At present, we live in a digital world where efficiency is paramount for business success. Organisations focus their efforts on online marketing completely neglecting traditional means. The question now is: does offline marketing even matter anymore? Yes. Surprising as it may seem, not everyone loves the Internet. These people turn to sources of information commonly overlooked nowadays, such as newspapers, journals, radio transcripts, TV programmes, leaflets, and so on. Offline marketing strategies still offer a very high return on investment. Actually, as far as fulfilling customers’ needs are concerned, it’s a good idea to combine online and offline marketing efforts.
You know the old saying “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket”. It simply means that you shouldn’t focus all your efforts and resources in one area because you could risk losing everything. Digital marketing is easy, cost-effective, but so is offline marketing. Make sure that everyone hears about your products or services and be present in their minds. You might be wondering what it’s necessary to do. Keep on reading to discover the best ways to increase your brand appeal.
Put online CTAs on all your printed marketing materials
All marketing campaigns should feature well-crafted calls to action that determine the target market to respond by taking action. They grab people’s attention, who pay attention long enough to become customers. Calls to action are just simple marketing terms for buttons that get users to take a desirable action taking them down further the conversation funnel. If you want people to do something, whether it’s signing up for a free trial or driving more traffic to your landing page, solid calls to action can work wonders in this sense.
You can have CTAs at the end of your blog posts or you can scatter them across social media platforms. Attention should be paid to the fact that traditional content can have calls to action too. Don’t focus only on your online content, social media posts, or digital forms. Drive sales offline by integrating calls to action. Here are some examples:
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Use the right tools – Ask people to scan a QR code. This will boost the response rates for your CTAs. Using calls to action on product packaging makes it simpler for people to respond. Attach significance to the proposition. Say something like “The more you scan, the more you can win!”
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Use Google AdWords together with CTAs – Some businesses choose to reserve their calls to action exclusively for site links. If you wish to get traffic offline too, draw attention to your offline promotion. Persuade readers to leap into action.
Offer free giveaways and competitions for fans and followers
Decide on a day to reward your fans and followers for their loyalty. Here’s an idea: offer free giveaways. They work because they are based on the principle of reciprocity. It’s a win-win situation, meaning that it’s good for everyone involved. Identify your offline audience – in other words, in-store customers, loyal members, and so on – and run a customised campaign on social media. The winner/winners will receive an unforgettable prize. It may seem counterintuitive to give away merchandise. Don’t worry, you won’t damage your potential for upcoming sales.
Build your email list with offline events. People are more willing to do business with companies that give free gifts or discounts. Randomly rewarding existing and prospective customers will improve your brand image and remind people that you exist and you’re here to stay. It motivates them to come to your store and dig deep into their pockets. Make sure to offer something tangible and worthwhile. Giving away free stuff isn’t something new, but it’s one of those things that work all the time.
Enhance trade show success
Put in the necessary time and effort for face-to-face encounters. Showing up in person at different exhibitions will expand your brand and enable you to communicate with people personally. Use teaser videos on social media before the big day to create hype and engage with attendees after. Plan in advance. Display boards are a great way to exhibit at a trade show, craft fair, or event because they catch viewers’ attention and explain what was presented. Prepare cheat sheets or checklists, which you can exchange for people’s names and email addresses.
Don’t wait too long to send those emails. The most important thing about a follow-up is that you don’t delay it. Otherwise, you risk losing a lot of leads. One, two days after the event is the best time to follow up with sales leads, just before they get home and catch up on work. Marketing automation can save you a great deal of time, but if it’s left unchecked, it can hurt your lead generation strategy. This is precisely why it’s better to take matters into your own hands. Have a call to action so that the recipients can click through and find out more.
Use online data for offline efforts
The people who visit your store or social media pages are the ones who step inside your brick and mortar store. Don’t think about them as different customers. Use data analytics to gain more insight into offline strategies. For instance, if you notice that people click on a specific item on your website, but it didn’t transform into a purchase, this means they are interested in the offering, it’s just that they need a push to actually buy it. What you could do is install a display in the middle of the store or place promotions near the check-out point.
Take advantage of the potential of immersive technology. Augmented reality, for instance, enables people to test products in the real world. An application with augmented reality lets people try out your products before buying. You gain a good understanding of users’ behaviour and what you can do to reach your sales goals. Plus, you get data in real-time. The focus isn’t necessarily on the numbers, but on how to simplify the purchasing process.
