Do you actually sell or deliver your product or service in the real world? Most businesses still do. Even for exclusively online businesses (like Google) using some offline marketing activities makes sense (Google uses direct mail to reactivate lapsed customers). Consistent, carefully considered real world marketing can deliver excellent results, and be a very profitable complement to your online marketing efforts. The big advantage of print and face to face marketing is that they are proactive. You make the first move (having carefully selected your audience) and encourage prospects to your website or social media, where your online marketing lead magnets and followup automation can nurture them towards buying. Or you can give them a great reason to call or visit you. Offline marketing doesn’t rely on your buyer initiating the search. If you’d like to add some more strings to your marketing bow, why not try some of these?
- Network with a clear purpose Attend events that attract the sort of crowd you might sell to or partner with, have a clear pitch, an open mind, and listen up.
- Participate in carefully selected Trade Shows Choose shows that attract audiences which include the right potential buyers for your product or service. Give them an opportunity to experience what you have to offer easily. Trade shows are excellent for building your database if managed intelligently.
- Make sure your business card stands out If it looks boring and doesn’t say anything interesting, or give the recipient a reason to reconnect, it probably won’t be read, and most likely will end up in the bin.
- Give out informative brochures, checklists, cheat sheets and information booklets that focus on the key problems your customers face. Filter all the information you give our through the eyes of your customers. Are you addressing their most pressing concerns? Helping them to solve a genuine problem? Do you explain why and how your solution works for people like them?
- Turn your car into a mobile billboard with signage Ideally with a tagline that says what you do and who it’s for
- Use press releases that tell a story A press release isn’t an advertisement. Journalists are always looking for information and left of field angles that their audience will find interesting. You need to create a story around your message that’s not just about you.
- Include testimonials in all your printed marketing materials Make them specific and attributed to a real person, with name and company details. Better still if they’re well known and admired. Testimonials generate credibility which helps to motivate buyers to act.
- Provide sponsorship for a local club, team, service group or business event Be selective. If the organisation’s membership or audience is a good match with your likely buyers, sponsorship can be a worthwhile investment. Better still if you have the ability to connect directly with the audience, so it’s not just about brand recognition.
- Send regular customers a printed newsletter How many email newsletters to you actually read? Would you be more likely to take notice if the same information came as a well designed publication, in the post?
- Send Christmas and Birthday cards In an age of email and generic digital messages, making the effort to send a real card has a much bigger impact than ever before
- Give away branded calendars Desk or wall calendars are a valued, functional gift that reminds people of your business every day for the whole year.
- Call after delivery to make sure your buyer is happy This is a great way to demonstrate that you really care, and very useful for improving your product and customer experience. People love to be asked for feedback, if you demonstrate that you’re using the information you collect to improve what you do.
- Run an information seminar or workshop Your event could be stand alone, or in partnership with one or more businesses who service the same target market as you. That way you’re multiplying the value you deliver, and your potential audience. Address specific problems from the customer’s perspective.
- Send Thank You cards to buyers For only a small amount of effort and expense, you’d be amazed how much impact a mailed Thank You card can make. You may even get thanked for your Thank You card!
- Create a referral incentive system Give your good quality customers a reason to refer people to your business. You could create a gift card for them to give to family or friends, which offers a free or discount access to one of your entry level products or services. You might also reward the referrer. But that’s not always essential. Most people get pleasure from sharing good news and useful contacts. Thanking them for helping grow your business is often enough (see #14).
- Send some Lumpy Mail Choose a small group of good target prospects and post them a marketing message with a small quirky gift attached that’s relevant to your message. Be creative so your mail is the first one to be opened.
Of course, none of these will have any appreciable impact if you don’t include a reason to contact you, or if you don’t FOLLOW UP. Be consistent and persistent The most effective offline and online marketing generously shares great information and experiences, so that eventually the logical next step is to buy from you.
