Published on: 22 November 2018
Last Updated on: 13 September 2024
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.
Content Rally wrapped around an online publication where you can publish your own intellectuals. It is a publishing platform designed to make great stories by content creators. This is your era, your place to be online. So come forward share your views, thoughts and ideas via Content Rally.
Choosing the right Forex broker can make a big difference in launching a successful investment career in the trillion-dollar forex market. However, choosing the best forex broker is no easy task given the overwhelming number of brokers all gunning for people’s money at any given time.
1. Types of Forex Brokers :
When it comes to online foreign exchange trading, an important consideration is opening a trading account with a reputable forex broker. There are three types of forex brokers ranked based on how they handle transactions and how they execute market orders.
No Dealing Brokers :
As the name implies, No Dealing Brokers lack a dealing desk and instead, strive to offer the best composite quotes from multiple forex quote providers. In this case, providers will post their best market prices that NDD forex broker will have to choose to execute transactions.
NDD brokers charge a commission or widen the bid-offer in order to make profits from trades entered by traders.
Market Makers :
A market maker is a type of forex broker that offers a two-sided customer market. In this case, the broker always ends up taking the other side of trade depending on the side that a forex trader has taken. In case a trader makes a buy, the broker is obliged to take the sell-side.
Electronic Communication Network :
An ECN forex broker provides a platform whereby forex traders from all walks of life regardless of skills congregate to place trades.
2. Features of a Reliable Forex Broker :
Regulatory Compliance :
In a sector where the number of international forex brokers can be overwhelming, scrutinizing regulatory compliance can be the only way of ending up with a reliable forex broker. Going through forex brokers reviews do not a sure way of ending up with a reputable broker as such reviews can be manipulated.
Highest rated forex brokers are always in compliance with the highest level of regulation depending on jurisdiction. For example in the U.S, regulated forex brokers are members of the National Futures Association and are registered by the U.S Commodity Futures Trading Commission as well as the Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer.
A flashy forex broker website cannot be used to rate a broker. Trading with a regulated broker is essential if one is to rest assured of the security of their deposits as well as the integrity when it comes to trade execution.
Trading Platform :
The best forex trading account is one that comes with a trading platform that is pleasing, easy to use and has a variety of indicators and tools for technical analysis. Legit forex trading companies offer trading platforms that have clear-cut buy and sell buttons. Some go the extra mile and provide panic buttons for closing all open positions at once.
Conversely, trading with a forex broker offering a poorly designed platform can lead to costly mistakes such as opening a trade when one intended to close or going short when one meant to go long.
Customer Service :
Highest rated forex traders come with a robust customer service team that is always on dial any time of day to address forex trader’s needs. When choosing a forex broker, it would be essential to give them a random call just to get an idea of the service they are likely to offer once an account is opened.
3. How to Identify a Good Broker :
A good forex trader is one that charges lowest transaction costs when opening and closing trades. Spread and commission charges can significantly eat into one returns if caution is not taken.
Legit forex trading companies allow people to deposit and withdraw funds hassle-free. Any broker that comes with restrictions on when one can withdraw or the amount of money one can withdrawal should be a big no.
Execution of trades is another aspect that one should always pay close attention to when selecting forex brokers. Under the normal market condition, a forex broker should allow trades to get filled, at or very close to the market price on the screen.
Going through forex broker reviews is of utmost importance prior to opening a forex trading account. Such reviews provide clear-cut information about the kind of forex trading service one is likely to experience based on other forex trader’s experience. In addition, trading with a regulated forex broker is a must.
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Auctioning is a popular way of selling and purchasing various items. But, what are the differences between online and offline auctions?
In the past, all auctions were conducted offline. The development of the internet has led to the rise of online auctioning platforms.
Companies that provide auctioning services have embraced modern methods while still keeping the traditional live auctions. To get an overview of the services provided by such companies, visit equifyauctions.com
Curation:
In offline auctions, experts examine and curate the items to be auctioned carefully. Customers can also inspect the items and even test them (if applicable) before the bidding process begins. This assists them in making informed decisions about the items placed for auction.
On the other hand, it is rarely possible to test an item on online auctioning platforms. Online auctions are also accessible to global audiences, whereas offline auctions are only available to locals and people living nearby.
Bidding:
To bid in offline auctions, you must be physically present. Conversely, online auctions only require internet access. This means that you can bid from anywhere provided you have access to the internet.
In this regard, online auctions have the upper hand over offline auctions because of the wide variety of items available. For instance, you can bid for a car in Britain while living in the US.
Bidding online has an advantage in that prices may be cheap if you are first to the auction. On the contrary, it can also be expensive to acquire a product when the bidders are several, given that many people find bidding over the internet to be convenient.
Payment:
In live auctions, payments are mostly made in cash. Since the buyer is likely to meet the seller one-on-one and you pay for what you see, issues regarding payments are very rare.
In online auctions, there are no guarantees overpayments. Issues arising from faulty items, and in severe cases, non-delivery, are likely to occur. However, there are some platforms with a credibility that use secure payment platforms. Such platforms also compensate you if the bought items do not meet the desired standard.
Trustworthiness:
Offline auctions are renowned for their utmost trust. Online auctions, on the other hand, have some work to do on this front. As mentioned above, the trust issues originate from payment and delivery.
