In this digital age, we know how important it is to have an online presence. So much of our business is accomplished online that we may forget about some offline marketing techniques that have been proved to work. Offline marketing tools can offer benefits that shouldn’t be overlooked.
Benefits of offline marketing
One of the main benefits of offline marketing is that you don’t need to rely on an internet connection. If your web server goes down and your website is not accessible, you can lose valuable custom. With offline marketing, you don’t have to worry about this.
Online advertising is so omnipresent that it has largely lost its impact. It’s very easy to simply ignore it because of the saturation.
Giving someone a business card that they can touch and feel is not as easy to ignore. Temple University researchers found that printed media causes more activity in the ventral striatum of the human brain, which is most predictive of future purchasing behaviour, than digital media.
Another advantage is that it is much easier to concentrate on a local area. The large potential customer base that comes with online marketing means it is far easier to get lost in the crowd.
When you concentrate on your local area, you have a better chance of understanding what local customers want and you can target their needs more directly. Participating in a local event or getting an interview in the local newspaper can noticeably improve business.
Types of offline marketing
Offline marketing covers a broad spectrum and includes the use of business cards, billboards, banners and flyers. It may also encompass face-to-face networking, speeches and presentations.
Print advertising
Advertising in newspapers and magazines can help you to target a more specific audience. It’s easy to find out which ones are commonly used by your target demographic and you can also easily find out about the number of subscribers and costs of advertisements by requesting a media kit.
An advertisement in a well-established publication is likely to bring a good return due to the trust of the audience in the publication.
Business cards
Business cards are still one of the most cost-effective ways to ensure that you can capitalize on every business opportunity wherever you go. Make sure that you always have them handy as you never know when you could encounter a future employee, customer or potential business partner.
When seeing potential customers, using presentation folders with card slot options is both functional and professional-looking. You can see a dozen options for folders with slots at CompanyFolders.com.
Direct mail
When you use email marketing, your email may be auto-filtered into a spam folder. This doesn’t happen when you use direct marketing. Of course, if target customers receive lots of junk mail, they are likely to just toss a flier but if you have a good enough offer, someone may just take a second look before tossing it.
Brochures
A brochure can come in handy when you want to offer more information than you can fit on a business card. Displaying your brochure at a local event could attract some local customers.
Depending on your type of business, you could approach local hotels and guesthouses to display your brochures. Think about other local venues where your brochures would be seen by your target audience.
Seminars and conferences
As an attendee at a seminar or conference, you are able to network with other attendees and find out more about your potential customer base. If you are invited to speak at a seminar, you can demonstrate your expertise and gain plenty of new leads by asking for business cards of attendees.
If you exhibit at a conference, you can show off your products or services and how they can solve a particular problem for a potential customer.