There are, as we have seen, many ways of using offline marketing to engage customers and prospects, many of which can work nicely on their own, alongside other offline techniques and, of course, in conjunction with online marketing.
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So what should you be looking at using? Well, it’s horses for courses really, so here are some of the wide range of techniques out there – established mainstream ones and one or two off-the-wall ones for good measure – that you can consider.
Advertising
Creating advertising for print – newspapers, magazines, TV and Radio and posters and billboards – is the most obvious offline marketing channel. Each has its challenges and, if you are looking at national coverage in any of these ad formats you are looking at huge costs.
There is also then the issue of calculating its effectiveness and ROI. The attraction of online marketing is that it can be tracked, analysed and often paid for by results. Traditional offline media advertising is very hard to quantify.
All ad collateral should have your URL on – ideally a unique landing page for that ad – so that you can get some idea of how people react to the ad, but its is essentially a wild punt.
That said, local media, local radio and local advertising for local businesses can be extremely effective at brand building and ‘owning’ the local market.
Brochures, leaflets and catalogues
The old school approach of creating a brochure, leaflet or if you have the inventory a catalogue that can be handed out, pushed through people’s letterboxes or left in relevant stores is a tried and trusted means of offline marketing. They can be a great way to display special offers, or your entire product range.
Leaflets can also feature a discount code or “money off with this leaflet” offer so it offers a degree of traceablitly.
The drawback is that it is not targeted in terms of distribution, so requires a large investment for probably a small return. It is the marketing equivalent of carpet bombing.
Speak at events
Professional events offer a great way to meet new people, share your ideas, and build brand awareness. They’re even more effective if you speak at them. Find a local or national events related to your industry, come up with an educational topic you can speak on, and volunteer.
If you don’t yet have the level of clout required to speak at an event, attending events can be just as helpful. It is a great way to meet people and a great way to drop business cards around industry sectors that you want to be doing business with.
Guerrilla marketing
Guerrilla marketing is a generic term for the use of unconventional marketing strategies, and because online marketing channels are so narrowly structured, offline is the best arena to flex your small business’s guerrilla marketing muscle. So, ignore what you know about marketing channels, and let your inner child out.
Offline guerrilla marketing ideas:
• Leave sticky notes in random places (bars, coffee shops).
• Use chalk to advertise promotions on a sidewalk.
• “Accidentally” leave a branded pen at the bank.
• Donate branded bookmarks to your local library.
• Use sticky notes to create temporary images on buildings, cars, etc.
Drop business cards
This offline guerrilla marketing strategy deserves to be looked at in more detail. If you run a small business, you must have business cards and dole them out. Don’t just share them when you first meet someone new. Drop them everywhere.
Places to drop business cards:
Leave a business card with your tip at a restaurant.
See a public bulletin board? Put up a business card.
Go to the library and place business cards in books related to your business.
When you see a contest fish bowl asking for business cards, drop yours in.
Sponsor a roundabout
Local businesses can do far worse than to sponsor their local environment. The most common of these round my way at least is to sponsor roundabouts, but you see sponsorship of everything from high streets, to parks to play areas.
There are specialist agencies that can facilitate this, or speak to your local council.
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