subject: Online Vs. Offline Marketing: The Battle Not Needing To Be Fought! [print this page] Many people will argue that one form of marketing is better than the other, but WHY?! You know you can do both right?! What is this ongoing question of which is the best form of marketing really all about? Online vs. Offline! Which should you do as a business owner? To be honest, the answer is both! Lets look into each form of marketing and let you be the judge.
Offline marketing includes everything from print media, TV and movie, radio, in-person (events), road signs, and much more. Online marketing consists of email, video, blogs, web sites, pop ups, etc. While brainstorming about this topic, I decided to make a list of the strengths and weaknesses of each. (Just a side note, everyone should make a list of pros and cons when preparing a marketing plan! ) Here is what I came up with and the results shocked me!
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Offline marketing has a few strengths that really jump out at me. One is that, proven history has shown that offline marketing works. There is a trust factor that people feel good about doing business with you. And lastly, it is a tangible asset to your business. Offline marketing weaknesses vary with things like costs - labor intensive, perishable - time sensitive run time, unable to modify once committed, can be push marketing, limited geographically, and finally offline marketing usually will have a shotgun approach to it!
Online marketing has its pros and cons as well. Some of its strengths Ive noticed is that its much more cost effective to market online. A business is able to hit the target audience better and most likely you are getting newer and more cutting edge marketing techniques. There is unlimited range with no geographical limitations. Pull marketing as opposed to push marketing. 24 hours of Internet availability making potential clients available 24/7/365! Finally I noticed there is more of a rifle approach- meaning that it is targeted directly towards prospective clients, it is easier to monitor effectiveness and adjust while having much interaction between several groups or individuals! Online marketing has a ton of upside! While that may be true there is also some weaknesses of online marketing. It seems like once you budget something it is never enough! Technology changes so fast that it is costly to keep up. Not everyone is online yet, so your audience will reach limits and finally I noticed there is a smaller range of marketing avenues viable to online marketers.
As you can see there are many more advantages in marketing online as there is to marketing offline! But, and that is a HUGE but, you cant put all your eggs in one basket! To be fully effective in today's market you must integrate your marketing strategies. Use this example and do both: send a postcard and monitor your website activity to help monitor the effectiveness of the postcard. The best of both worlds and a great and effective way to use both online and offline marketing. Best of luck to you!
