5 Traditional Marketing Techniques That Still Work

Published on: 22 November 2018 Last Updated on: 13 September 2024
Marketing Techniques

It is the age of digital marketing but that doesn’t mean businesses should abandon traditional methods of promoting their products or services. While many people seem permanently attached to their smartphones, some people choose not to be constantly connected. Since these people may still be interested in what you have to offer, you will need to reach them through traditional marketing techniques. Digital and traditional strategies can work well together. Let’s discuss some of the old-school techniques which continue to bring in business.

5 Traditional Marketing Techniques That Still Work:

1. Neon Signs:

Signage is still an excellent form of promotion and neon signs are still impactful. They are vibrant and highly visible even from a distance, yet inexpensive. This is especially helpful for small or new businesses that need lots of exposure but don’t have a huge marketing budget. Neon signs can be made in almost any shape and size so they can be used for logos, words, or anything else you may have in mind. These signs are easy to set up and they last a long time. They are great for bars, gaming lounges, tattoo parlors, and other fun, edgy businesses.

2. Billboards:

Billboards are another convenient way to get your message across using visuals. The 2017 Nielsen Poster Advertising Study provides evidence that customers still respond to this traditional marketing technique. They are perfect for communicating evergreen content to large numbers of potential customers over an extended period of time. People driving along the highway or other busy streets can’t help but notice a large compelling image or carefully crafted word. Since many people take the same route every day, they will see your message frequently. If you have a product with mass appeal, billboards should be used in conjunction with your digital marketing efforts.

3. Direct Mail:

Email marketing is a key part of many digital marketing strategies but you shouldn’t neglect traditional direct mail. In fact, it’s making a comeback, so you may want to prepare hard copies of your catalogs. Emails often end up in the spam folder or get ignored or deleted because people get so many of them. Direct mail is on the decline so recipients are more likely to open an envelope that comes to their home. It also seems more personal than email and is more likely to get a response. Direct Mailing Services may also bring a greater return on investment. If you’re interested in direct mailing, you should take a look at this EDDM guide.

5. Flyers and Brochures:

If you have a brick-and-mortar business like a store or a restaurant, don’t underestimate the power of handing out flyers and brochures. Brochures help you to share lots of information about your products or services in a tangible form. Flyers, on the other hand, are an excellent way to notify people about sales or offer special discounts. These handouts also allow representatives of your business to interact with potential customers and answer their questions.

6. Telemarketing:

Don’t dismiss the idea of cold-calling in the 21st century. Research suggests calls have conversion rates of between 30 to 50%, making them one of the most effective marketing solutions. Calls were found to last almost 16 times longer than a website interaction so this traditional marketing technique should not be dismissed. Telemarketing is especially helpful in the B2B sector where you can properly segment your markets. It’s also great if you’re looking to upsell current customers or clients. Random calls will not have high conversion rates so you need to do your research and have a strategy before you pick up the phone.

It’s easy to think that you should focus solely on digital marketing. However, some of the best promotion strategies involve both modern and traditional marketing efforts. Neon signs, billboards, direct mail, flyers and brochures, and telemarketing can all work well depending on your locale and target market.

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Brand monitoring

How to Monitor Your Brand?

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Integrated marketing communication

What Is Integrated Marketing Communication in 2020 [Full Guide]

