If you’ve been stuck trying to promote your business online for a while, you might be having a hard time getting results.
The truth is, online isn’t the only answer. That’s right – there’s still a lot of money to be made by hitting the streets and promoting your business the good old-fashioned way.
Even if you run a completely online venture, there’s value in looking at how going back to basics could be what your business needs to gain new leads.
While it’s true that having an online business opens you up to thousands (or even millions) of potential customers, and offers huge scope for many businesses, it’s a hugely competitive marketplace. There are literally millions of potential customers, and there are also millions of competitors all fighting for the same piece of the pie.
If you’ve recently tried to rank highly for a particular search term, you’ve no doubt seen how difficult it is. As you’re probably already aware, if you can’t get onto the first page of Google, you might as well be nowhere. The first place on Google can garner up to 34% clicks from all searches for that term. If you’re 11th (first on the second page), you might struggle to get 1%.
This is why going offline can help you get a corner of the market that your rivals may have ignored.
Marketing offline helps promote your business to completely new people
Whether you’re promoting a product or service, chances are that the channels you’re using are being visited by people who are already aware of the sort of thing you’re offering.
Let’s look at internet marketing, for instance. Yes, you might be offering an ‘innovative way to make money online’ – but you’ll probably be offering it to people who are at least somewhat aware of such a possibility in the first place.
This is one of the main reasons why going offline for your marketing is such a great idea. You get to capture potential new customers for your business who might have been completely unaware you could even make money online easily. Even if it’s something simple like filling out online surveys, most people on similar sites online will already be aware of similar possibilities. But people who don’t use their computers very much might not be.
By reaching out to those offline, you can be the first to offer them something they might truly appreciate. You’re not just fighting for people already in the internet marketing niche. You’re telling new people with no previous knowledge about a wealth of potential new possibilities they might benefit from.
Internet marketing isn’t all this approach works for. Marketing your business offline can also help bypass a large section of the competition and take you to completely new potential customers who might be much easier to convert.
Unlike promoting online, the options are practically endless. You’d be surprised how cheap an advert in the local newspaper can be. Even a full page spread.
One great offline idea is door-to-door leafleting. You’ve probably seen a rise in these over recent years – they’re great for local businesses.
Leaflet delivery can be cheap – if you’re just starting out, there’s no reason why you can’t print the leaflets yourself and go door to door on foot. That cuts out at least two middle men (printer and delivery service). It might seem like a lot of hard work, but you can’t succeed in business without at least putting the effort in.
As mentioned, you could be promoting a completely online service that’s available to anyone in the world, but there will be people living near you who are completely unaware of the opportunity because they simply didn’t know it existed.
While you might only get five hits for every 100 leaflets you deliver, think of it this way: the 95 people who didn’t return a hit just didn’t happen to take the final step. They probably still looked at your leaflet – maybe even engaged with it, turned on their computer, and manually typed in your link. So it was still worth it, as they may convert much easier in the future.
There are tons of other ways to get your business out there in the offline world. Sponsor a local team or event, or consider cheap television advertising. Since the internet has impacted television and radio massively, prices for advertising have dropped drastically to try and compete.
Most of all, think outside of the box to find ways in which it could help your business get ahead if focusing all your attention on online marketing is thus far getting you nowhere.
In conclusion
Marketing offline can be huge for people who run a local business, as well as those who don’t. It can work even if you run an online venture.
You’d be surprised how many local service businesses now think that they need to put all of their marketing efforts into promoting online. It’s a huge mistake. People have more faith in something they see in the community rather than just a faceless online entity.
You’re really missing a trick if you run a local services business and don’t capitalize on the possibilities. By all means, keep promoting your business online – but try promoting offline and you might be surprised by the results.
Guest Author: Keith has many years of experience advising people on business and marketing issues. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with those just starting out or looking for a bit of direction. In his spare time, he also enjoys sharing the benefits of tuition for business people. He writes for https://smiletutor.sg.