems or opportunities appear, rather than reacting to them

    Grammar: Uncountable, so no plural and no 'a' before it: use proactive marketing, not a proactive marketing.

    Patterns

    • use proactive marketing
    • invest in proactive marketing
    • a proactive marketing strategy

    The company uses proactive marketing to reach customers before competitors do.

    Proactive marketing helped the brand build awareness early.

    They switched from reactive to proactive marketing after losing market share.

  2. noununcountablebusiness

    a way of promoting products or services that actively seeks out new customers instead of waiting for them to come

    Grammar: Often used with 'strategy', 'campaign', or 'approach' after it.

    Patterns

    • proactive marketing campaign
    • proactive marketing approach

    Their proactive marketing campaign targeted new regions.

    A proactive marketing approach means contacting potential clients directly.

Common combinations

proactive marketing strategy
The firm developed a proactive marketing strategy for the new product.
proactive marketing campaign
The proactive marketing campaign increased sales by 20%.
use proactive marketing
Small businesses can use proactive marketing to compete with larger rivals.
shift to proactive marketing
The team shifted to proactive marketing after a slow quarter.

Synonyms and how they differ

outbound marketing
Outbound marketing means actively pushing messages to customers, which is one form of proactive marketing, but proactive marketing can also include planning ahead in other ways.
strategic marketing
Strategic marketing focuses on long-term planning; proactive marketing emphasizes acting before events force you to.

Opposites

reactive marketing

Word family

proactive adjective
Acting in advance rather than waiting for something to happen.
marketing noun
The activity of promoting and selling products or services.

Commonly confused: proactive marketing or reactive marketing?

proactive marketing vs reactive marketing

Reactive marketing means responding to what has already happened, while proactive marketing means planning and acting ahead of time.

Practice

Instead of waiting for customers to complain, the company adopted a ___ marketing approach.

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