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You need to keep doing that. So that whenever they think of buying a product, your brand needs to be the first to come in their mind. This can be done only after promoting the same product several times a day to the same audience. This makes their subconscious mind active and your product makes space in their second mind. Let’s take Colgate for example, no matter where you are, whenever you think about a toothpaste product the first name that comes into mind is “Colgate”. Why? Because it was their integrated marketing communication skills that have made you think this way. This what an integrated marketing communication does if done correctly. What are the components of successful integrated marketing communication? It is essential for organizations to have a well-integrated marketing communication team, who can work hard for the organization. And make the customer satisfied so that the customer can invest in the product. 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So, making a plan, formulating the strategies are only helpful when they can bring in profits. So, we have to market in such a way that it really brings in the audience to invest in our brand and stay loyal to the brand. This will help to bring in higher revenue. Importance of integrated marketing communication Nobody can deny the fact that integrated marketing communication is an important aspect of the promotion of the brand. Let’s go much deeper: It acts as a messenger between the brand and the audience It recognizes the need of the customers, it gets the data of the competitors, locate an important place for marketing the brand and send this back to the organization for the analysis. Brand awareness at a low cost It is a long-term process where you gain audience trust, and convince them to invest in your brand. Integrated marketing communication is the best way to promote your values. Think like this, if brand A is already communicating with you properly, and delivering its USP on a regular basis. Why would you go for the brand B. you will subconsciously choose brand A Integrating marketing communication over traditional ways IMC is taking over traditional ways because it not only focuses on getting new customers but also tries to retain the older on as well. Gaining a new customer does not mean that you forget about the older customer who has already avail of your services. Gaining new customers is very good but losing the older one is not accepted. Because once the trust is broken, it cannot be restored. The customer will never trust you again. So, doing both is of utmost importance. It reduces the time required for the planning If not for this IMC, strategizing the plan would take lots of time. It is due to the IMC that the time is reduced to none. IMC tools It is essential for organizations to have a well-integrated marketing communication team, who can work hard for the organization. And make the customer satisfied so that the customer can invest in the product. This can only happen if the brand can provide services that can make the customer loyal to the brand. Let us go through the tools which are used in IMC: Advertising It is the best way of promoting the brand. It can reach a huge amount of audience in the shortest time frame. Advertisements on the television, newspaper, radio can reach many audiences in a small frame of time. This also increases the authenticity of the brand. Now it is the marketer’s job to make sure that the right messages are sent to the audience. Self-promotion The promotion which the brands do with the promotional code, discounts, attractive offers, etc. brands itself can pay for advertisements to the newspaper, distribute leaflets for the promotions. Direct selling There are various tools like mailing, text messages, brochures, which the brands use to promote themselves. Personal selling Personal selling here is referred to the selling of the products from their showrooms, via their agents and making sales call. Public relation activities Well, have you seen brands presenting themselves in the community meetup, in fairs, in public events? If yes, then you can understand what public relations mean. It’s all about communication with the public by going in between them. This makes them feel closure to you. This creates a friendship bond with potential customers. Even if they had never thought of investing in your brand, but due to your public appearance. They may think at least once of buying your services. Managing IMC It is essential for organizations to have a well-integrated marketing communication team, who can work hard for the organization. And make the customer satisfied so that the customer can invest in the product. This can only happen if the brand can provide services that can make the customer loyal to the brand. Just making the strategies and implementing those can be said that only half work is done. The rest half is managing and maintain those plans. There are different modes of communication, so it needs to be managed effectively so that all work in the same synchronization to deliver the same message to all the audience. This can be done with the help of proper managing plans. The first step is to identify the right audience Finding the right audience is the best way to make your promotion fruitful. You need to understand who is your audience. what can be done to find the relevant audience for providing services, and who are willing to invest in you. After you find out the answer to these questions, only then you can move on with the second phase of the IMC. The second step is to think of what to communicate The kind of message you send to the customer is very crucial for gaining their trust. You need to have a proper crystal-clear message for audiences. This makes your brand much more authentic. The third step is to plan your message in a way that convinces them Having clear messages will not do, you need to present them in such a way that the audience likes it and get the meaning of it. Make sure that your messages are all properly formatted. The fourth step is to identify the various channel via which you can communicate with them Choosing the best course of action is very helpful in making a promotional platform. It needs to be efficient that it reaches the right person at the right time. The fifth step is to allocate the right source at the right time Investment is needed to be done properly so that ROI gains a profit rather than a loss. So investment needs to be done after analyzing ever aspects of the promotional platforms. Lastly, it’s important to measure the reach of Integrated marketing communication You need to monitor constantly that the promotion is reaching the people or not, doing a blind job is just like walking on the edge of the mountain blindfolded. Conclusion As a whole, integrated marketing communication lays down a bridge between the organization and the audience. Without the IMC informational gap is created which can lead to malfunctioning of the whole organization. There are many strategies that can be implemented to overcome any possible crisis faced by the organization. Each and every detail on integrated marketing communication is given in this article. Image source Read Also: 6 Ways To Increase Real Instagram Followers Without Spending Money! Organic Traffic vs. Paid: Where Should You Focus Your Budget?

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Magento vs. Shopify

Magento vs. Shopify: Which Is Best For Your E-commerce Store?

The first quarter of 2019 has almost passed, and it has been predicted that 18% of the purchases will be made online by 2040. Further, 95% of the orders will be facilitated by e-commerce store. Considering the above statistics, it comes as no surprise that the fate of your online business is dependent on how your website works. But did you know that all your website operations rely on the choice of your e-commerce platform? Now, as the online store owners narrow down the choices, they are only left with two main platforms as the contenders- Magento and Shopify. While both platforms can create a one-of-kind e-commerce store, they differ in many areas. To start with, Shopify works best for smaller businesses. On the flip side, Magento is aimed at enterprise businesses. This post is going will give you an in-depth insight on Magento and Shopify and help you decide which is an ideal platform for your e-commerce store. 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Although there are numerous Shopify alternatives available across the web, what sets this platform apart from others is its ability to set up a dynamic store in no time. You will have to pay for the platform after the free trial, but the Shopify team takes care of all the technical tasks. Magento and Shopify: What Numbers Say! Description Shopify Magento Number of Websites 600,000 250,000 Number of Extensions 2,400+ 3,000+ Number of Themes 60 (external purchase is allowed) 12 (external purchase is allowed)   Now when you are aware of what these platforms are, here is a feature comparison of Magneto and Shopify. 1. Basic Functionality and Ease of Usage: Both the e-commerce platforms have all the basic store functionalities that are easy to use and maintain. But if we compare both the platforms, Shopify is a drag and drop website builder. Magento has a steep learning curve, and you will have to learn some technical terms to get through the e-commerce store development process. With Shopify, the developer can add the products; customize the look and feel of your store and set up the payment process in no time. The best part is you can make the entire e-commerce store without any technical knowledge. In Magento, you have to learn some code to develop an entire e-commerce store. Not to forget, they have comprehensive user guides that walk you step-by-step through various processes. They also have a forum from where you can learn some tricks of the trade. 2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) When it comes to SEO, both have great search engine optimization capabilities. However, you’ll have to leverage extra plug-ins in the cases for both platforms. But in the case of Shopify, SEO features are automatically built into the website, even in the product pages. 3. Themes and Templates Availability: In terms of themes and templates, both platforms offer highly-functional customization capabilities. 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But Shopify is one step ahead in this point due to its integration with drop shipping inventory apps such as Oberlo. Further, in Magento, you have the risk of slowing down your website. 5. Hosting Features: Your website's performance, storage, security, and speed are dependent on the hosting you choose. Did you know that 40% of people will abandon a website if it takes more than three seconds to load? This will result in a loss of customers as well as revenue. As Shopify is a hosted platform, it takes care of your entire domain and hosting needs; offers you 24*7 support, and let you concentrate on your business. Magento comes with two hosting options, including Open Source and Cloud. In Open Source hosting, you have to buy your domain and hosting. But in the case of Cloud, your e-commerce store is hosted and maintained by Magento. 6. Payment Processing: Shopify platform is already equipped with a payment processor, which is known by the name of Shopify Payments. 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