Offline Marketing Options

The popularity of Internet marketing and the abundant throwing around of buzz words such as ezine and SEO marketing has left many business owners wondering if there are still options for off line marketing and advertising that work yet are affordable.

 

The obvious answer is that yes, there are off line marketing options, but the concern is keeping costs down and still being effective. When one thinks of effective off line advertising the first options that immediately spring to mind are those of television advertising, billboards and radio spots. It is true that these methods work, but for the small business owner, or a new business trying to get going such methods are cost prohibitive and well out of range. Trying to find the space between high cost advertising and SEO marketing can be a challenge, but one that can be met with the following advertising methods, many of them not new inventions, but ones that are often overlooked.

• Business cards
• Brochures
• Posters
• Networking meetings
• Mailing lists
• SWAG

Business Cards

The creation of business cards has become big business in and of itself. Many resources exist for creating inexpensive, but effective business cards. These stretch all the way from cards that can be printed on a home or work printer and the cut out to professional grade cards, printed in multiple colors and both sides. Business cards can be as simple or complex as you desire, but should, at the least, always contain the following information:

• The name of the business
• The name of the contact
• A valid telephone number
• A valid fax number – if available
• A valid email address – if available
• The company logo

The point of a business card is a physical reminder of who you are and what business you work for. Business cards are particularly important if you are attending conferences or conventions. You should have business cards of your own to hand out, and collect cards from other attendees. Make notes on the back of the card as to any details you wish to remember about the contact or company and then put these into an organizer when you return to your office.

Brochures

Like business cards brochures allow for your new or potential customer to take a piece of your business home with them. Brochures should contain the same contact information as do business cards, but provide an opportunity to expand on that information with more specific information about your business and product. As well you can include pictures and even coupons in your brochure, which helps to draw customers back to your business. Brochures are fairly inexpensive and can be either self designed, or acquired from a design specialist at a reasonable price. If the quantity you expect is fairly low you can print your brochures yourself, though you will find as your quantity increases that there is good sense in working with a printing house. Printing companies will be able to help bring your printing costs down and may even offer services to take on some of the manual tasks, such as folding or stapling. It is often far cheaper to pay an extra penny per copy to have a printer run brochures through a tri-fold machine than it is to spend hours of your time, or pay someone to spend theirs folding.

Posters

Posters are an advertising technique that is as old as small children and lemonade stands, and is still effective. This kind of advertising has the disadvantage of being mostly a local advertising. Customers have to see the poster to respond to it, so is good for bringing in street traffic near your place of business, or to draw customers to your booth at a convention or conference. Some grocery stores use this method of advertising to list what foods are on additional special on any given day. It’s an inexpensive way to direct customers once they are through the door towards items that they may want to buy, even if those items weren’t on the customer’s list in the beginning.

Networking meetings

Conventions and conferences have been mentioned a couple of times and these are very important ways to advertise your business and get the name of the business and its products into the public view. The nice thing about these kinds of networking meetings is that they are highly focused, so you are meeting with people who already have an interest in the type of product or service that you are selling. This makes your advertising pitch easier, and contacts more likely to want to get details on your products and services, possibly placing orders at the time of the meeting.

Mailing lists

Mailing lists are a great way to keep in touch with current customers, sending out offers, discounts and announcements on postcards or brochure style letters. Your mailing list can be created in several ways and should be a focused list for customers and potential customers. Don’t just put entire neighborhoods on your list as it will decrease the results. Keep a clipboard near your check out register where customers can sign up. As well if you collect business cards at networking meetings add those contacts to your list. This can be a great way to keep what would have been one time customers coming back to your shop or other location.

Greeting Cards and Card Services

The value of sending thank you cards, anniversary cards or even specialised greeting cards should not be understated. Sending out regularly scheduled greeting cards for an account anniversary or special holiday will put your company name and brand in front of you clients and prospects again and again.

 

CardConnects, a Calgary company, specializes in the sending of unique greeting cards as a service. There services are becoming very popular for busy entrepreneurs in Calgary. Similar service providers may exist in your area.

SWAG

A popular acronym for Stuff We All Get, SWAG refers to small give aways with the company logo and contact information printed on it. This may include: pens, paper pads, balloons, T-shirts, fridge magnets, key rings, etc, etc. The one pitfall to be aware of with SWAG is how quickly it can go if it’s not monitored and this can get pricey quickly. More expensive SWAG can be saved for drawings and raffles, encouraging customers to stay in your shop and visit often in order to put their name in for better prizes.

 

In the end, no matter what kind of advertising you use, remember that the heart of a business is in offering a solid product or service backed with an excellent customer experience. The first impression you make counts and will either drive customers away, or bring them back for a lifetime of satisfied service.