Online and Offline Business Marketing Techniques
As the need for online marketing grows, the use of offline marketing techniques is slowly being forgotten. Online marketing is hugely important for the up-and-coming business of today, but maintaining that offline engagement and working relationship with your customers still carries a lot of weight. As newer techniques are implemented, the tried and true methods of yesterday are dwindling; not matter how valuable they may be, so it may be time to think outside of the box if you really want to give your business a boost. Let’s take a look at both online and offline business marketing techniques and what not to leave out, to make sure that your company reaches every last bit of its potential.
Online Marketing Techniques:
Internet marketing can massively benefit your business because not only will it get you noticed, it will attract more people to your website, increase your customer base and enhance the brand awareness of both your company and your products and services. Many businesses adhere to the basics of online marketing techniques, such as a clean website design, Search Optimization Techniques (SEO) and email marketing, but neglect the more important aspects of niche domination and customer interaction.
It is important to dominate your niche, especially when selling products, buy offering the most comprehensive and exclusive affiliate, reseller and associate programs. If you work to dominate the niche that your business caters to, your customers will not only keep returning for the latest and best deals, but they will spread the word and bring you new customers.
Once you dominate your niche, you need to work on your customer interaction. Visitors will return to a website that offers them great deals, but they will quickly favor your competitors if they have something interesting to say. It’s extremely important to blog and interact with your customers as much as possible, so use Social Media to really connect with your audience- instead of using it to try to sell to them. It’s not a strict no-no to opt into the hard-sell every now and again of course, as long as your audience sees you as a person and not as a corporation.
Offline Marketing Techniques:
It easier now more than ever to get stuck in a rut with those boring, everyday offline marketing techniques, such as handing out business cards and speaking at events, so why not indulge in a more unconventional strategy to get your business noticed in the real world? Handing out business cards is the most tried and true method of offline marketing, so shake it up a bit. Try leaving your business card with your tip at local restaurants, pin them on public bulletin boards and generally leave them lying around in high traffic public places such as banks, cab offices and libraries to extend your reach.
This technique can also work with other physical promotional materials; why not see how many new customers you can generate by leaving branded pens in the same high traffic areas? You can even tailor your promotional materials to suit these places by making the most of their reach – donate branded bookmarks to your local library for instance. This will show potential customers that you are both innovative and committed to your products and services.
Don’t forget the little man when you promote your business and offer up your products or services as prizes at local contests. This will help you to both build your company’s visibility, whilst reinforcing your commitment to the community on a whole. You might even get the chance to further use the contest’s visibility to boost your reach, as you may get listed on the organization’s website or promotional materials (magazines, newsletters and press releases), or even with a spread in a local newspaper.
The last technique to consider when marketing offline is to document everything! There’s nothing to say that your offline and online techniques can’t complement each other, so take pictures and video’s that show exactly who you are and what you do and post them online. Simply taking photos of company events and posting them on Social Media will give your potential customers a real-time view of your business and its products and services. You can even go one step further and post videos of you speaking at events, too. Giving your customers some insight into the backbone of your company will show your personality and build more trusting relationships.
So, there you have it – now that you know what not to leave out of your online & offline business marketing techniques, you can really get the boost you need to get your business running smoother than ever.