Considering ditching offline marketing tactics completely? Unsure what you get back from all the hours spent on social media?

Offline and online marketing can be two distinct promotional channels however, dovetailing your marketing activities can increase rewards for your business.

Advertising has changed. Online advertising is not just about selling, but connecting and engaging with your audience. Offline promotion is just as important for building trust.

Choosing where you spend you marketing budget is important and thus understanding where your customers are at is essential if any of your promotional material is going to succeed.

Taking data and information from a variety of source, the infographic highlights where companies and businesses of all sizes are spending their marketing budget. It highlights were money is being spent but more importantly, the return of investment on these offline and online channels.

Effectively, the device that potential customers use to surf the web and what influences their buying decisions will vary – but there may be a few surprises in the statistics too.

Understanding how and why you need your online and offline promotional activities to synch together is important too. By not doing one, dropping it in favour of another, you could be alienating a whole a whole raft of customers.

What also may surprise you is the popularity of some of the offline channels that some businesses are no longer using – again, effectively by-passing a large chunk of potential customers. Trust is a key ingredient in the recipe of marketing success: what offline medium do you think customers trust the most?

Copyright-Free Image: https://pixabay.com/en/magazine-newspaper-open-opened-791046/

Article Contributed by Jemima Meyers

You might think that with all the e-commerce going on print catalogs would be better suited to holding up that wobbly table leg than being used as a product marketing tool – well, think again. Catalog marketing is most definitely not dead and, in fact, the print catalog industry continues to see steady growth every year.

Printing plays a substantial role in the U.S. and worldwide economies, and while print marketing and mail order catalogs hit a lull during the recession of the late 2000s, there has been a resurgence of this type of marketing in recent years.

Print is here to stay as an effective and important marketing tool and it can be utilized in a variety of ways, most notably in the arena of niche print catalogs that drive business to well-designed e-commerce websites.

Product placement

According to Statista IKEA printed catalogs topped 213 million copies in 2015. Their catalog printing has steadily increased since the 1950s and that figure is a nearly 53 million increase in printed catalogs per year in just the last decade alone. As someone who has been personally roped into visiting my nearest IKEA outlet after leafing through their printed catalog, I can say, with all sincerity, that this kind of marketing strategy still works.

Not only does IKEA use the catalog to organize their products in a way that we can understand, it helps us visualize the products in our own home better than browsing digital marketplaces. When we’re sitting on our couch or in bed leafing thought a catalog, it becomes easier to visualize wanting to bring those products or items into our own houses: the products are, in a way, already in our own homes.

Print catalogs are also easier to share with others in offline situations – think parties, meetups, religious gatherings, office break rooms, and other places where crowding around a computer tor hand-held device is just not practical.

Multi-channel marketing strategy

Retailers need to understand the complex relationship between stores, internet, and catalogs. With multichannel marketing you push and pull customers from all sides to the point of sale. This is especially true for niche companies that want to help people identify with a brand.

While the internet does offer unlimited space for promoting products and services, the catalog is still an integral part of a comprehensive marketing strategy and, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA), catalog mailings reached 11.9 billion in 2013.

Catalogs tend to stick around with a current or potential customer long after the products may be discontinued or refreshed. Having that physical presence in their lives is a constant reminder that the company exists – and customers are more likely to seek out the products again when they need them.

Even prosperous and diverse companies like Amazon are working with catalog-on-demand partners to bring PDF print catalogs of seller products back to the masses. Many businesses are interested in using the catalogs with their local mailing lists and sales reps. Other companies like Dell, and those that started off on the internet, like eBay, are also working along similar lines.

Niche-oriented catalogs

The more in-tune you are with your customers, the more likely they are to buy from you. That means not only offering them quality products, but quality content as well. Successful boutique brands are now branching into the world of magazine creation, where they give their clients more tips, help, and inspiration – the things they need in their day-to-day life – all while selectively marketing their products.

This works especially well when breaking up a large company catalog into smaller niche catalogs that specifically address certain customer segments. The more that you can prove that you understand your target customers, the better your sales figures will be.

Driving traffic to a website

While the mail order call center model may have migrated online, revenue from catalogs is still constant. Print catalogs now help drive customers to the internet and the two media have a very symbiotic relationship. Understanding this relationship and creating complementary content on both types of platforms will ensure that you see a massive return on your investment.

