So you need to market your business and can not decide which strategy to use. Here are some helpful tips to get you clued up about the different approaches in contemporary times.
The Digital Way And Having It All On Line
With the progression of technology in recent years and with the massive switch to digital, it only makes sense that marketing strategies have followed suit. I mean if its not online, does it really exist? This is not rule of thumb and both forms of marketing indeed do have their place in the generation of ipads, kindles and Nano technologies. One clear, and probably the most useful benefit to using digital marketing is that the results are much easier to measure, meaning your often expensive campaigns can be closely watched and response of your prospective customers accurately gauged, which will in enable you to adapt and become more efficient.
Just because there is a massive switch from print media to digital publications does not necessarily mean that marketing campaigns have to follow and neglect conventionality altogether. With digital, you may encounter the risk that potential customers may believe you have not put much effort into your campaign, as simply creating a Facebook page as your marketing strategy is really not good enough. On the flip side, some customers may view an old school flyer as outdated and view your business as such. Digital marketing has the ability for the consumers and “marketers” as it were to interact, and thus communicate and perhaps through this virtual conversation a better and more effective measurement of what your audience wants and how they will react can be obtained.
Conventional At Best
Are flyers, banners and door to door tactics a thing of the past or still a reliable way to get your message across? Conventional marketing is widely trusted, while digital has the problem of spam and cons constantly being a worry for consumers. It must be noted that people still place value in face to face communication and may in fact appreciate the effort of talking (in the conventional sense)A lot of people still read magazines and newspapers, and as convenient and effective as digital publications are, there is still something very appealing about holding a tangible hard copy or print publication. By cutting out conventional marketing you are effectively losing a large portion of the market. Studies have shown a dramatic decrease in conventional marketing, and this is no surprise, but not a definite reason to abolish the practice. The cost of print is extremely high, and if this form is going to be used, one must be very sure that it is going to work. Hundreds of thousands of Rands spent on print marketing that could ultimately end up lining waste paper baskets, could cause serious problems for your business.
It really boils down to knowing your customers, and knowing your product inside and out. Without these critical factors, marketing is simply going to be a guessing game. The smart approach would be to incorporate both mechanisms. Some defining features of each approach may be used, having an advert in a magazine together with a great website will help you cover all bases. Flyers may be an obsolete concept for some industries, but a tangible business card that can be held, surely will never go out of date,
Never mind the fact that even if you are using fully digital marketing strategies, a portion of your marketing is always going to be relying on word of mouth, so it seems that in some way, traditional or conventional marketing will always exist. To have a successful marketing campaign you want to include every possible angle, and to do this one would need a to have both forms of marketing taking place. It is not really a question of which approach is better but more which approach suits the needs of your business or operation. Often a combination of the two can be a great success depending on certain factors such as target market and type of business that you are running.
Just as with any forum or any business tool, both have there place and their pros and cons. Careful thought needs to go into getting a fundamental knowledge of your customer base and what gets their attention. Then apply a balanced combination of both forms of marketing, covering all bases and turn your marketing campaign into a profit machine.
