Is anyone still offline at all? Apparently, the world beyond the digital realm still lives and breathes quite successfully, and brands need to pay close attention to this ongoing merger of the two realms of existence into a unified lifestyle. Your customers are, truth be told, always online. Whether they are searching for yet another book recommendation or they’re perusing your Instagram page to see what’s new, customers interact with brands on a multitude of digital levels.
Still, the use of traditional marketing methods is certainly not outdated. Some of them have led to what are now the most viable digital forms of marketing, and some can amplify your digital efforts substantially. It doesn’t matter if you exist solely online or you have a physical store, your business should use the many perks of unifying digital and traditional marketing into a single strategy: here’s how you can do just that.
Direct mail is alive and kicking
Email is convenient, simple to monitor and analyze the results of your efforts, and it’s easy to send emails in bulk and automate the entire process. Even personalization has become infinitely simpler with the help of machine learning and artificial intelligence, since we no longer need direct human interference every step of the way to add a layer of personalization to each email we send out.
Surveys show that we spend more than five hours per week checking our emails, and that doesn’t take into account the time we spend responding to those emails – so naturally, brands send emails, that’s where customers spend their time.
However, direct mail is more than just an old habit. In fact, precisely because there’s a decline in the use of direct mail, your brand will stand out because of it. Plus, the response rate for direct mail sent to homes is 5.3%, whereas the email response rate is 0.6%. Why not combine them and let them make your brand more visible to your audience?
Enhance your customer support communication
Despite what our habits say about us and our digital addictions, we’re still fond of human interactions. When your customers come across a confusing step in the checkout process (and hopefully, they never will), or when they have a question about the product, they’ll want to talk to someone directly.
To enhance the effectiveness of your customer support, you can implement phone systems for small business and allow your customers to call you directly. In addition to having social media channels and chatbots on your website, your customers will enjoy the opportunity to talk to an agent. This will, in turn, build a stronger emotional bond to your brand and inspire loyalty. Printed digital? Yes, please!
QR codes are old news, so to speak, but they are merely a glimpse into the world of options you’ll have when it comes to merging your marketing collateral with your digital channels. Flyers, brochures, and booklets still have their place in the world of marketing, and in order to maximize their potential to bring you more potential customers and leads, you should integrate your digital channels with every print media you use.
For example, when you’re handing our flyers, use a QR code embedded with the message to incentivize social media visits, or to provide a coupon for those who’d like to make their first online purchase from your new online store. Add your website links to your business cards, and of course, other relevant links that can take your customers anywhere on your digital map as they read your flyers.
Digital inspiration for your brick-and-mortar store
In the world dominated by digital habits, it may seem redundant to even have a physical store. However, this very same world of ours is overwhelmed by all things digital, and we often crave a more authentic experience, and more direct interaction with our brand of choice.
For starters, you can use geotargeting to invite nearby customers and followers to your store. If they’ve shown interest in particular products, you may give them a personalized discount on a particular item they love. Then again, you can email them coupons that they can use in the store, and send them other incentives to inspire them to spend more time in your brick-and-mortar business.
Social media for promoting events
Even though you’ll find people staring at their phones while having dinner with their friends, rest assured, they’re eager to leave their house from time to time. Is there a new product launch coming up? Are you opening a new physical store in a new city? All of these and similar events call for some extra effort to invite more people to attend. And the best way to do just that is to turn to social media channels where your customers reside.
Setting up event alerts and dedicated pages for your events can help you not only track potential attendance, but also to build up the hype around the event, educate your audience on what to expect, give them a taste of what you’ll bring to the party, and the like. Plus, social media events give you a way to track those RSVPs practically with zero effort.
Author Bio:
Raul is an editor in chief at Technivorz blog. I have a lot to say about innovations in all aspects of digital technology and online marketing. You can contact me via Twitter.