Bang for Your Buck: Online Marketing Vs Traditional Marketing

Whether you’re a small business owner or a sprawling organization that’s looking to dominate your target market, you can always do with a few marketing strategies. Hitting your mark hasn’t been more important than in this digital age.

On that note, the smart business owner has a big selection at their disposal. You’ve got old-school marketing that dates back to the big names like ZigZiglar and John Patterson. On the other hand, new-age methodologies are also rocking the boat and the market such as Google ads and Facebook.

With your income in mind, you’re going to want to get the down-low on what works and what doesn’t if you want to keep your business afloat. Here’s a rundown of how these marketing approaches stack up against each other.

Traditional Marketing Pros

Traditional Marketing works. Ah, yes. No school like old school as they would always say. One reason why things like flyers, TV, mail and even cold-calling are still used by many businesses is because they have a proven track record. Millions and millions have been made on the back of these tried and tested methods.

Ask any millionaire right now and they’ll tell you to go back to the basics and stay there until you start bleeding gold. You can’t really go wrong with some good old telephones, calling cards, and radio commercials.

They are backed by Public Wisdom. And this wisdom works wonders, by the way. Take a look at the launch of the Amazon Echo. Despite being a technologically-advanced speaker that had geeks and techies watering at the mouth, how was it marketed?

Amazon invested millions into getting Alec Baldwin in a commercial on the SuperBowl. If that isn’t old-school, nothing is. You have a home speaker hitting the TV where millions of home-owners are watching; public wisdom at work. Now, everyone wants that black cylinder on their kitchen tops.

Traditional Marketing Cons

They are expensive. Shall we go back to that Alec Baldwin commercial? Who else was there? Missy Elliot? Those names don’t come cheap, even if you strike deals with them. You could end up investing thousands if not millions on just reaching your target market.

Whether it’s posters in various states or radio commercials, you’re going to have to spend a pretty penny. And boy, those are going to be some very pretty pennies. Even if you wanted telemarketing, you’d have to invest in a landline and mobile phone that calls off the hook. The more people you want calling, the more money that’s going to cost.

Results are hard to measure. Yes, they’re effective. You can tell by the results. The problem there is, how do you quantify that?

Take a large billboard, for example. Those things can take thousands to put together. They’ll take even more when you place them in a high-traffic area. The question here is, how are you going to measure how many people have seen it? In addition to that, are you sure that the people seeing your billboard are in need of what you’re offering?

With that being said, your ROI (Return of Investment) is a bit difficult to estimate. That makes proposing them rather difficult. You would need extensive research on design, demographics, distribution, and even some good old common knowledge before you can reach your target market.

Don’t get the wrong idea, though. Traditional marketing works. It’s just that you’ll need to pick the right poison for your audience.

Online Marketing Pros

Does that mean online marketing is better? Not exactly, but it does cover a few grounds that traditional strategies fail to reach.

They’re cost-effective. You won’t need to spend much. In some cases, nothing at all. Take a look at a good Youtube account. A good video that only needs a clear camera and editing software can reach millions of people in minutes.

How about a Facebook poster? That’s even easier. You won’t even need to hire a graphic artist. You can download free templates and even learn for free! You can even create your materials for free if you know where to look. Oh, and posting them on your free Facebook group is free as well. They’re perfect for small business owners that want to breach the market without hurting their investments.

They’re measurable. Interestingly, you can tell how many people pass by your posters. You can see how many people view your videos. You can dictate who gets your emails and can see if they’ve read them or not. The power of technology is capable of giving you real-time monitoring so you can see if your minimum investment is really going the distance!

Online Marketing Cons

It doesn’t mean online marketing is the new traditional marketing. There are still a few notches that may make online means incompatible with your business.

That’s an ultra-saturated market. You’re not the only one that’s aware that online marketing is affordable. It just so happens that everyone on the internet is aware of this. That population includes your competitors. Unlike traditional marketing that allows you to dominate a market with a good investment, the online market is chuck-full of everything.

With that being said, your penetration may take some time. Yeah, you can measure your progress, but so can everybody else. You’re going to have to be a little more creative to be able to stay ahead of the fierce competition.
You’ll need Internet dependence. This may not sound like a bad thing at first, but you’ll know it’s bad if your website crashes or your subscriptions go unpaid. Your reach only goes as far as the internet takes you. While that may be a very wide grasp, you’re at the mercy of your internet connection. That’s probably your biggest weakness.

Taking your Facebook poster down for a few hours could be fatal for your reach. Failing to update your blogs and email lists for a whole day could put you in the back of the line for exposure.

With all these pros and cons discussed, a good question to ask is what’s the best method for your business? According to the experts, there’s no solid answer to that. Each business is different from the next, with their needs differing by an even greater degree.

For your business to truly take off, you’re going to want a mixture of both new and old-school. That way, you have the wisdom of the ages and the digital edge in the palm of your hand. Study your business well and find a mix that gives you the best of both worlds!

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