As much as big companies like Google are pushing for a digital revolution (with a vested interest in a growing digital economy) printed media is here to stay. Not only is it better for us, from a health perspective, to take breaks from our screens, but the sales potential for integrating print and other platforms means that these “old-school” catalogs will be a mainstay in retailer’s toolboxes, and customer mailboxes, for years to come.

Article Contributed by Ifan Kaldain

Image by epSos

Multichannel retail is all the rage these days. It seems that even the smallest ventures are now selling on multiple channels across the globe. While there are many benefits, there are also challenges; the most salient being the managing of your sales channels – ensuring that they work in unison for effective e-commerce. In this article, we will explore the ways in which you can balance your business so that it can become global without losing one’s attention to detail.

1. Amazon Vs eBay

While it’s tempting to simply set up a presence on every popular 3rd party marketplace, it’s important to consider if your business can afford the time, effort and risks involved. It’s important to assess the type of customers and competitors on each platform, to assess where demand and market average price of your products. Perhaps your products can sell on Amazon, but only if you slash the prices; perhaps those who browse eBay are not interested in your stock at all. The best method of determining feasibility for each marketplace is to investigate your competitors. Variables to consider include:

• Which platforms they are selling on?
• If they sell on multiple platforms, are they only selling specific types of products on each platform?
• Are their prices different from the prices offered on their website?
• Are they offering product bundles?

Taking note of the above can help you decide whether customers will likely buy your products via a 3rd party marketplace. It can also help you decide whether you can compete with the other sellers.

2. Order Process Consolidation

Using a multichannel retail management system can allow you to view and manage orders across all your sales channels – such as Amazon, eBay, your website and physical store(s). This can not only cut down on admin time, but can provide you with valuable customer data that will help you understand current and future shopping trends.

Perhaps your cheaper goods sell better on your Amazon page, whereas customer seeking your high-end goods prefer to purchase on your website, where they can get more help and information. Such data can help you understand which channels work best for each type of customer, allowing you to further tailor your customer service strategy.

3. Connecting Offline & Online

You may be selling online, but that doesn’t mean that you have to ignore your offline operation – if anything, you can connect the two together. For example, setting up a click-and-collect service, in which customers can buy online and then pick up later from your nearest store, is a convenient method for customers who have full time jobs. Another service you can provide is the ability to return defective or unwanted products bought online at a physical store. The little things can really make a big difference for your local customers, and makes them feel that they are still valued in the face of your online expansion.

More tips for balancing your sales channels can be found in this handy guide to multichannel retail, which also includes a breakdown of the differences between Amazon and eBay.

Every entrepreneur knows that the days of marketing their business or brand online being optional are long gone. Nowadays, no matter what sort of company you own, having a strong online presence is essential if you want your business to grow and thrive.

However, marketing your brand online isn’t easy. As they say, if it was then everyone would do it. Too many times, entrepreneurs make some classic blunders when it comes to trying to build their online marketing presence. To help ensure that you become a success rather than a disaster, here are the five biggest digital marketing mistakes that entrepreneurs make.

Hiring Shady Marketers To Do Their Work For Them

This is a mistake that those who aren’t technologically savvy sadly make far too often. There are many firms and individuals out there who claim to be online marketing professionals, but in reality don’t have the skills or expertise necessary to really take your brand to the next level. What they will do, however, is charge you a lot of money for work that you probably could have done yourself after watching a few short tutorials on using social media. Avoid falling for these scams by really researching any marketing company with whom you do business.

Not Marketing To Their Demographic

When you market your brand online, your priority should be reaching your target demographic. For example, if you run a translating website, you’d want to really reach those businesspeople who do a lot of work abroad with foreign clients. When you market online, don’t just try to push your brand on everyone. Instead, make a concerted effort to really reach your core demographic. It’s better strategically to really go after your core audience instead of just casting a wide net and hoping that you catch a few of the right people in the process.

“Spamming” Social Media Instead Of Using It Wisely

If you’re using your Twitter and Facebook accounts to just send non-stop blasts that don’t say much beyond just linking to your storefront, then you’re using social media completely incorrectly. Not only that, but you’re alienating your potential customers. Don’t “spam” Facebook and Twitter. Instead, put in the time and effort to have a real dialogue with your followers and to evolve as a brand that has interesting things to say.

Being Too Gimmicky

It’s always great to have something that really catches the eyes of potential customers. However, those brands that are obviously trying to “go viral” are exhausting and unattractive to the general public. Avoid anything that feels gimmicky or insincere. If you’re recording a YouTube video or uploading a picture to Facebook that feels like a cheap, forced ploy to get views, don’t do it. Always strive to be sincere and to create something genuine that customers will organically love.

