Why Offline Marketing is Still Important Today.

There’s so much talk about online marketing – and rightfully so – that it almost seems like offline marketing is useless or obsolete. But is that the truth though? Is offline marketing no longer important? Surely, without even getting into the reasons, it is simply logical that offline marketing is still important today. Just because we are presented with an alternative doesn’t mean that the other choice is now useless. If that was the case, big companies will not be spending big budgets on offline marketing. 

And I know it might come as a shock to some because everybody around you uses a Smartphone but there is actually a large demographic of people that are not online and whose primary media platform is traditional media. Besides the above, there are other reasons why offline marketing is still important and that’s what we will be discussing in this post.

But before that, let’s look at the different forms of offline advertising;

• Radio jingles
• Newspaper adverts
• Flyers and leaflets
• Billboards
• Business cards
• Experiential marketing (events)
• Banners and posters
• Brochures
• Booklets 
• Networking 

Why Offline Marketing is Still Important Today

Faster Feedback 

You get faster feedback when you advertise offline because online, you will have to analyse the data gathered through analytics unlike with offline marketing where you have the opportunity to talk to your customers face-to-face and get feedback on your service or product. Besides, there is a limit to the feedback you can get online. While analytics will show you data like what marketing channel and what ad format, type or copy works, determining satisfaction or dissatisfaction with your brand is more complicated with analytics. Of course, you can get that if your customers feel the need to get back to you on social media or contact you with their review. But not every customer will go that extra mile. However, if you are sharing a leaflet, for instance, you can get feedback immediately. 

Reaches those Offline

Like we said earlier, there are still people who are not online for one reason or the other. Granted, most of them are of the older generation or in rural areas. However, if you want to reach these people, online marketing will not cut it. You will need the help of offline marketing to reach these people. 

Increases Authenticity

There is so much happening online that people are hard-pressed to believe everything they see online. You are likely to be met with doubt with online marketing because many people believe most things online are either exaggerated or false but made to look real. However, with offline marketing, especially the form of marketing that requires direct contact with your customers or potential customers, you enjoy a level of authenticity. Seeing someone behind the ad can make a world of difference compared to interacting with something online.  

Improves Customer Relationship

We cannot deny that online interactions are important; it has helped us reach people who are beyond our immediate environment and it has aided globalisation, connecting people from different continents. But nothing beats human connection and interactions. Building customer relationship will always be easier offline than online. You should leverage offline marketing, especially, for the people in your locality. This is because it is important to build brand loyalty in your locality as you are targeting those outside your immediate environment as well. 

More Control

You don’t enjoy as much control on your ads as you do when you advertise offline. Online, you are at the mercy of many factors, including gadget type, the advertising platforms, internet connection and so on. But offline, you can manage your advertising as you like to achieve the result you want.

Now, are we saying online marketing should be abandoned then? Absolutely not. All we’re saying is don’t completely desert offline marketing because of online marketing and vice versa. In most cases, it is advisable to combine them, especially if you have the budget.