Offline marketing, it’s like online marketing, but it’s not. Offline marketing is something that still works for businesses today as it did decades ago. But much like anything it needs a little polishing from time to time to keep it relevant.
Are you a tech business looking to find out what else is out there for you? Then you should probably keep reading or you’ve wasted your own time.
What is Offline Marketing?
Offline marketing is what it says on the tin, anything that’s done offline, as in, not on the internet. But don’t turn your nose up at it, including some of these strategies can help keep your funnel topped up and be a part of your strategy with ease.
So that could be a billboard ad on your local roundabout or a shout-out on your regional radio station, but it’s worth keeping in mind, that it’s typically used more for brand awareness than gaining that immediate sale.
Isn’t Offline Marketing Outdated?
No, absolutely not, there are several reasons offline marketing is still used and needed in today’s fast-paced world, but unfortunately over the years, it’s fallen behind the times a little. Maybe it’s the fact that social media has taken hold, and a lot of business is done online these days, but let’s not forget what’s important here… your audience!
Depending on what you’re selling, it’s as relevant now as it ever was.
If you’re selling software that helps people in the event of a car accident, then radio might be the best bet, as your target audience is likely going to be in or driving cars, or service station toilet ads (yes gents… we are talking mostly to you).
What Forms of Offline Marketing are There?
There’s a massive number of ways to approach offline marketing, here’s just a sampling below:
Direct Mail & Print Campaigns
A personal favourite here at Marketing Managed (Bacon Marketing) is a direct mail campaign. Alongside a classic email, why not reach out with a small parcel including a gift? Something relevant to their campaign for example, if you’re launching a new tech business, a CRM for dog groomers, why not send over a pair of branded nail clippers? Or de-shedding brush, something they won’t throw away in a hurry, something that keeps YOU in mind.
Include a QR code so they can go and sign up for a call, event or just to learn more about your business as you nurture the relationship on a much more personal level! Look at what we did for Five on a Bike around direct mail.
Networking & Public Speaking
Networking is something we’ve likely all done or done at some point in our careers, sometimes without even knowing it.
But even today in a post-COVID world, face-to-face networking is an incredibly powerful and normally cheap way to get your business out there; joining your local BNI chapter can be as little as £50 a month.
With that you get the opportunity to talk to like-minded businesses that you can sell to or better yet even help you grow your business.
Public speaking is definitely a step up from that, show everyone you know your market, your service or your product by talking to a captive audience!
Recording the talk and sharing it on LinkedIn and other social media, is a great way to keep up the hype and raise your brand with people who may not know you right now, by becoming a real thought leader.
Radio & TV Advertising
TV ads back in the day used to be only for the BIG brands out there, but we’re seeing with the evolution of TV from broadcast to digital that advertising your business on TV has become easier, cheaper and more accessible than ever.
We have businesses like Toast TV which not only lets you advertise but can also provide you with audience insight, targeting and in some cases even interactive ads.
Now, granted this does fall slightly into online marketing, but, if you can watch it on a TV, that’s sort of offline, right?
And TV advertising can cost as little as £100 per “slot” depending on the channel and time of day of course!
As for Radio, unfortunately, the decline in listeners is loud and clear, with a 10% decline in listening hours by the end of 2023.
Both Radio and TV also have little room in the B2B world though, unless you’re broadly targeting your ads at say SMEs like Quickbooks do.
OOH (Out of Home) Marketing
Out-of-home campaigns are a broad umbrella for adverts you see whilst you’re out and about, the ones you see on billboards, buses, taxis, benches and pretty much anything you can think to slap an advert onto!
These are great if you have a local campaign or you want to get a message out there like a new product or service.
As with direct mail, you can still influence or move on a prospect, including QR codes, website addresses or even directions to a local brick-and-mortar branch all add to the campaign value and measure of success.
How do I make offline marketing work for my tech company?
It’s about combining new and “old” to make a campaign work for you and your business, if your audience is there and you can target them, you’re halfway to winning the marketing war.
Choosing the right channels is also key, some work better than others, for a tech company, why not hold a launch event for your new feature or service? Give people a reason to go, giveaways, drinks, food and offers as well as the clear benefits to using it! (marketing 101).
Finally measure the outcomes of it, in our event example, follow up with a survey on what people thought or even get it on the night with interactive polls, the sky’s the limit.
Sum Up
Offline marketing is something that gets overlooked regularly and typically because it’s considered old-fashioned, when in many cases you’re tapping into an area that your competitors won’t and in some cases as well, at a much lower barrier to entry.
We like to mix our marketing campaigns and strategies up ourselves, which has always helped us bring the most value and ROI (return on investment) to your customers.
If you’re interested in how any of this or even the digital methods too can help grow your business, connect with me on LinkedIn or set up a call.
Prefer to hand this over? See how our tech company marketing works.
