What other methods of advretising does everyone use?

I thought it might be quite interesting to find out the marketing strategies people use which do not involve the internet?

We ploy so much time into link developement and search engine optmization but are we missing out on valuable customers by ignoring offline marketing?

 

occasional magazine ads
yellow pages book

 

Submitting free press releases once a week helps BIGTIME!

Max

 

For my new multiple listing site I have already used:

Press releases to the local realtor boards, associations, and communities.
Direct mail to homes for sale by owner and agents.
Email to homes currently for sale on the Internet.
Word of mouth to every agent, lender, etc. I can find.
And of course, forum signatures

 

Where do you submit your press releases? Do you use an online service?

 

I think he's talking about local press actually

 

Targeting around 30 - 50 businesses at a time in one particular street or suburb and sending out a personalised letter, including our brochure, specials, etc.

 

I use quite a bit of direct mail. I slow it down at the end of the year, but in my peak months I mail around 10,000 pieces per month.

 

I think he is promoting his own services; check his signature!

Geir

 

We are a local business that appeals to a young population; 18-38. Local newspapers in appropriate sections. Mailings to the industry with which we work. We are fortunate, we have excellent word of mouth in the region. The better we operate, the better our word of mouth. We market our operations on local craigslist. That has been an excellent little addition. Yellow pages in print and on the web. Any local forum we can find.

We also try to interact on the web and elsewhere with the local industries with which we interact because many of our customers will be there.

Finally, we have some good demographics for our customers. Any way we can penetrate that demographic, be it where they work, live, or hang out can help us and we continuously take small shots in that regard looking for some small successes...and when they occur repeat them.

Having said all that, currently half our customers (or more) find us on the web.

Dave

 

Sounds like you've got a successfull system set up there

I have to say as a new business so far we haven't marketed to a great extent but word of mouth is definitely a huge factor in gaining new clients. This is most likely down to the fact that it's B2B.

 

The main thing is we keep experimenting and searching all the time. We saw something in the web for a competitor from a different region and replicated it. Its worked well and hasn't cost us anything. Wow. We have tried things that we thought would be great and they didn't work.

Just keep experimenting.

 

Once I get my degree out of the way I'll really be able to start getting stuck into my business. At the moment I'm trying to do my degree at the same time as run the business which is tough. Although I did manage to pull a fast one in getting to use a clients web site for my dissertation.

 

I'm sure he is promoting his site, but I have to agree with him. I use several PR sites such as prweb.com, prleap.com and I've even submitted over on his sites. While I've not seen any of the releases I've posted on Max's sites ever show up in the SERP's, I have seen a huge number show up in the SERP's from prleap.com and prweb.com. In fact, the releases have shown up on other services as they get distributed around the web. I highly recommend sending out releases as often as possible. It takes a lot of time to craft a good release, but it's worth it.

 

All sorts of ways to get your name out there - bumper stickers, written at the bottom of your number (license) plate, hoardings at your local football team, sponsor their programme: I even got asked to sponsor a local basketball team last year.

The other way is to be so damned good that everyone rushes to your door.

I have, as yet, done none of the above, especially NOT being so damned good LOL

 

Aside from regular offline advertising such as posters, sponsorship & other methods we use software advertisements -- We provide free internet cafe software to cafe owners in return they will allow us to display ads on workstation desktop in idle and active mode. We also accept local ads for a fee to be included on these ads. We target asian regions where internet cafe establishment are widely available.

 

Media is free, so we tend to milk the media as much as possible, have had newspaper, magazine, radio and TV many many times and never used an online service to get it. If you have the content go directly to the journo's with the readership / audience it suits.

The most cost effective way to advertise is to identify the segment of the market you are targeting then brainstorm the angels of how to access the market for free / cheap. Go to people's needs and wants and give it to them in that environment.

The higest margins come over the 'lifetime value of a customer.' ... After a $50 sale you can let them get away and thats it or treat em right and capture their details and they may be worth $5,000 over the lifetime of your business relationship with them.

In terms of advertising, you can't beat media though, for reach and ROI it's the ultimate.

 

Dominic has it right. Most times it takes less dollars to market to your existing customer base, and if you have already done a good job for them then you are on the road to establishing a trust relationship.

 

Agreed. New customers are expensive.

 

Direct mail is very useful for us. We send out about 8000 pieces per month and when you include your website address on those you get a lot of extra traffic per month from those direct mail pieces, so it works two fold.

We have also found that marketing to the local college has been some what successful with all the new grads planing on staying within the area and purchasing a home.