Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing, as the name suggests, uses traditional means like distributing handouts, leaflets, billboards etc. In a nutshell, it employs offline media for its purpose. We used this form of marketing before digital marketing came into the world. Unlike digital marketing, traditional marketing requires a direct connection or physical interaction with the target audience.

Many businesses need clarification on what forms of traditional marketing to use and how to mix them with digital marketing. This article brings you the solution to all these questions. We will provide you with ample information so that the next time you hear about traditional marketing, you will decide which marketing works best for you.

Is Traditional Marketing Still Relevant?

Traditional marketing strategies include targeting and positioning advertisements as per the physical location of the target audience. Examples can include print ads, billboards, or television advertisements for which the user has to be physically present.

Forms of Traditional Marketing?

Face-to-face Meetings

Meeting someone in person and advertising your product is the best way to promote your product. It helps you build relationships and turn them into loyal clients. Sales or not, it gives you a good understanding of the user's perspective and requirements. It can be very time-consuming as you must devote your whole focus, time and energy to the individual or group you are addressing.

Businesses launching new products or services can use this form of marketing. It can use where sales require lots of personal touch for products with high-cost value. Jewellery is the best example of this.

Handouts

Restaurants and newly launched stores do this wherein they distribute the handouts to people walking by. If interested, the audience does a cursory glance and keeps the booklet or even checks the store. Not a very effective form of marketing, You can use it in rural areas where people have the luxury of time.

Bill Boards, Print ads

Print ads are used extensively in metros and comes very expensive too. While it might not help sales directly, it helps brand building. The brand's name sounds familiar, and customers feel secure in making decisions.

Cold Calls and Direct mails

We all get those annoying calls where someone is trying to push a loan or sell a credit card. Often our emails are filled with junk mail. It's all because someone is trying this form of traditional marketing. These methods might need to be updated, but they work and deliver good ROI.

Event marketing, Broadcasting

You can gather people for events or broadcast them over radio, TV etc., to reach out to people and show your offerings. Different marketing activities can be planned around these events generating good word of mouth.

Advantages of Traditional Marketing?

Let's look at some of the advantages it brings to the table, making it very effective for some businesses.

Hard Copies: Traditional marketing helps customers keep a hard copy of your advertising materials, such as your magazines or other stuff. It can be referred to in the future or discussed with family and friends to decide on the purchase.

Local Audience: You can target a very small geography or even a society using traditional marketing, which might not be possible in digital marketing. You can then customise your package specifically for the institution or the organisation.

Easy to Understand: These ways of traditional marketing are very easy to understand, and in most cases, someone must explain them in detail. It helps in better communication with the users and sales.

Disadvantages of Traditional Marketing

Traditional marketing being outdated has many disadvantages, too, making them a poor choice for marketing.

Expensive: Traditional marketing can be costly. Advertising via newspapers, magazines, radio or any other method would require capital which can be difficult for most beginners. Whereas thinking about the outcomes may not be worth it, as most television advertisements last only a few seconds!

Passive: It is a more sedentary type of marketing, as it involves much hope and depends on potential customers to take the second step. This form of marketing requires a lot of effort to advertise your product, depending on whether your customers buy.

Not able to measure: You cannot measure your audience. You won't be able to keep a check on the number of people who could engage with your product. Some marketing techniques like radio and TV claim to have a rough idea of the viewership. The numbers are generally rough estimates.

Does Traditional Marketing Still Work?

In simple words, the answer is yes.

People still get engaged with traditional marketing for various reasons. Potential read newspapers and the ads intrigue them, particularly if they have a great incentive.

Traditional marketing can work independently, but it would work more effectively if conventional and digital marketing worked together. Using both will give you an integrated marketing strategy that will help you in spreading information about your product and brand.

Your marketing team or offline marketing agency needs to work on how we can make the connection with the target audience more effectively. Then they need to figure out its traditional marketing and see its ROI. Based on the overall perception, they would then be able to handpick the standard marketing components and use them judiciously.