Integrate Your Online And Offline Marketing
In days of yore, businesses conducted 100% of their marketing offline because, well, there was no such thing as online. Now, the internet has made it easy for companies to save money by conducting their business online and marketing to targeted audiences using paid search and social media campaigns. Both offline and online marketing can drive sales to a business, but the best way to engage customers and build interest in your brand is to combine online and offline marketing efforts.
Every business needs a website. The first place customers go when they want to research a product or service is the internet, so having a strong presence on the web is critical. Once you have a great website, include the URL on any print ads you buy, so potential customers can visit your website for more information. Print, radio, or TV ads are also great places to plug URL’s and email lists, which are in themselves great marketing tools.
Some online businesspeople fail to recognize the power of face-to-face, print, and traditional media marketing to engage customers. You may be able to find customers, sell to them, and get them to sign up for your email list, without any real personal contact, but nothing will cement a customer’s commitment quite like a face to face meeting. Many online businesspeople are using online marketing to promote offline events, sending out electronic invitations via email, Facebook, and Twitter. One of my favorite restaurants regularly hosts parties after hours that are consistently well attended and they conduct all of their event marketing through Facebook. They know their customer is active in social media, so they use it to drive sales at their physical location.
Today’s customer is actively consuming on the web and in brick and mortar businesses. So much of everyone’s time is spent online looking for information and products that it would be silly not to take advantage of the potential exposure. But, despite the fact that the internet has our attention for a good portion of the day, everyone has to walk away from their desk at some point, and that’s when it’s possible for businesses to make a personal and lasting impression with their customers face-to-face. Both online and offline means of marketing are effective at bringing customers to your business, but combining the two will keep your business fresh in their minds and keep them coming back for more.
