In this day and age where the internet pervades almost every facet of our lives, do we really need offline marketing when digital marketing provides us with measurable results and even better targeting of the audience? At the end of the day, digital marketing provides you with insight on what is driving your sales. A piece of data that is not always possible with offline marketing.
But wait! What about the number of internet users who search for your company’s brand name? How could you get more users to search for your brand name? How can you raise the awareness of your brand? What about meeting your customers face to face? What if you want to demonstrate your product to potential customers? Surely this is not possible with digital marketing alone
What Are The Benefits Of Offline Marketing In The Digital Age?
Although digital marketing offers you good targeting and measurable return on investment, it doesn’t offer the level of mass exposure you get from offline marketing strategies such as trade shows or exhibitions.
Trade shows and exhibitions, although not measurable quantitatively, can drive up the number of people searching for your brand name on search engines. People remember things better after they have been in and interacted with people and an environment such as an exhibition stand rather than seeing an ad online.
Also with trade shows and exhibitions, the salesperson can do the selling rather than an online ad or website. Humans are social beings and we are naturally inclined to buy from someone we have met before, developed a good rapport and built trust. This is somewhat difficult with digital marketing as all marketing is done via the computer, mobile or tablet screen.
Word of Mouth (WOM) is a great at generating visibility and promoting positive perceptions of a brand. Though this can happen online, it is most commonly undertaken offline. Friends and family look to each other for trustworthy opinions on a business.
What about customer retention? With digital marketing you can send eShots to existing and past customers to urge them to buy from you again. But what if you want to send a sample of a new product? Perhaps a sample of shampoo, creams or even cereals. This will allow a customer to try something they have never tried before.
Nothing is more effective in promoting a product than getting your customers to try it. Again, this would not be possible with eShots. One sample of a new product sent to the address of an existing customer is more powerful than 10 emails sent to 10 existing customers.
Offline marketing strategies like exhibitions and direct samples allow your customers to interact with you personally and experience your products first-hand rather than seeing it on a screen. This is far more powerful and persuasive.
For any organisation, offline marketing and digital marketing can really compliment each other if they are formulated into a cohesive strategy. No two marketing strategies are the same and any marketing strategy is as unique as the business that devised it.
