How to create your communication strategy with offline marketing for your business? By using simple and well-known techniques you could increase your profits and your brand image.
What is Offline Marketing?
These are all marketing actions that you will perform on traditional media or by traditional actions that do not use internet technology, also known as traditional marketing.
Today, many entrepreneurs use only online marketing. You need to know that both are complementary and that you can integrate online and offline marketing strategies into your campaigns.
Offline marketing is always an important aspect of any business and is an important part of the customer experience. Through innovative promotional ideas, you will attract the attention of your prospects.
Traditional marketing channels are primarily the media such as radio, television, and newspapers, some of which have captivated audiences for over a century. Along with other direct and offline marketing measures such as outdoor advertising, these marketing tools are reaching powerful reach with consumers, especially those who are not web aficionados.
One of the main disadvantages of offline marketing is a significant loss of circulation. Although this marketing technique is widely distributed and used for local businesses by a marketing consultant or any marketing agency.
But it will not have the same impact among different consumers if it is possible to choose a channel-specific to a target group, it is however not possible to select the recipients. The same is not true online, as advertising content will only be displayed if the user matches a particular target group.
I'm going to talk about 8 techniques that you can easily put in place and discover the benefits of offline marketing!
1) Paper Supports
It is important to remember that your communication is also done by all kinds of paper that you use for your activity. You must be sure to develop all possible tips that can lead to an offline promotion for your business. Various media can be created for your marketing efforts. Here is a list of offline marketing activities:
Business card.
It will always be available in your pocket or briefcase so you can distribute it generously around you. It is important that it contains all the necessary data concerning your company as well as your e-mails and the address of your website. You can also include a catchy slogan for larger returns.
I used my business cards at the time when I went prospecting in subdivisions. I went door-to-door to offer my services and when the
owners were away, I slipped a business card into the mailbox. I wrote in
my hand this little phrase that intrigued the reader. "Contact me, I
have a very important thing to say to you" and I guarantee you that
the majority of people contacted me to know what was this important thing and it allowed me to invite them to go to the store.
owners were away, I slipped a business card into the mailbox. I wrote in
my hand this little phrase that intrigued the reader. "Contact me, I
have a very important thing to say to you" and I guarantee you that
the majority of people contacted me to know what was this important thing and it allowed me to invite them to go to the store.
Invoices, quotes, purchase orders, fax.
Throughout your activity, you will distribute a huge amount of this kind of document. It's important that you include important business data as well as your business card. Similarly, you can put calls to action for your prospects to contact you. This call to action could be a discount, a gift, a lottery, etc.
Postcards.
It's a nice way to differentiate yourself from many of your competitors. I used to send some of my clients a postcard to announce an event, celebrate a birthday, or even invite them to visit our store. Simply print your postcards online at your convenience based on the event and then send it to you with a personal word written from your hand. I myself regularly received postcards from my suppliers for my birthday.
Flyers and flyers.
This type of offline marketing does not measure exactly the return on investment but it largely contributes to the image of your company. The flyers and flyers can be distributed on the big-surface car parks, the windows, and counters of the tradesmen around. If you want the merchant to accept your print, you offer them a discount for any purchase
of products or services for your company.
This is an offline advertisement that will ask you for some physical
steps.
of products or services for your company.
This is an offline advertisement that will ask you for some physical
steps.
Catalogs and coupons.
If you have published your own catalogs you can send them to your customers or prospects by adding coupons. In case you do not have
your own catalogs, you can send the catalogs of your suppliers always with
these same coupons. This will allow you to highlight the new products you
have on shelves or new services that you have put in place.
your own catalogs, you can send the catalogs of your suppliers always with
these same coupons. This will allow you to highlight the new products you
have on shelves or new services that you have put in place.
2) Display Marketing
The branding of your business is important and you can develop it by using a display marketing that will fit your business. Here are some examples:
The stickers.
You can put stickers on your company vehicles or on your own vehicle with the important information you want to deliver about your business. It is not necessary to put all the coordinates of the company. A good slogan for your activity and a phone number and address of your website will be enough to have returned.
Balloons, T-shirts, caps, USB sticks, etc.
You will find on the internet various companies that will offer you this kind of advertising to promote your business. These are small gifts that you offer to your customers.
You must target your distribution. For example, the balloons and USB keys will be offered to families because you will be sure that they will be used regularly and that your brand will be seen.
It is not easy for an individual to wear a T-shirt or cap with your company brand. For my part, I offered this kind of advertising to my customer's craftsmen. They carried them regularly on the building sites and heard throughout the day.
Flags, banners, displays and inflatable figures.
This kind of display is always moving so it catches the eye of passersby. My business was below a busy road, so I used this type of offline marketing to catch the eye of motorists. By doing some research on the Internet you will find all the necessary materials, mats, flags and banners with your own slogans.
There are also nice inflatable figures that are still moving. They can be small but also very large. In general, they are tubes of fabrics that are in perpetual motion thanks to a wind tunnel which is at their case. Guaranteed effect!
3) Offline Training.
Here are some offline marketing ideas for events related to your business to create pieces of training.
How to promote an offline event!
It could be the anniversary of the creation of your business, the arrival of a new product, etc.
These courses are designed to teach your customers and prospects to know your products. They can be declined in different forms.
