Online marketing is becoming more and more popular, from e-newsletters to various social networking sites, to pay-per-click ads, it becomes a bit overwhelming. Building an online presence for your company is a good idea, but it is not the only marketing effort you should be making.
Offline marketing has been slowly fading away with all this online marketing hype. Everyone rushing to build an online presence has resulted in an extremely competitive and oversaturated online advertising market.
Years ago, an average bid on Google AdWords would normally cost less than $1. With high competition and a cluttered market, advertisers are paying anywhere from $5 to $40, per click!
Offline marketing, such as direct mail, is still a very effective and viable option. With so much focus on online marketing, people are not being bombarded with as many ads in their mailbox. Other offline marketing options include:
- Local sponsorship
- Public speaking engagements and conferences
- Guerilla marketing campaigns
- Free, in-person consultations
- Workshops
- Tradeshows and conventions
- Print ads in industry publications or magazines
- Overnight delivery of marketing materials to prospective customers
A combination of both online and offline marketing is generally the most effective option, in terms of cost and return on investment. However, these days, offline marketing is more likely to be viewed than online efforts.
Ninety-four percent of Canadians are likely to open an item that comes in the mail if they already do business with the company. Also, 64% of Canadians prefer to receive general business correspondence by mail compared to only 32% by email, and 4% by other means (Canada Post Consumer Survey, 2010). In terms of business-to-business customers, 89% of Canadian companies agree that mail is a great way to communicate with them. So try not to let offline marketing fall by the wayside.
That’s not to say any one idea works better than another. The important thing to do is market test different strategies, targeted towards your various customer types, to see what works for your company.
There are so many ways to market your company and so many things to consider when deciding on online and offline marketing campaigns. Don’t just follow in everyone else’s footsteps. It is crucial to tailor your marketing to the nature of your business, your budget, and your target audience.
To read the full article, click here to visit Cynthia Kocialski’s Blog
Source: Cynthia Kocialski, Start-up Entrepreneur
Inderpal Gill, Firstbase Business Services
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