We’re now in an age of marketing where TV ads are dying out, ROI is decreasing and consumers are increasingly resistant to advertising messages. With everybody rushing to try the latest inbound or digital marketing technique, is there still a place for the old-school marketing techniques that have worked for decades? Well, yes and no. If you do it in the same way they were always done then you probably won’t get anywhere, but there’s no reason that these techniques can’t be modernised, and they’re very effective when they are.
Leaflets
Leaflets are definitely an old-school marketing technique, but if you plan your leafleting campaign right then they can still be an effective part of your promotional activity. Simply printing out 10,000 leaflets that say how you are the best business in the area won’t work anymore; people have grown bored of that kind of marketing and your leaflet will probably be put straight in the bin. If you have a well designed leaflet (see: The Do’s & Don’ts of Leaflet Design) that you send to the correct demographic then your leaflet will be an excellent addition to your promotional campaigns that will have a brilliant ROI.
Email marketing is often seen as the old-school way to do digital marketing, but this doesn’t mean that it is any less important than SEO or social media. If any statistic will convince you of this, it is that 95% of consumers on the internet use email, which is more than even Facebook! Marketing communications sent by email have a much longer lifespan than communications sent over social media. Users see hundreds of posts on Facebook and Twitter in a very short amount of time, so are likely to tune out from anything they don’t see as relevant, but with emails they are definitely going to see your email in their inbox and are more likely to interact with it. Of course you have to do email marketing properly, meaning no spamming and working hard to earn a large email list.
Local sponsorship
Sponsorship is generally considered to be something only big businesses can do, but sponsoring local teams and events is a very affordable and effective method of promotion. Many people overlook this method due to the ROI coming in the form of brand awareness or loyalty rather than something that can be easily measured, like sales. Sponsorship is a brilliant way for you to show that you care about the local community or a cause.
Cold Calling
Cold calling has very much been stigmatised, and rightly so. It’s true that they are annoying for the receiver and people tend not to buy from them, but only when they are done wrong. One of the biggest problems with cold calling is the targeting. If you are calling people who wouldn’t buy from you in a million years then of course they will be annoyed. You should also make sure to make contact with the potential customer using another channel before you go calling them. This will make them feel less harassed and less resistant to what you have to say.
If you want to use leaflets in your promotional campaigns then we at Direct Letterbox Marketing can help. We specialise in printing, demographic profiling and leaflet distribution, ensuring that your message goes to the right people. For more information, contact us on 0800 028 6353 and see how we can help your campaign be incredibly successful.
