While online marketing is obviously very important, it doesn’t mean that local business owners should ignore offline strategies. Even in the newspaper business – a dying industry – three-fourths of advertising revenue comes from offline ads. This proves that entrepreneurs can’t solely focus on digital. If they’re making the following offline marketing mistakes, though, it can be just as bad as having no offline strategy at all.
Not Integrating Online and Offline Marketing
Offline marketing certainly has its own individual benefits, but businesses that fail to integrate online and offline marketing are making a mistake. Ways to do this could include putting up hashtag or QR code signs at marketing events, offering incentives for people to “check in” at a location via social media or create some form of offline teaser advertising that drives people to a website. Whatever the specific course, integration is integral.
Not Utilizing the Yellow Pages
Yellow Pages has rebranded itself as “YP,” and business owners should certainly have a presence on that site. As it turns out, though, print ads in the phone book are still very useful. A full 40 percent of Americans use a phone book yearly. While business owners in rural areas see a better return on investment, 13 percent of New Yorkers still consult the phone book weekly. Business owners should give some serious thought to this offline marketing tactic.
Overlooking Direct Mail
Direct mail is another offline marketing strategy that many local business owners have overlooked lately. Again, this isn’t always a good tactic. In fact, nearly a quarter of Americans have made a purchase over the last year because they received direct mailers. Some things never change, and people’s love for getting mail is one of them.
Offline marketing might one day become pointless, but for now, it still serves a purpose. Businesses across America continue to see benefits, and as long as they can avoid these offline marketing mistakes, those benefits will likely continue into the foreseeable future.