Traditional marketing is here to stay!

Article by Dee Blick

The Marketing Gym

Trust me; there’s more to marketing than just the shiny shoes of social media.

The role of marketing is to communicate our products and services effectively to the people that have a deep underlying need for our products or services. This means we have to identify the communication channels that lead us to our prospects. This may or may not include social networking and online advertising. Even then, one particular online channel is unlikely to be the only route to riches. Whilst you might be able to reach some of your target audience through twitter they won’t thank you for trying to sell to them. By contrast you can probably reach thousands with a targeted list. You can then mailshot them, follow up by phone and sell away (in the nicest way of course).

A blended approach to your marketing offers the potential of a higher return with a lower risk.

Let me illustrate this with one of my clients, Kalimex. They sell motor repair products through 1800 motor factors. In the last 9 years, we have increased sales by a cool £3 million through a blend of ‘traditional marketing’; advertising, product offers, PR and point of sale promotions. My client’s trade buyers are not Internet savvy. Getting their e-mail address is a challenge. And they love faxing back competition entries. The social networks in which his products are talked about are independent. If he tried to steam in promoting his products he would be stonewalled. And if I told him that traditional marketing was dead I suspect our relationship would be terminated forthwith. So promise me you won’t abandon tried and tested traditional marketing communications simply because a social media consultant has told you it’s not trendy. Traditional marketing is still delivering sales by the barrel load and that’s what matters.

I hope you’ve found these tips useful. You can find hundreds more in my latest book The 15 Essential Marketing Masterclasses for Your Small Business available on Amazon for £10. Rated excellent by The Sun. CityAM, Elite Business Magazine and winner of Talk Business Magazine’s Best Business Book 2013 award there are 75 5 star reviews on Amazon. This is the sequel to my Number 1 bestseller The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Book which is now published in China.