Just because you have a successful online marketing strategy doesn’t mean that offline marketing is no longer valid.
Colour Graphics understand that to be even more successful, using a combination of online and offline marketing is needed. They have created a list of seven simple ways that offline marketing can give your online marketing a boost.
Network
Face-to-face connections are as valuable today in the digital age as they were back before the Internet existed. Meeting people drives traffic to your business, your website and social media.
Customers still list loyalty as one of their highest factors in deciding who to shop with. In many cases, the ‘shop local’ movement has pushed this more to the fore and with customer service being high on the list too, getting to know your customers is also a great offline marketing tactic.
Networking opportunities tend to be business related and this is no bad thing. Even if you don’t sell business-to-business, support is also a great thing in the work of business.
Speak at events, conferences, trade shows and more
If public speaking doesn’t fill you with dread, then putting yourself out there as am after dinner, conference or trade show speaker is a great offline marketing tactic that many people don’t use.
If you are new to the circuit, try smaller events first but with your eyes firmly on the bigger prize. The publicity that these speaking events bring is unprecedented.
Print publications
The digital age may be upon us, but print publications are still an important offline marketing channel, the reach and power of which is not to be underestimated.
Don’t just think local papers either; industry publications, from an advert to an article, are all great marketing mediums, giving you time in front of the right people.
However, a word of caution. Be selective with your print publication choices because just like online marketing, you can soon be sucked in to advertising in everything leading to your marketing budget being drained!
Direct mail
Direct mailing is more expensive than online marketing but can be lucrative. This is because some of your customers and potential customers like the feel of more personalised marketing.
Take time to get to know your audience and make sure that the offers and direct mailings you send out are hitting some of these key targets.
Cold calling
This is, for some people, skirting on a thin line between acceptable and unacceptable but not all cold calls are attempting to dupe people or are fraudulent.
It may be that some cold calls come through at the right time, with the right offer. Phone calls are more personal and are brilliant for backing up a marketing email you may have sent a few days before.
You can cold call yourself or outsource the project to cold calling specialists but the lesson remains the same – have a designated script, ensure the customer understands if they are being sold something or are entering a contract, follow good practice and always follow up with a summary email.
You may also be cold calling people who have given you permission to do so, such as dropping business cards into a ‘fish bowl’ at a conference or trade show.
Print advertising
Running a print advertising campaign can reap rewards but; the strategy behind where you are advertising and why, needs to be clear. There needs to be measurable objectives and a means to measure success. Design and impact need to be carefully considered, or the campaign could fall flat.
Your online and social media channels should also form part of this print campaign
Thoroughly research the best print channels, publications and so on.
Trade shows and conferences
If you have not been to trade show or conference with your business, you are missing a big offline marketing trick.
That said, like print advertising, it isn’t enough to book your booth and bowl on up on the day and expect people to come flocking. You need to have a strategy behind your appearance at the trade show, you need to have something to attract people over to your booth or stand etc.
Do you need to choose between offline and online marketing?
In all honesty, no. Both channels are still valid options for any business, from start-up to an established, global company.
But like all marketing activities, you need to be aiming the right thing at the right people in the right way. Are you?
Colour Graphics offer exceptional value for money on a wide range of printed products. Designed either by you or their in-house design team, printed products form an important part of offline marketing.
Further reading on social media marketing
