Nowadays, most companies choose to put their advertising in new media, i.e. social media, YouTube, AdWords, etcetera. In other words, they focus their advertising efforts online. However, offline marketing is still an important aspect of business because it reaches customers that online marketing isn’t able to cater to. To successfully market your business offline, follow these seven tips:
- Build a network.
The first thing you need to do in order to successfully market your business offline is to build a network. Networking is an effective marketing tool because it allows you to use people you already know in order to reach more people and bring them into your network. To build a network, start with who you already know. Family and friends can help you reach out to people they know who might be interested in your business.
- Use business cards.
Of course, when building a network, you should have business cards prepared so you can give them out to potential customers. To make business cards that people would really want to use, here are some business card ideas: 1) State your name/name of your business and your position/what you do, 2) put your contact number and email-address, 3) include your work address, and 4) include your social media handles (if you actively use social media for business purposes).
- Attend industry parties and events.
Aside from handing out business cards, you can also build a network by attending industry parties and events where you can meet like-minded entrepreneurs who can bring you into their network and vice versa. Another way to build a network is to host a party yourself. For example, a product launch will allow you to introduce your products and to also meet new people.
- Word-of-mouth advertising
Create a rewards system that will incentivize your customers to tell their network about your products and services. For example, with every referral, you can give your customers a gift card or a free product.
- Ask for customer testimonials.
Customer testimonials and positive feedback are perfect marketing tools because it shows potential customers how your business has satisfied your current customers.
- Use traditional media for advertising.
A lot of companies still use traditional media (television, radio and print) to advertise. If you want to market offline, these channels are still viable in reaching customers, although they may be less targeted than online advertisements.
- Start an online-to-offline campaign.
So this tip isn’t entirely offline, but it still works. You can create an online-to-offline campaign that will make people curious and participate. What this means is that you use social media to start an event that happens in the real-world. For example, John Green, a bestselling author, left signed copies of his new book in public spaces during his tour and documented the entire process through social media. The real event, i.e. looking for his books, happens offline in the real-world, but it creates a buzz and excitement that makes people want to buy his new book.
So these are seven tips on how you can successfully market offline. On how you’ll balance online and offline marketing is up to you. Your marketing strategy must be specific to your business and customers.
