While we live in an increasingly digital world, it’s still one full of online and offline possibilities. We have direct mail and email, brick-and-mortar stores, and online shops. And there’s a way to incorporate them all into a marketing strategy that doesn’t leave any potential customers out. Better yet, there are ways to leverage a variety of platforms at our disposal and make the most of this abundance of marketing channels! As a business in the 21st century, integrating your online and offline marketing strategies is one of the keys to success. Here’s how its done.
Tip #1: Consistent Branding
When developing your online vs offline marketing strategies, know that one should always be an extension of the other. If you have a brick-and-mortar store, and you drive customers to your website through a receipt or perhaps a direct marketing promotion, your website should look and feel just like the store (and so should the mailer!). Your brand should be instantly recognizable no matter where your customer is interacting with it. The same logo, brand colours, themes, and styles should appear across the board – and if you change one, you should change them all. Overall, the customer experience should be consistent across all marketing touchpoints.
Tip #2: Encourage Cross-Promotion
Thinking of having a big end-of-summer sale at the store? Tease it on social media a few weeks in advance. Send an email to your loyal customers giving them exclusive access if they sign up on the website. Put up a billboard with your website’s URL listed. Create teaser print marketing materials with your branding and a QR code that potential customers can scan with their phones.
At the physical sale, encourage customers to post about their experience on social media using a hashtag created specifically for the event. There are many ways to drive your customers everywhere you are and interact with them on multiple platforms – both online and off. If you can make the experience a seamless one, you may find more business coming your way!
Tip #3: Use Data to Support Online to Offline Marketing
One of the best things about being online, whether that’s creating a great website or posting on social media channels, is the amount of data you can obtain about your customer base. Website analytics, Google Analytics, and social media metrics are so thorough and easily accessible these days, that you can use them to identify your key market segments, down to the very last detail. In a nutshell, this tip is “don’t ignore the data”! Look at it often and truly understand where your business is coming from by age, gender, demographics, and even how you’re being found. Once you’ve zeroed in on your target market, you can use this information to improve your offline marketing efforts as well. For example, if you find that one of your store’s ideal target audiences is 20-29-year-old females, perhaps an “Instagram-worthy” event is a great idea to kick off the summer season this year.
At Print Three, we’re more than just a printer. We are a print marketing company that partners with top-tier marketers like Bloomtools and Eden Advertising to offer you full service digital marketing solutions. Contact us to learn more!