Marketing is one of the three fundamental activities a business has to engage in if it wants its products to reach consumers – the other two being product development and distribution. No business can succeed when no one knows the products or services they offer. The primary goal of marketing is to draw attention to a brand and its products and to generate interest in what the business has for sale.
Before the internet, marketing was done through methods that can be described today as traditional marketing methods. Some of the traditional marketing channels that marketers used and continue to use include:
- Radio
- Television
- Billboards
- Direct mail
- Magazines
- Flyers
- Direct sales
- Print advertising
- Referral marketing.
Even with increasing popularity of the internet, most businesses still incorporate traditional marketing methods in their marketing strategy. The following are some of the reasons why traditional marketing methods are still popular among marketers:
1. They Provide an Established Audience
A number of traditional media channels such as TV, radio, and magazines still account for a huge segment of media consumption. According to Think Box, TV reach for adult individuals in the United States currently stands at 92.8%. You can argue that every adult in the United States watches TV. What’s more fascinating than the 92.8% figure is that adults spend more than 35 hours each week watching TV – as per data from Nielson. Also, from the same study, the average adult listens to about 13 hours of radio each week. With such an established audience, marketers can’t simply ignore traditional marketing channels because newer better ones are coming along.
- Some Demographics Are Best Reached Offline
Not everyone can be found online. If a marketer wanted to reach seniors, for instance, they will definitely achieve better results using traditional marketing methods than online marketing methods. Traditional marketing methods can also be the best option to reach communities where adoption of technology is still low.
- Good for Brand Recall
A study done by True Impact, a neuromarketing firm based in Canada, asserted that paper-based advertisements and content are easier to process and perform better than digital content when it comes to brand recall. Brand recall refers to how consumers connect a brand to a product or class of products. You probably buy the same brand of items every time you go to the store. If you had no established memory of the brands you buy or how the brands make you feel, you’d probably buy any product you can lay your hands on when you go to the store. With brand recall, a business can build a loyal group of customers who buy from them every time.
- Reliable Messaging Platform for Brand Development
Traditional media channels such as magazines have subscription options where the same people are guaranteed to get a magazine every two weeks or on a monthly basis. If you were guaranteed that a person who sees your ad this month would see your ad next month and a month after that, would it be easy to craft a brand story and tell it in a series of ads in a way that develops your brand seamlessly in the minds of your target audience? I think you already have the answer.
Why You Should Use Online Marketing as Well
Online marketing refers to the promotion of products and services using the internet. Popular online marketing methods include:
- Email marketing
- Search engine optimization
- Content marketing
- Social media marketing
- Pay per click advertising
As more and more people use the internet to search and shop for products and services, it is becoming increasingly hard to ignore the place of internet marketing in business. 81% of shoppers now conduct an online search before buying a product or service. If you run a local business, it is in your best interest to establish an online presence as 85% of consumers use the internet to find local businesses.
Embracing online marketing can do a lot of good for your business. Below are some of the advantages of using online marketing.
- Tracking Results is Easy
It is much easier to track results when using online marketing than when using traditional marketing. Various online tools make it easy to track almost any metric you want in real time. You can tell how many people have seen your ad and whether they took action on it or not. With almost 100% accurate reporting on the actions taken by your target audience after seeing your ad, you can send more effective follow up messages or retargeting ads.
- Low Barriers to Entry
There aren’t many barriers to entry when it comes to online marketing. Any business can start an online marketing campaign today and start seeing results almost immediately. The straightforward nature of internet marketing also makes it easy for businesses to handle their marketing in-house instead of outsourcing it to a third party. You can even create great banner ads yourself. Click here to design a winning flyer or banner.
- Promotes Interactivity
Online ads are much more interactive than ads running on traditional media. Users can fill in surveys, reply to an ad almost immediately, send queries after clicking on an ad, sign up to an email list, or even tell Google to never show them the ad again.
- Inexpensive
Digital marketing is relatively inexpensive. Some channels such as social media and content marketing can be absolutely free. While you can spend a lot of money in online marketing, businesses usually pour money on campaigns that are actually generating revenue. It is the revenue generated by the online marketing campaigns that are reinvested into the campaign. A business can start small and scale their advertising as they begin to see results from their efforts.
- More Accurate Market Segmentation and Targeting
Platforms such as Google and Facebook have turned audience targeting into a science. They gather so much data about their users that you can target an ad to the audience you want with pinpoint accuracy. You can target users based on interests and demographic characteristics and even create remarketing lists based on web users who have visited a specific webpage.
- Allows Businesses to Build Communities around Their Brand
With social media, email lists, or blogs, any business can take steps to build a community around their brand. The social proof that comes with having an engaged community supporting your brand can be tremendous. Everyone wants to be part of something cool.
