Free/Cheap Offline Marketing Methods
- Word of mouth - referrals by friends, family members, colleagues, etc.
- Handouts -flyers, newsletters, brochures, business cards, etc.
- Branding - putt your website URL on clothes, home necessities, your car, etc.
- Telecommunication - speech clients over the phone
- Direct mail - deliver handouts, give thanks you letters, important documents, etc.
Paid Offline Marketing Methods
- TV advertising - commercials, infomercials, etc.
- Radio advertising - primarily done through talk shows (specified for local areas such as cities or towns)
- Billboards -supersize your ad on freeways and high dealings areas
- Print Media - newspapers, journals, and magazines.
- Joint ventures - partner up with other offline businesses
- Press releases -newsworthy stories about your business that are sent to the media
A Quick Outlook
SEMRUSH CERTIFICATIONS
With the power of the net and the fact that several businesses are now moving online, some people are probably wondering, "Why even bother with traditional merchandising anymore?" Well that's the question I'm about to answer as I show you the advantages & disadvantages of traditional merchandising and tips on how to overcome the downsides.
Advantages of Traditional Marketing
Faster Results
Many forms of net merchandising, such as search engine optimisation and banner ads, can take several weeks before any real results start to happen. You are just not going to get that top 5 website superior from SEO nightlong or inside the first calendar month even. Furthermore, banner ads are reportedly becoming less effective now-a-days and can also take some time to produce enough outcome. Traditional merchandising however, can produce much faster and more effective results with well-placed ads that are suitable to a particular audience. You can expect a stronger impact in little time with traditional merchandising.
Durability
The truth is many websites are deleted, moved, or abandoned all the time and search engine results also change periodically. Advertising offline has no uncertainties in that nature in any way. You can give mortal your business card and that same reference can be good 10 or 20 years later. The same bears true for flyers and posters, although handouts have a slightly lower life expectancy than business cards. The point is that a business is more durable offline than it is online.
Trust
This power be the number one advantage of offline merchandising. Trust is a huge factor of any business, regardless of how it is promoted. Many people are more comfortable with buying products from offline ads than on the net. The reason is that you get to see the people or company you are interested in buying from and get to know them a little before you actually purchase. More multiplication than not, many online ads and websites don't provide that same trust aspect. The lingering of endless scam sites over the net just makes that problem even worse. So most certainly, trust is more established in traditional merchandising than on the net.
Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing
Cost & Expenses
Marketing in print media or live broadcasting, such as TV and radio advertising, is not cheap at all. The large the geographic area you want to embrace and the more popular the company you advertise with, the more money you will be spending. What makes it more dreadful is that if you don't place and promote the ad well enough then you can find your self on the bad end of the cost/reward ratio and actually lose money.
Advice: It's always better to use the merchandising methods that are inside your budget and begin to use the more big-ticket ones once you start acquiring more gross revenue for your business. So if you can't afford the high costs of print media likewise as TV and radio advertising, then stick to the free & low cost methods for now, like handouts and word of mouth.
Availability
Time constraint is probably the biggest traditional merchandising disadvantage. Online websites function 24/7 spell many offline businesses unremarkably operate in between 6-12 hours a day and only 5 days a week. If you were to do the math and calculate the difference in time between the two you would get an approximate answer of 2 whole days and an additive 12-18 hours a day which is capable about 4 1/2 days total a week lost to online websites. That's A LOT of time that could be accustomed gain more potential customers and make more gross revenue.
Besides having less time to market an offline business, you are also given with the problem of customers being able to contact you when they want. Most offline businesses don't provide email which means that customers have to wait to the next business day that you are open or have to leave a voice mail on your phone and wait until you contact them back. To many people, this can be very annoying.
Advice: While you can't do anything about the net operational 24/7, you should make it your best effort to be available as a wad like possible, even at night. That's why it's VERY important to have an email and number provided in your contact information so that you can get back to your clients right away or the very next morning.
Personnel
Most offline businesses require some kind of men to maintain them spell the net provides enough tools and support for individuals to unremarkably preserve their business on their own online. Not to mention the added stress and responsibility of having to watch ove your workers' attending and overall performance. The wider the demographic area you are trying to cover, the more of a need there is to have personnel. This means that more money comes out of your business revenue and into the pockets of your employees.
Advice: If you want more people to buy your product or service over a big region, then you are going to need a much large personnel to help sustain your business. It is better to focus more on recognition and gross revenue before a wider distribution comes into play.
Final Thoughts
As you can see, there are many offline merchandising methods that you can use to successfully promote your business off the net. Along with the advantages and disadvantages of traditional merchandising in general, it's clear to see why you should incorporate offline merchandising in your business.
