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There are a number of very simple, but very effective, things you can do to promote your business offline, and doing so will help you to reach even more people and make even more sales. Take a look at how you can do this for your business.
These days, we tend to think about business marketing in terms of the internet. We pour countless hours into perfecting our search engine optimisation and creating the perfect posts for social media, and all of this is really important for growing our business and bringing in new clients, but you know what is also important? Offline marketing.
It might seem anachronistic to some. But offline marketing can still be very effective, even if your business is based online, and it should definitely make up at least a small portion of your marketing strategy.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the most effective ways you can promote your business offline.
Practical ways you can promote your business offline
Trade shows
One of the most effective things you can do to promote your business offline is to rent a stall or booth at a trade show that caters to your niche. This provides you with an excellent opportunity to mingle with your target audiences face to face, more importantly, to show off your products face-to-face.
This is so important because so often customers only get to see products in theory online. They can look at pictures and read descriptions but this only gives them an idea of what a product might be like. Whereas, at trade shows, they can see live demonstrations, pick up and use the products for themselves and come to a greater understanding. This can be a really effective way for, especially new businesses, to convince reluctant buyers to finally make a purchase.
Promotional products
Promotional products, whether they be branded pens Custom USB sticks or logo-emblazoned tote bags, can really help to spread the word about your business. In the first instance, everyone likes to get something for free, so you can impress your target audience by sending them custom-made stickers from comgraphx or another small token.
In the second instance, when promotional products are used by the target audience, visibility for your logo and branding will be increased, which will help to spread the word about your company in a way that is positive because, if the person is using your promotional product, it suggests that they approve of your company.
To maximise the usefulness of promotional products, it is a good idea to make them things people will actually use, such as tote bags and pens and USB sticks, rather than things that will end up getting put away in a drawer where no one will see them.
Business cards
They might be an old way of advertising your company, but business cards are still very useful. They are small and easy to carry around and can be used to contain all of the information a customer would need to get in touch with your business and make a purchase. What’s more, if you always have a few on you, then whenever you talk to someone about your business and they seem interested, you can simply hand them a card without putting any pressure on them to buy and they will probably be more inclined to do so because your business will appear professional and not too salesy.
Posters and billboards
Posters and billboards might seem very quaint these days when you can simply post images on Insta or talk to your target audience directly on Twitter, but you need to remember that not everyone who is in your target audience will be on any or all social media platforms, and even if they are, they might not find your company for whatever reason.
Placing posters and billboards in towns and cities that have a large population, which meets your demographic, means that many more people will see your branding as they go about their day picking up groceries or visiting the cinema or whatever, which means you will be able to attract the parts of your demographic who you are not currently able to reach online, as well as various individuals who might never have thought about using your products or services but who have become intrigued by your posters.
Flyers and pamphlets
Flyers and pamphlets can work in much the same way as posters and billboards do, They help you to find an audience amongst those people who maybe do not visit social media or use the internet quite as much but for whom your products and services might still be useful. If your business has a local element, these kinds of promotional materials are even more important, and will definitely be very effective for you providing the copy is persuasive enough.
Christmas cards and gifts
If you are looking for ways to promote your business to existing customers, then sending out Christmas cards, and maybe even small Christmas gifts such as chocolates or money-off coupons is a great way to show customers that you value them and do not take their business for granted. And it doesn’t have to be Christmas either, this is a promotion that you can use at Easter, Mother’s Day or even Pancake Day if you want to, and it can be very effective because everyone likes to feel acknowledged and appreciated on special occasions.
Charity events
A really good way of raising your business profile and doing some good is to get your team to join a sponsored run or donate some of your products to a local homeless shelter or school or animal rescue, You can show that you care about the local community/causes close to your target audiences’ hearts, while also getting some positive coverage in the press that will make people more inclined to choose your company over the competitions, and will give you and your team a more positive feeling towards the whole promotion things too.
As you can see, there are a number of very simple, but very effective, things you can do to promote your business offline, and doing so will help you to reach even more people and make even more sales, what are you waiting for? Time to update your marketing strategy right now.
