Wondering which marketing method is best for your business? There are two ways you can go: the traditional way or the contemporary way. The traditional way is offline marketing, the use of methods and tools like print, television, radio, seminar, and others. Meanwhile, the contemporary way is online marketing, the use of the internet and cyber technology. Online vs. offline marketing: which is better and which provides the best result? Let’s take a look at the following:
Cost
Both types of marketing involve cheap and expensive methods alike.
a. Online marketing
Cheap: Putting up a blog, joining forums, and commenting in others’ blogs to spread the word about your site or business.
Expensive: Paying for a domain, plus engaging in search engine optimization programs like Pay-Per-Click, link building, and others.
b. Offline marketing
Cheap: The use and distribution of flyers and leaflets.
Expensive: Paying ad space for newspapers and magazines, as well as air time for television and radio networks.
Coverage
There is much argument between the offline marketing and the online marketing side when it comes to audience or customer coverage. But, offline vs. online marketingwhich marketing type really provides a business or site more exposure? Well, take a look at the advantages of both:
a. Online marketing
There’s a lot of free space in the cyber world for business exposure, and millions of people browse the internet everyday. By advertising online through banners and other marketing means, as well as by putting up an online site, you reach people on a global level.
b. Offline marketing
Marketing offline may not reach a global level as much as online marketing, but it is advantageous in such a way that it covers more number of people in a particular targeted area. Why? Well, the biggest reason is that it is accessed by a wider group of people compared to the internet, which is usually accessed more only by the younger generations.
Customer Relationship
When it comes to dealing with customers, there is a great mark of difference between online and offline marketing, as follows:
a. Online marketing
Everything about the company or the product is presented in a website and online catalog. However, many customers are doubly cautious when it comes to doing transactions and shopping in online sites because of the many cases of fraud and identity theft that are happening in the internet. This causes people to doubt the authenticity of online businesses, even those that are legal in reality.
b. Offline marketing
This type of marketing provides a great advantage when it comes to establishing a good relationship with customers. More people trust advertisements found in newspapers or television stations that they rely on. And when you market your site or business through such offline marketing methods as seminars and workshops, you’ll be able to show your expertise in your field among the participants. And, the word of mouth that results can be a very good asset to boost your business.
So, online vs. offline marketingwhich is better? The best way is to actually combine both, picking the most effective methods from the two to get the most benefits.