By Daren Stainton
I have been working in advertising and marketing for many years in all sectors. The opportunities created by new technologies have transformed the sector (and continue to do so) but from working client/agency side to working for the providers of some of the best print, outdoor and digital media, it has been particularly fascinating to see how budget allocation has changed.
When the internet first came along and even up until quite recently, people tended to regard it as something they may need on the side. Your business, your marketing and your advertising. You had an advert in the Yellow Pages. Then you purchased a website as everyone was getting one and then considered how to get traffic/visitors to your website. This will no longer solve all your marketing problems or your approach to a solid marketing strategy. You must integrate digital and print knowing that your customers are using both when making buying or purchasing decisions.
As a business, you may think you need to change everything you are doing as more people are using online platforms. Perhaps you’re even looking to online selling, using pay-per-click, Facebook ads and other monetised digital platforms, to save your business.
Here’s the secret! Some of your wanted and desired audience, your new customers are in other places. It doesn’t matter how good you are at online marketing, or how many great emails you send, you won’t maximise your return on investment of time or money unless you combine it with additional offline marketing.
The smart and most successful marketing agents and companies combine online with offline marketing. Offline marketing is a broad spectrum, including everything from brochures, business cards and direct mail to advertising in printed community magazines, local business directories and getting on the phone to call people.
There are two principals to combining online and offline marketing. The first is to use offline media to get people online. You put ads in newspapers and magazines and direct them to your website or social channels. You can then convert these to fans of your social or direct leads from your website.
The other thing you want to do is get the online people offline. Getting names, email addresses or contact details enables you to introduce your service or product directly or to make an appointment to explain what you do.
The more you can integrate these approaches, the more you will find that your leads and sales increase. As you discover the type of customer you want, this will become easier.

Talk to our team of consultants and discover how we can help you to plan your marketing with Mansion House Group.