A Lack Of Originality

In today’s competitive digital landscape, the worst thing that you can be is reductive. If you’re creating your online marketing strategy by just observing the strategies of your competitors and stealing from them, you’ll never stand out in the crowded landscape. It’s a good idea to see what successful people have done and use it as inspiration. It’s a terrible idea, however, to simply rip people off. You should see what similar brands are doing and use it as inspiration, but ultimately come up with something completely original and unique.

It can be hard to stand out in this day and age, where just about every entrepreneur is doing his or her best to really stand out in the world of digital marketing. However, if you can avoid the above blunders, you’ll be halfway there to creating a successful online marketing strategy. Don’t expect your brand to take off overnight. A great online marketing campaign can take years to really get attention. But if you stick with it and create something organic and truly great, eventually customers will indeed take notice.

You can be forgiven for thinking that the answer to ‘is offline marketing dead?’ is yes, it is.

The problem with assuming that we because we live in a technological age that everything from shopping to promotion must be done online is missing the point. You may only run your business online and not have a presence on the high street – you may think that this effectively excludes you from offline marketing.

The problems are many and varied but the online world is a crowded one. It is fast-paced – your tweet is sent at 10:42 and 6 seconds and by 10:42 and 8 seconds it has been swamped by thousands of other tweets.

Your posts are regular and consistent but they are in battle with the posts of a competitor who has a bigger budget – they pay someone to post, tweet, share and like on a regular basis. You, on the other hand, spend an hour a day scheduling tweets and posts on your social media management program.

If you rely solely on online advertising, you are working hard and making small steps to success. To boost this success, offline advertising and promotion is the channel.

Sadly, many companies and businesses will, with their marketing budget under pressure once again this year, choose to offload offline marketing, assuming that it is so last year… Big mistake, and here’s why:

• The internet is NOT everything

We grant you, the vast majority of us are connected 24/7 to our mobiles, laptop, tablet and so on but, not everyone is. And, even if we are, poster campaigns, roller banners, outdoor banners, postcards through the letterbox are still fabulous visual means of capturing imagination.

Impulse buying is not a new phenomenon. But, a well-printed leaflet through the door on a Sunday afternoon has long been one way of stoking excitement in a customer and boom! – they buy from you. Think of this as the takeaway menu through the letterbox at tea time…

• Great for start-ups

Offline promotion is not the sole domain of start-ups and small businesses; we want to make that clear right now. You do not reach a point or size where you can safely ditch offline marketing.

For a start-up however, offline marketing is a channel that possess extra power. Your website may be in the early stages, SEO may not be set just right and so your creeping up the listings is happening slowly.

Why not boost some of that traffic, and sales, with a carefully executed offline marketing campaign? Leaflets through doors, adverts in local papers or a carefully orchestrated poster campaign can make for a welcome boost in sales, as well as more visitors to your website.

• Tangible

Something that is tangible, is something that can be touched and held in your hand. This, in terms of marketing, can be a useful concept to remember.

At one time, ‘junk mail’ or door-to-door leaflet drops happened all the time. Free newspapers would be full of competing information too. But today, this is very different. No longer in the front door mat littered with ads – but your email inbox could well be.

This is why many businesses are once again looking to grab new customers by giving them something tangible. From coupons to menus, online codes to freebies, promotional channels that are offline are still very much trusted by the consumer.

• Guerrilla offline marketing

You may have come across this; it is where a marketing campaign uses a creative approach to get people talking about the business, product or service. There are many examples online and you can gain the same, if not better results for less money, offline.

Amnesty International highlighted the plight of human trafficking with a powerful offline stunt. They employed a female gymnast to be crumpled in a clear suitcase. She was then, for short periods, seen in various transport hubs such as airports and so on. The reaction was electric; the campaign memorable and the message much-talked about.

• Something different

You don’t have to spend thousands of offline advertising and promotion and you may like the idea of guerrilla marketing but are unsure as to the impact it will have for you.

Walked the streets of any busy city, and you will see various people in sandwich boards handing out leaflets. Anything from ‘serving lunch now’, to ‘10% off all purchases today with this leaflet’ are common – and they work.

Hitting the streets can be one way of enticing in new customers, and doing something different is also a good way of attracting attention too. Try it because, what do you have to lose?