Marketing Techniques
Nowadays, we are living in the digital world. Almost everything is online and modern businesses are moving their operations to the Internet, in order to be where their audience is. It’s no surprise that marketers today claim traditional marketing is dead. However, claims of traditional marketing methods being dead have been going on since the late 1990s. Despite that, traditional marketing is still here and it’s still effective at what it’s supposed to do, and that is capture the hearts and minds of potential customers.
The main reason traditional means still hold sway is that not everyone is online all the time. Sure, people enjoy the benefits of the online world, but they don’t spend every waking hour browsing the internet. That activity is reserved for younger generations, but even they take a breather every once in a while. Good marketers are aware of this and they combine digital and traditional means to create truly effective marketing campaigns. Here are a few traditional marketing techniques that still work.
Direct mail
Marketers claim that direct mail has long since been replaced by email. However, direct mail has proven to have a 10 to 30 times higher response rate from consumers than any digital approach. The main reason direct mail is still efficient is that marketers have mostly moved to digital methods, such as email. This activity has made consumer inboxes oversaturated with promotional emails. On average, a single consumer receives well over 120 emails per day.
Those emails are not included in the other 49% of emails consumers receive, that consist of spam and various promotional messages. That being said, consumers in the U.S. discard 80% of their email without even opening them, while they do in fact open 80% of their direct mail. The volume of direct mail went down to 149.4 billion in 2016. But, that’s not a bad thing because direct mail is no longer saturated as email is, and it presents a good opportunity for marketers to leverage direct mail to reach their customers more effectively.
Branded items
Branded items are still one of the best means to improve brand awareness and extend your reach on the market. As a matter of fact, 84% consumers stated that branded items help improve their awareness of a business or brand. Not only can branded merchandise work exceptionally well for offline consumers, but it can drive engagement from your online consumers as well. In addition, the use of branded items is one of the oldest advertisement techniques that still works today.
That being said, businesses in the U.S. alone spend well over $20 billion each year on promotional items. The main reason branded items are so popular is that businesses oftentimes hand them out as gifts during events or promotions. After all, everyone likes getting a free gift. For instance, branded items, such as printed shirts, USB flash drives and coffee mugs are the types of gifts people will most likely hold on to. In fact, 89% of people will keep the gift, as long as it practical to use. Moreover, 79% of people claim that they’re more likely to do business with a brand that offers them a branded gift.
Outdoor advertisement
Many marketers nowadays neglect the power of outdoor advertisements such as billboards and flyers. This type of traditional marketing is still very useful even today. The main reason is that many consumers are expose directly to Out-of-home advertisements. Not only that, but outdoor ads are very effective in reminding people about your business. For instance, billboards are 80% less expensive than TV ads and they’re up on display 24/7.
96% of people are likely to come across a billboard on their way from work. In addition, 72% of people shop on their way home, while 24% of people state they were motivate to visit a store after seeing a billboard. Furthermore, handing out flyers on the street is a great way to build brand awareness. Not only do people prefer a personal touch when being introduced to a promotion, but flyers are also very cost effective. They won’t cost an arm and a leg to produce, but they’ll yield considerable return on investment, especially if you include incentives, such as discounts or coupons in your flyers.
Networking
Meeting people in person can oftentimes be more productive and beneficial than online interactions. Networking doesn’t only allow you to meet various people in your industry and establish connection s with them. That may prove quite lucrative for your business. In fact, it also helps you meet your customers in person. Your target audience will be much more willing to do business with you when they’ve met you in face-to-face.
Networking events and charities are a good way to gain some publicity. But if you truly want to engage with people, try hosting or sponsoring an event of your own. Generating buzz around yourself and your business is an excellent way to generate leads and capture the interest of potential customers. This is especially true if the event you’re hosting is charitable or in other ways beneficial for your local community.
Traditional marketing still has a lot of benefits. Even though consumers are turning towards the online and digital worlds, traditional marketing is still able to capture people’s interest. That’s why traditional marketing shouldn’t neglect. There are techniques that are still working today and may prove to be the advantage your business can capitalize on.