Hi There,
Part - 8 Crossing the ONLINE / OFFLINE
Marketing divide.
The last few years has seen a division appear in
nearly all
discussions about successful Marketing: It's the
distinction
between ONLINE and OFFLINE Marketing. Online covers
everything
internet based (website marketing, pay per click,
SEO, Email
Marketing etc) Offline covers all the 'traditional'
marketing
methods (direct mail, telephone marketing,
traditional advertising,
etc.)
It's an easy and often useful distinction to make
between offline
and online - and I do it as much as
anyone.
But in case it's not obvious, let me point out that
we shouldn't
really think of offline and online as separate when
it comes to the
never ending task of acquiring new
customers.
The truth is that even the most successful internet
companies have
discovered that their online efforts become far
more profitable
when combined with an 'offline'
strategy.
That's why the best 'internet' companies are using
Direct Mail to
mail their existing customers. It's why the big
online brands are
returning to 'traditional' newspaper, magazine and
radio
advertising.
It's why many websites no longer try to sell stuff
online, instead
preferring to use their sites to make compelling
free offers to
potential customers, in return for those customers'
contact
details. Your initial contact with such a business
may be on their
website. But the follow up, where the sale actually
happens, could
be on the phone or as a result of a mail
insert.
What does all this mean for you? It means that you
want to
continually work on your online strategy but ALWAYS
BE LOOKING AT
HOW YOU CAN SUPPLEMENT YOUR ONLINE MARKETING WITH
OFFLINE MARKETING.
Some examples include:
1. When people buy from you online, put them
into a sequence of
communications for future sales that include direct
mail and if
feasible, phone calls.
2. If you use your website to capture email
addresses (and you
certainly should be) test what happens to the
response rate if you
also ask for a physical address and phone number.
You'll normally
see a decrease in response but those who do respond
tend to be much
better 'leads.'
3. Don't depend on just online marketing to
deliver people to your
website. Use offline too, particularly your
newspaper and magazine
ads and Direct Mail.
4. Use your website to do everything
possible to encourage people to
contact you offline, particularly by having your
telephone number
EVERYWHERE on the site.
In the years ahead, the division between online and
offline will
blur. Smart Marketers are blurring those divisions
now, on a daily basic
Tomorrow lets talk about a way of immediately
increasing your
sales at absolutely no
cost!
Best Wishes,
Graham Callingwood
Author of "Make my
website work!"
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