Marketing has its place in every business. According to the Business Dictionary, “Marketing is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction.” Based on this, a marketer’s job is to prove how a product will satisfy their needs. Putting together a marketing strategy can be expensive and time-consuming, making the task quite challenging. There are two ways you can promote your business, traditional marketing and online marketing. Now, you will probably ask which one is more effective? There is no single answer for this question because both can help you succeed.
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing involves using direct mail, print advertising, broadcasting, and referrals and has been around for many years. Print advertising is the oldest of traditional marketing. Its goal is to create awareness through displays on magazines, newspapers or billboards. This type of marketing is usually expensive and targeted towards large businesses. This is also the case for broadcasting which includes radio and television. According to the Houston Chronicle, TV and radio can reach a large audience in a short time period. However, it has a shorter lifetime compared to print advertising. Direct mail creates awareness through catalogs, letters, brochures, etc. If you have a small business you can start with direct mail and referrals, which are less expensive and less time consuming.
Online Marketing
Online marketing works through the Internet and mobile devices and its success began around the 2000’s. For small businesses new in the market, online marketing is a great way to increase sales, while quickly gaining exposure. One form of online marketing is social media. Social media sites like, Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and Pinterest are all great ways to communicate your brand message at no cost to the company or you individually. Email marketing is another form of online marketing, but in order for it to be successful, it must be appealing and well planned.
The majority of businesses utilize a combination of traditional and online marketing. According to Econsultancy, using these channels together will help you develop a solid plan that draws a desired behavior from the consumer towards your product. Each business is different and should develop the best combination of marketing methods according to what they have to offer and what they think their customers need.
