5 Successful Methods to Market Your Business Offline

As we watch in amazement the speed at which the digital world blooms, many businesses allow for their offline marketing to sink into oblivion. Despite the undeniable fact that the online realm still reigns supreme, some tried and tested marketing methods of yore can still make a significant difference for your success.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at the timeless five you can include in your next marketing strategy – because sometimes forward-thinking solutions include going back to basics!

1.   Good old networking

Even though social media has become an excepted way to connect and build relationships even in the business world, nothing can replace the powerful impression of a face-to-face conversation. Every time you have the opportunity, head to an event that will allow you to hand out your business cards, meet and greet new people, and talk a bit about your business.

Chances are, you’ll meet owners, potential partners, or clients and the connection you make in person will always be stronger than the one you’d make online. Think: conferences, seminars, lectures, or even product launches of a partnering business, and your mingling might lead to a collaboration in the future.

2.   Set up educational panels

As you can see, events have a powerful impact on building new, and strengthening existing relationships, and your own hosted workshops are no different. You can host a whole range of lectures and hands-on seminars, from those aimed at your potential partners, to those created to help your customers solve a particular problem or build up on their skills.

While online content in the shape of blogs, videos, tutorials, and the like, is a great way to continue educating your customers, once again, the in-person version still bears more relevance and allows your connections to grow. This is yet another way to meet people in person and establish long-term connections for down the road.

3.  Freebies and promotions

Although not every company can give out samples and free trials of their products and services, you can make sure that your customers feel valued with a few gestures. Everything from sleek pens, flash drives, or branded promotional umbrellas can serve as your token of appreciation for their loyalty. Remember, people love freebies, and if you can offer them your own product or service for free for a special occasion, they’ll be even more impressed by your gesture.

However, for pricey items, it’s more than enough to offer discounts or gift cards on occasion, especially when you’re organizing an event where you’ll invite your customers. They’ll serve as an ongoing marketing campaign that will get more visibility and awareness for your brand, rather than just gratitude from the current clientele.

4.  Loyalty matters

This is a wonderful way to give your return customers a chance to feel special. Since they keep coming back, they already find you valuable and useful, but making them a part of a loyalty program, which offers discounts and point collection for an occasional free service, will be the final touch to “seal the deal”.

Even more so, this will attract many more customers; not just because your current loyalty program members will be happy to pass on the information, but because the word will simply get out. Such steps in your marketing campaign tend to generate plenty of buzz and encourage a much greater number of people to see what you have to offer.

5.  Endorse a cause

If there is a particular cause close to your heart, or a particular group that needs support, no matter how small your business may be, you can always find a way to extend a helping hand to your community. That way, your brand logo may find its way onto a soccer team’s uniform, or onto a banner at a local charity that you care about.

Either way, this is a win-win in every possible sense of the phrase. You’ll be able to make a difference not simply for your business, but for a much more important cause. This gesture alone will ensure that you get in touch and start working with people who share your values.