Marketing continues to evolve, but sometimes taking a few notes from the marketing geniuses of yesteryear has value. For instance, people still get mail, like real paper mail, and they actually want to go through it all.
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Despite the growth of digital marketing and a somewhat seeming all online approach to life, traditional marketing still works. These old school marketing tactics are also quite affordable, since they are advertisements less traveled these days. Here are our top five.
1. Sign Spinning Makes Sense
Do not underestimate the power of sign spinning. In various cities across the country, the most crowded commercial strips typically have a few sign spinners who make spectacles of themselves during the prime shopping or commute hours.
“As drivers, we’re completely trained to notice other people,” Charles Taylor, professor of marketing at Villanova University told Market Place. “And when you put human interaction in marketing, in general it leads to more ability to appeal to people’s empathy and raise emotions.”
You might find it difficult to believe, but plenty of studies have proven the effectiveness of such a technique because it grabs the wandering eyes of the passersby. Production of the signs doesn’t cost that much, making sign spinning an affordable investment with positive ROI potential.
2. Direct Mail has a Response Rate of Over 5 Percent
Email marketing is certainly a buzz word. The only problem is that almost everyone gets plenty of emails. There is a total of 269 billion emails sent all over the world every single day. Most office workers get more than 120 emails each day, not counting personal accounts.
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Businesses, particularly the ones with brick-and-mortar locations, are going back to direct mail in order to get bigger returns on their marketing spend. In fact, direct mail has a response rate over five percent, while email boast just over 0.5 percent. Who would have thought a marketing message in 5 x 7 envelopes still has influence?
3. Business Cards Coming Back
Exchanging business cards started more than four centuries ago in England. It may not be as effective as before, but surprisingly it’s making a comeback. This technique is helpful when talking to a customer, potential lead, or attending a networking event. According to Adobe, 88 percent of business cards are discarded, but the colored ones last ten times longer.
Not only are business cards inexpensive but they can also raise your sales by 2.5 percent per every 2,000 cards passed out. To lower the possibility of your cards being discarded, try to target people who would need your services. As long as they are used the right way, they can still result in strong ROI.
4. Think About TV and/or Radio Ads
Search engines, like Google, are the mediums in which people interact with businesses. So it’s easy to think that traditional media, like TV or radio are effective. However, they still have value as marketing tactics. Companies still spend a lot of money on traditional marketing to humanize their businesses, because media ads gets results.
“Despite fragmentation, linear TV still is more reliable in delivering reach than any other medium, and its strength lies in effective, emotional storytelling,” Jim Nail at Forrester explained.
Small businesses that serve a specific community can opt for local TV and radio stations to target specific markets. This is showcased during election years, as local political candidates are all over local TV and radio ads.
5. Get Your Brand a Billboard
U.S. roads have changed over the last few decades, but there’s one thing that has been constant . . . billboards. Billboards that line the highways and rise above the city streets are still great for marketing. You can take a page from Hollywood movie marketing on this one.
Size matters, but that’s what billboards bring to any brand ad campaign, because most digital ads are among so much other noise on desktops and mobile devices. Some digital ads can even seem intrusive.
Not billboards. People commuting to work are more likely to see a huge colorful billboard from afar. All you need is a single glance and a well-designed billboard will grab attention and deliver your brand’s marketing message in a way that few other forms of advertising could.
In Conclusion . . .
There are plenty of traditional marketing tactics out there that still serve up value for your business. The above five can be part of your strategy, but be sure to test and track metrics to ensure you’re getting the best ROI. Tell us about a traditional marketing tactic that worked for you.