For example, you could organize a meeting with your salespeople and your customers within your store to implement your different products. These creative event promotion ideas are very popular with individuals.
An open day with a large barbecue for your customer's craftsmen and traders to highlight the new products. Your suppliers will be happy to assist you with this task. In my case this kind of meeting allowed me to strengthen the links with my clients. Being seated together allows for discussions that we did not have in the works or at the store.
It may still be home training for your clients as many other companies do. I thought of Tupperware!
4) The Classifieds
Your offline marketing also goes through the classifieds on the media. It is a method of dissemination that works very well in the region.
Newspapers in your area can be a great medium for posting a few ads or advertising about your business. In general, these local newspapers send you their emissary so that you regularly publish your advertisements in their papers.
Sometimes the municipalities ask an advertising agency to create booklets about their activity to its inhabitants and to finance this the agency will place advertisements of companies in the sector in its booklet.
Some advertising agencies use this same technique to create restaurant trivia with your advertising that seated guests will be able to read.
Your local radio can also very well broadcast voice messages to attract customers to your business.
5) SMS Marketing
Of all the means used to communicate with your customers, marketing SMS is one of the most effective channels. The mobile phone is part of the everyday life of every consumer and can, therefore, become an important point of contact in your relationship with them. The goal of SMS marketing is to communicate with your customers or prospects on various occasions: keep them informed of a novelty, an order confirmation, or even simply wish birthday or encourage them to come to the store.
A promotional SMS is now an indispensable channel for your relationship marketing strategy and small businesses are using more and more SMS marketing. Sending SMS marketing is a preferred tool for companies that want to communicate quickly to a given target. This tool is now part of the communication actions preferred by marketing managers.
Several advantages explain this attraction:
- It simply has the best response rate: the reading time of an SMS after the reception is only 2 min.
- ROI (return on investment) very high thanks to it's very affordable: it takes between 4 and 8 cents per SMS, which is unbeatable for real-time marketing.
- The opening rate of a promotional SMS is
95% 3 (much higher than the opening rate of a promotional email).
The use of SMS marketing is a good way to create a link with your customers. Because of its immediacy, you can communicate on short events (which end the same evening or the next day) in order to create an emergency effect and quickly attract your customers to point of sale on a flash offer for example.
A quick reminder if you want to get started:
- Accompany your message with a mention: "on presentation of this SMS" when it is a discount to measure the return rates, and the mention "STOP PUB" if it is a commercial SMS.
- An SMS is about 160 characters long. However, some bundled SMS sending software can send long SMS (up to 302 characters).
In a context where we seek to create links and retain, these small acts of kindness can make a difference. The event in your point of sale, appointment reminder, satisfaction surveys, stocking ... There are many other types of SMS marketing that will strengthen your proximity with your customers.
6) Social Relations
It is certain that around you there is a multitude of clubs, charities, and associations.
You can offer various associations or cultural organizations to offer them prizes, coupons for their annual party. It's up to you to see with them how they can talk about your business.
Sponsorship or partnership is also interesting. At the time we were sponsors of the local judo team as well as a dance club.
For the judo club, for modest financial participation, the references of our company were affixed to the entry of the training rooms as well as on the various means of communication of the club. We were not the only ones that allowed the club to bring in some money.
For the dance club, we provided one of our vehicles for their trips, tables, and benches and in exchange, he passed one or two announcements about our company during their demonstration.
It's up to you to find the right compromise that will be perfect for both parties.
There are also other clubs, Rotary club and many more that
would allow you to have person-to-person relationships. In general, they
are influential people in the sector, contractors, hires or others.
would allow you to have person-to-person relationships. In general, they
are influential people in the sector, contractors, hires or others.
7) Word of Mouth and Sponsorship.
Here are other offline marketing ideas. Everyone knows word-of-mouth. It can be positive or negative, for you to make it active or your offline advertising.
Your skills, your professionalism will be an advantage for us to talk about you. Also, remember to ask your family and friends to talk about your business around them.
You can also create referrals for your customers that would bring you new the business. Let it know and it will allow you to have some feedback.
8) Establish Partnerships
Create partnerships! Try to identify in your sector all the activities that are complementary or related to yours in order to try to contact the managers to create partnerships.
We had trading and laying sanitary tile. We see a lot of customers doing big renovations. He passed necessarily by several trades. Bricklayer, tiler, plasterer, cooks, plumber, etc.
This allowed us to have a wide range of partnerships. We could eventually refer customers who were interested in a new kitchen to one of our kitchen partners who would do the same when his customers wanted to tile their credence or floor.
Also, some craftsmen sent their customers to our showroom to choose the materials that the customer wanted to put in his house. The craftsman bought the equipment and did the laying. We did the same when
our customers bought sanitary, we guidance to these same artisans
partners. These partnerships could be associated with word-of-mouth advertising.
our customers bought sanitary, we guidance to these same artisans
partners. These partnerships could be associated with word-of-mouth advertising.
Here we are at the end of this article on offline marketing. You have to be creative to find consistent tips for promoting your business. Think about it and try to find out about your typical client to find his needs. So you can better develop a marketing strategy to develop your customer base.
In your offline marketing have you had any other ideas other than the one I mentioned?