Conclusion:
Online platforms have been cited by many as the future of auction. This could be the case, mainly because they are convenient and give you a broader audience. However, there are several challenges that need addressing. These include:
People will always have reservations about risking their money. This means that online auctions have to implement methods of safeguarding client funds.
There is a need for creating a means of verifying the existence of an item, clients should also be able to inspect the condition of the item before committing their funds.
That being said, you should thoroughly research a reputable auction house before buying or selling an item.
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It is just a simple concept of making all kinds of communication and messages linked together. This is just to ensure that there is no lack of information. This lack of information can have a negative result on the work. Do you know what is integrated marketing communication?
At the basic level of IMC i.e., Integrated Marketing Communication, all the promoting tools are linked together for smooth communication. You surely must have heard of the marketing mix. Yes, that 4Ps of the marketing mix. This promotion is one of that marketing mixes
To make all the tools work smoothly, all the tools must work together in harmony. This can be advanced when regular communication is integrated into several levels, such as Horizontal, Vertical, Internal, External, and Data integration.
Let’s go through various components of IMC:
1. The Foundation:
In this, a detailed analysis of the product and the target market is required. For the marketers it is essential to understand the nature of the brand, what are its USP (unique selling proposition) and the requirements of the end-user. It is important to have a close eye on your competitor’s behaviors. Every need of the customers is of the utmost importance.
2. The corporate culture:
There must need to be relevant in the product and the producing company. Every organization has its own vision, so while planning marketers need that to keep in mind.
For example, there is an organization whose vision is to train teenagers in the field of their interest. If they start training the middle-aged man they are deviating from the vision.
3. Brand focus:
Every organization is known by the brand they are producing or facilitating. So, it’s important to have plans which are always focused on the brand. Making their brand the center of attention.
4. Consumer experiences:
You must not forget about the consumer and how they feel about the product. Nowadays customers are more attracted to the product which looks good, has good packing, and of course, the product itself needs to be one of the best.
5. Communication tools:
It is a way via which the brand communicates with the customers. The ways can be direct selling, advertising, social media, advertisements, etc.
6. Integration tools:
Selling the product is one part of communication but also getting feedback from the customer is also part communication.
Plans for Integrated marketing communication
It integrates all aspects of the marketing mix to promote the products and services to the customers at the right place and at the right time. It is a proven fact that if you use different IMC tools at the same time it can improve the customer experience of the product.
If done correctly. IMC can improve the visibility of the brand. Whenever a customer goes to the market for shopping, they will be reminded of your brand. The impact of integrated marketing communication increases if the end-user sees the brand simultaneously multiple numbers of times.
A marketer should be well versed in time management. Because doing many things like budgeting, allocating the right resources at the right for the promotion of the product is of utmost importance.
Gathering information about your company and its product and the audience who buy this product is very important for planning.
While planning some points are needed to keep in mind:
A detailed summary needs to be made on the brand is going to reach its targeted audience.
Everything about the organization needs to be crystal clear.
Good knowledge of the product is required.
Choosing the right market is very important, and hoe you are going to promote it into the market needs to be mentioned clearly.
Competitors’ analysis is very important. And how the competitors are active in the target market.
Knowing your brand weakness as well as your strong points can be a good start to promote your brands.
Implementing integrated marketing communication
Integrated marketing communication is a way of promoting the brand through various methods like advertising, social media awareness, direct selling, public relation, etc. It focuses on using all the available ideas together to get the most desired result. Instead of using one integrated tool at a time, it brings all the possible tool under one umbrella and uses any viable option which is used in an effective way.
The success of integrating marketing communication relies totally on understanding the customers, their needs and expectations. Just remember one thing the customer will be loyal towards you only when you outperform their expectations. And to do so you need to be well versed in the marketing mix and need to apply that knowledge in the fields.
Just promoting your product once or twice does not make you gainer. 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. This can only happen if the brand can provide services that can make the customer loyal to the brand.
This can be done only by using the components effectively:
Customer focus
No matter how good your product is, no matter how good is your service is, until and unless you make a customer happy all is worthless.
Do you believe in God?
No, then start believing in the god named “Customers”. If you are a marketer then you need to have faith in this god. Only this god has the power to make your brand, organization what you hope for.
So, if you think ignoring their needs and doing and coming up with the best plan will work for you then you need to go back a little bit and have a fresh start.
Everything about the customer is very important. Their appraisal, as well as their, complains both hold the same value. But for me complain matters the most. That shows where we are lacking and where we need to improve ourselves.
Make sure whatever you are planning customer needs to be at the center of that.
Co operation
Cooperation among the marketing team is important, but it is essential that every member of the organization work as a whole, to promote the product.
Other members who are outside of the department are needed to be allowed to give their thoughts on the matter. This can help in unboxing new ideas, which can really accelerate the promotion.
Database communication
The sharing of information is one of the important aspects of good planning. This helps in formulating the best course of action. Every employee needed to be filled in on every relevant detail that they need to do their job.
Leverage
Analyze every channel on which the promotion is done. Calculate their cost estimation. See that if the ROI on that cost is relevant or not. This helps your brand’s promoting efficiency.
Profitability
At the end of the day, we have to gain revenue. 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.
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