Online marketing is a must if you want your business to prosper. You also need it so you have a chance of standing out from the crowd. Without a website, you’re basically lacking a digital business card.
However, there are still offline marketing strategies that can benefit a business depending on how old or new it is. Many of these strategies involve printed and specially designed items. What kind of printed materials are we talking about though? Basically, any piece of paper you can add your business’s logo to. There are many types of printed materials that business owners need to consider however, so let’s take a look at this list together.
Why Bother?
Like we said, just because you need online marketing doesn’t mean it should be your only marketing strategy. Online marketing can reach many people, but not everyone’s target audience lives and breathes on social media, nor does it mean every strategy (save for the website, that’s a guaranteed success) will work in your favour.
This is why some offline strategies work better than others (for an idea of what kind, check out our post) because most people do pay attention to printed materials…that is, so long as the business sending them out is one customers feel they can trust and engage with. Not to mention online communication, while handy in most situations, can never replace authentic human interaction.
So with all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the printed materials worth designing in question.
Business cards
Yes, people still use and distribute business cards! Hand them out at conferences, events your business participates in, and even at your physical location’s front desk. Have them on hand when you are traveling and you can’t carry a laptop around, or where Wi-Fi reception is terrible (or, in some cases, your website isn’t mobile—you should look into why to make it so by checking out our blog post).
Brochures
Depending on your business, brochures can help to further explain who you are, what your company offers, and it goes in depth about your service or product. Many brochures can still be found at the airport and they’re great printed materials to hand out at conventions. These are especially handy if you’ve got a travel destination you’d like to promote or a brand new product you think will help many people in your community. Browsing through a brochure doesn’t involve a ton of mouse clicking to get to the information you need, either.
Posters
Many smaller businesses and independent studios still rely on posters to get word out about an upcoming event, concert, or even just to inform people about something happening. Several posters at universities come with phone numbers or emails cut out into detachable strips at the bottom to enlighten others about a new tutor for hiring or a deal on textbooks. In the case of business owners, this is a good method to reach out to your local circle of fellow business owners who have similar goals to your own. By reaching out to these owners, you can increase your networking circle as well as boost your outreach to would-be customers on a local and more intimate scale.
Menus
Like brochures, menus for restaurants are still widely used and handy if you want to get takeout or delivery. If you’re planning a large party and don’t have a car or any space to bring large orders to and from the physical location, having a menu on hand can help. Some menus make for great souvenirs too in case your favourite pasta place has elicited fond memories for you, such as your first date with your spouse.
Flyers
Even though online shopping is becoming more predominantly used, grocery stores still distribute flyers in print. Why? Because most coupons in flyers can only be exchanged in person, and most of them you wouldn’t get from online. Flyers in print are also the basis for many current online designs for flyers, so it makes sense to use them even now.
Post cards
Post cards are another souvenir idea worth printing out, especially if they are the focus of your business in crafting or ecommerce. Post cards can also make for a great strategy if your intention is to reach out to a wider, national audience. Mailing postcards to others is also an effective offline marketing strategy—provided the designs are well done and include your logo, of course.
Gift card designs
Perhaps your customers can’t make up their mind about what to buy from your company, especially if they’re shopping for someone else. Gift cards make an excellent gift idea for those who know what they want already but don’t have the money to afford shopping. With that in mind, any designs you want to create for gift cards should include your logo as well as the right blanks to fill in for the customer to take care of.
Catalogues
If you have a ton of products to sell including limited or seasonal items, consider printing out a catalogue for would-be customers and present them at the front desk of your building. There’s something nostalgic about browsing through a catalog around Christmas or a birthday and helping your loved ones figure out what exactly you would like while building up a wishlist. While online shopping is an easier task, having physical pictures in front of you is a very different feeling in comparison. Like we said, there’s something about human or physical interaction that can’t be beat.
With all of these materials in mind, why not start your own campaign with one or more of them? We offer print design in addition to our website development and design services. Naturally, offline marketing will only get you so far if you want your business to succeed. To do that, you need a website, so give us a call and we can help with that too! If you’d like to discuss in depth about our printed materials, one-on-one consultation is a great way to go.