When it comes to any business marketing is king. No business can survive without marketing, especially in 2022. You will be hard pushed to find a market that is not saturated with competition. Almost every business is vying for attention and facing off in an all-out marketing war with their competitors.
The recent decades have seen marketing trends shift from the traditional marketing methods to a more digital-friendly and online marketing sphere. Digital marketing can bring tremendous results and have a truly global reach. What is more, digital marketing has brought about the end of many traditional forms of print-based marketing. As a result, more and more companies plough their marketing resources solely into online marketing. It is understandable. That said, there is a feeling that the effects of online marketing may be somewhat exaggerated and that the tried and tested methods of offline marketing are being overlooked. Offline marketing has a proven success rate and has provided very lucrative returns for businesses.
Before addressing the types of offline marketing your business can utilise to its advantage it is important to fully understand what offline marketing is. Offline marketing essentially refers to any advertising that uses traditional offline media. Examples of this can be television, billboards, radio or leaflets. Conversely, online marketing will use digital based media typically found online.
Leaflets or flyers can be a great option for businesses due to their versatility. They have multi purpose uses from invitations, information, coupons and typical advertising. They can also be distributed flexibly in a variety of settings and reach a wide audience base.
The growth in digital advertising has almost seen the use of the humble leaflet go full circle. While marketers are competing online with ads and pops it is getting harder and harder for your digital ad to be seen and to encourage customers to act on it. A printed leaflet however that is well crafted and distributed effectively can put your business in front of potential customers at the time they need to see it.
Hosting events is a fantastic marketing method that can prove to be incredibly fruitful for businesses. By hosting an event you can help to increase brand and product awareness and effectively reach your target audience. The attendees at your event are likely to be invited or already have an interest in your brand so reaching out to them and converting leads is likely to be a lot easier.
What is more, events are a fantastic opportunity to put a human touch behind your brand and start building a relationship with potential customers. Events may also offer you the opportunity to start networking and building up a client base. Ultimately an event is a fantastic way to increase sales, awareness and credibility amongst your target audience. Consider hiring an event agency to get the most out of your event for your business.
While many big brands are taking their loyalty schemes digital and using apps to track customer spending, not all businesses will have the budget for an integrated loyalty app. There is most definitely still a place for the humble paper loyalty card scheme that can bring about incentives for customers and benefits for businesses.
Like the digitised versions, loyalty cards offer up discounts, reduced rates or freebies as a way to build brand awareness, encourage repeat custom and build a relationship between business and consumer. Building up a loyal customer base is an essential marketing tool that can help your business to thrive. Strategically speaking it is easier (and cheaper) to encourage repeat custom than it is to develop new custom and loyalty cards are a great way to do this.
Another great thing about loyalty cards is that they are incredibly easy to print and distribute and can be a very cost-effective means of marketing.
If your business uses tangible products or services then offering out free samples is another go to marketing method. Gifting physical or tangible items gives the customer something to hold, feel and associate with your company. It is something more memorable than a social media post and if they like your product it is a great way to generate sales.
This also works for services offered. If you can offer your service or a sample of your service for free your customers get to try it before they buy. The difficulty will lie in getting the balance right between offering the right amount of service so that your customers still feel they need to return for more. An example of this could be the beauty trade. You could offer your clients a free manicure when they pay for another service, such as eyelash extensions. This way your customers will get to experience the other services you offer and may be persuaded to pay for them in the future, all the while you are still being paid for your original appointment.
Yes, there is still a place for business cards in 2022, they just look slightly different – chances are your business card will now include your social media handles and come complete with a swanky modern design.
You could be promoting your business or services at an event or conference and you need people to take away certain key information. Business cards lend themselves perfectly to handing over names, contact details and all-important social tags. This is especially important if your social media handles vary slightly from your business name or trading name.
Whenever you attend a networking event or business meeting your business card is a very useful piece of promotional material, so be sure to always have one to hand. Again, it is a tangible item that people can look at, touch and physically refer to when they need it. Invest a little in having your business cards professionally designed and be sure to include your branding or logo.
