In today’s world of online digital marketing, traditional marketing tactics can be overlooked. But it is often some of the old school ideas that result in big returns. Take a look at some of these ideas and see where you need to shift your efforts to go where your competitors have abandoned.
12 Traditional Marketing Tactics
1.Face to Face
(Get out of your chair and out of the office)
This is one of the most daunting yet rewarding actions that you can take to get more traffic into your business. Face to face interactions yield more personal connections and show that you care more about your customers than just their wallets. It may be intimidating at first but as you continue to go out of the office and meet people to bring into your business circle, you will gain more than just customers: you will gain skills that can’t be learned while sitting in an office chair all day. Make sure that you are meeting people that you can then network with and don’t forget about your old contacts!
2.Networking Events: It forces you to talk about yourself and your business
This goes along with face to face interactions that we just talked about in the previous section. These events are less about your clients and more about you selling yourself and your business. You are able to showcase your skills as a business owner and you are able to show how your business has been successful and how they can influence it! It is crazy how much people will invest into something that someone else is passionate about. If you show your passion for business, that passion will be contagious. You want people in your corner that are as passionate as you are.
3.Pick up the Phone (Making a call may feel awkward but it is highly memorable)
Trust me, calling people is one of my least favorite things to do. There are awkward silences and maybe sometimes you don’t know what the right thing to say is. However, people remember phone calls more than they do emails. People get hundreds if not thousands of emails a day. You want to stand out. You want to put a voice to your words if you are not able to meet with your clients in person.
4.Send a Letter (nobody reads mail right? I check the mailbox every day!)
Personally, I love receiving letters. I mean who doesn’t want to have their names handwritten on an envelope. Everyone checks their mailbox every day. Whether they are checking their mail at their business or at home there will always be letters in the mailbox. No one has gone completely paperless because it is impossible. A letter makes your interactions more personable. This is one of the traditional marketing tactics that can have a huge personal impact. Try it and see how it delivers.
5.Handwritten Notes
When was the last time you got a handwritten note and how did it make you feel? For me, it’s something that can change my day. Letters and notes seem to be similar but the handwritten note hits closer to the heart and mind. Mailers are sometimes included as mail but they are just not as personal as you want them to be. Handwritten notes show your clients that you have thought about their contribution to your business and you want them to know that you are aware of that and value them. You want your clients to see that you are more concerned about them than the money they contribute to your business.
This personal touch can make all the difference and create loyalty that is so hard to come by these days. As the owner as you take the time to write a personal note it also allows you to connect with your clients needs and potentially think of new ways to serve them Don’t get stuck in your business and lose sight of your most valuable resource, your customer.
6.Email is your most valuable marketing asset, don’t forget to communicate!
Because we live in a society where there is very little down time it seems, email is such an effective mode of communication. I check my email more than I check my Facebook or my Instagram. Email is such an easy and quick way to communicate. Because it is such an easy, quick mode of communication utilize it to the fullest! Send emails to all of your business associates, clients, potential clients, and anyone else that you think your business can touch. Don’t over send emails and crowd your recipients inboxes because that becomes an annoyance. But emailing is the most widespread and effective way to give people information about your business.
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7.Ask for Referrals
It is okay to ask other people for referrals. That’s how many businesses, if not all businesses, get their traffic and clientele. Referrals is how your business can gain customers that otherwise, you might not have gained! There is also a level of trust between business owners when referrals are exchanged. Each owner wants the other to succeed. Take advantage of those trusting connections and make the most of them!
8.Print
Most of us don’t think about print advertising because of digital marketing but putting an ad in the paper can access an audience that isn’t online. There are many people in older generations and even some millennials that don’t understand or don’t want to have social media or digital footprints. To reach these people, print is really the only option. Printing your advertisements is actually a very creative process. You are advertising in a “dying” form of communications! Be creative and go outside the lines a little bit to get people’s attention!
9.Speaking Opportunities
This may be a little daunting but it’s a great opportunity to open up about your business that you would not otherwise have. When you are at speaking events, you can end your speech or presentation with a question forum. People can ask questions about things of your business that might sound confusing as an email or a review. This also allows them to see how you react to questions and suggestions in person. These speaking opportunities will allow large groups of people to see who you are!
10.Interviews and Expertise: Reach out to local media outlets and have a value proposition ready.
Local media outlets are very effective in their outreach to the community where your target audience lives. They can have heavy sway in what people think about local restaurants, local businesses, and all those things that people are looking for. Show the people of your community that you know all the aspects of your field of business. Show them that you are reliable and that you would make the perfect asset to their community. Make sure that you also offer the media and the people watching something more than just what your business offers. Give your audience some tips that they would not otherwise know! Or give your audience some DIY tricks to fix their problem!
Becoming an authority in your community is a foundational piece to establishing your business as the “go to” business and a resource tot the community. Traditional marketing tactics like participating in interviews and establishing your expertise will put you ahead of your competition and elevate your business.
11.Guest Posting
Guest posting is an amazing way to get more traffic to your site. Through guest posting, your SEO will skyrocket because of the all of the links others are using to link back to you. Having influential sites and people post your link on their website or blog will help your social media following and your traffic to increase! This is a way to also network with some great influencers around your community!
12.Retargeting
Retargeting is also known as remarketing. This can be a very effective tool if used in the correct way. How it works is that someone will visit your site and leave without really checking it out. After a while they will be browsing the Internet again, this time they will see an advertisement for your company! They click on it and go back to your site. Most of the time these people become clients or customers to your business! Cookies are anonymously dropped into your potential clients browser thus making their browser “aware” that they visited your site! This is just a little push to get them back to your site and for them to become customers.
The best kind of marketing is when you can get a huge return. We want you to be successful and we want you to be able to make that happen on your own! Using these traditional marketing tactics details how to gain a bigger following and to get the traffic that you want will guarantee you some success. You can you a few of them at once to get great results but using one at a time will also bring you more traffic. We are in the business of growing your business!
