Do you know that in the United States, only 40% of adults aging 65 or more use social media? That means the other 60 percent have no or minimal access to digital or social media marketing campaigns. In fact, that’s not it; here are some other very interesting statistics about the percentage of people from different age groups in the US using social media (till February 2019);
- 90% of adults aging between 18 to 29
- 82% of adults aging between 30 to 49
- 69% of adults aging between 50 to 64
Have you noticed the percentage of people who don’t use social media? Besides, these are stats about the United States, a highly digitalized nation. What about developing countries in Asia or Africa? Believe me, that percentage is very much on the lower side.
From a business perspective, how are you going to market your business to those people who don’t have any digital or social media presence? I cannot think of anything else but traditional marketing channels. Yes, traditional marketing, which has been the oldest yet very effective marketing channel.
In this article, we are going to discuss traditional marketing, its types, advantages, and disadvantages. Let’s begin with the basics!
Table of Contents
What Is Traditional Marketing?
Traditional marketing refers to reaching your audience using offline marketing channels. Common examples of traditional marketing include television, radio, billboards, print media, phone, direct mail, etc.
There is absolutely no doubt that traditional marketing has been one of the oldest and still a very effective type of marketing. In fact, traditional marketing is more beneficial when you want to reach a local audience.
The next question is, should a business go with traditional marketing or digital marketing? Well, the best option would be combining both or using them according to your business needs. Here is a small comparison between traditional and digital marketing.
Digital Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing
| Digital marketing | Traditional marketing |
|---|---|
| Digital marketing consists of online or digital channels such as websites, blogs, social media platforms, email, podcasts, etc. | Traditional marketing channels include newspaper, television, radio, direct mail, billboards, etc. |
| It allows the businesses to reach local, national, or even global audiences. | It is generally effective in reaching a local or national audience. |
| Digital marketing also allows you to market your business free of cost, e.g., Facebook or LinkedIn business pages. | There is rarely any traditional marketing channel that allows you to advertise your brand free of cost. |
| Digital marketing is effective for a local audience only if they have enough presence of digital channels. | Traditional marketing comes in very handy if you want to reach your local audience. |
| Most of the digital marketing channels are pretty cost-effective. | Traditional marketing is generally an expensive way of marketing your business, depending on how big your target audience is. |
| It is easier to measure the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns. For instance, you can analyze how many people purchased your product through a specific Google ad, | In traditional marketing, it is simply next-to-impossible to evaluate how good your TV or newspaper ad campaign was. |
Types Of Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing literally has so many types, but here are some of the most common.
Outdoor Marketing Campaign
As the name suggests, outdoor marketing is a marketing type where brands meet customers out of their homes, and it has been a common marketing practice for decades. The outdoor advertising campaign is not only common in local businesses, but global brands such as Netflix, Coca-Cola, Pepsi, Facebook, KFC, McDonald’s’, Amazon, etc., spend huge amounts on outdoor marketing.
Here are some common examples of outdoor marketing;
- Billboards: They may include wall murals, posters, junior posters, bulletins, digital billboards, banners, etc. Currently, there are more than 342,000 billboards in the United States.
- Street Furniture: Ads placed on news racks, phone kiosks, bus benches, urban panels, bus shelters, etc.
- Transit: Mobile billboards, subways, digital transits, mobile billboards, etc.
Broadcasting Marketing
Broadcasting marketing simply means reaching your target audience through TV or Radio ads. Broadcasting marketing is highly effective when a business wants to reach a local or massive audience. For instance, if a brand wants to advertise locally, it can run TV ads on local TV channels. Similarly, when you want to reach your audience at the state or national level, you will definitely choose country-wide TV channels. Broadcast marketing, without any doubt, is an evergreen form of marketing.
Print Marketing
Print marketing is a type of marketing that uses print media for marketing/advertising purposes. In fact, it won’t be wrong to say that it is the oldest form of traditional marketing. Make no mistake; print marketing is still very much effective, that different businesses in the United States spend 25 billion USD on print marketing/advertising yearly.
Common examples of print advertising include newspapers, brochures, directories, magazines, etc. According to Nielson Survey, newspapers ads are the second most trusted marketing format from customers’ point of view, while magazine ads secured the third spot.
Direct Mail
If you want to reach your customers or potential customers with a personalized touch, then direct mail can be your go-to option. It allows you to interact with your customers on a one-on-one basis, or you can also target a specific group of your customers too. Most importantly, direct mail is one of the most cost-effective options you can have.
Common examples include coupons, catalogs, postcards with offers, free samples, etc. Here are some fascinating stats about direct mails.
- 54% of the consumers stated that they prefer direct mail for brands of their interest.
- 39% of the consumers opt to purchase products/services from a specific brand for the first time because of direct mail.
- 42% of the recipients scan or read the direct mails they receive.
Telemarketing
Telemarketing is a type of traditional marketing in which businesses reach their customers through phone calls, fax, text messages, and web conferencing. Telemarketing gained prominence back in the 1970s, and it was considered as one of the best forms of personalized customer interaction. One of the best things about telemarketing is that it allows you to answer all the queries from customers or potential customers immediately.
However, telemarketing faces strict laws and regulations, and the success rate is also on the lower side. For instance, cold calling (a telemarketing practice) only yields a 2% success rate, and that too for highly skilled professionals.
Window Display and Signs
The window display is a marketing tactic in which a business exhibits its product in an exquisite and enticing way. It has quickly become a widespread marketing practice in the retail industry in United States, Europe, and many Asian countries. Retailers have realized that window display is the first point of contact with customers, and it can leave a strong impact on customers’ minds. The window display is regarded as a critical marketing strategy in developed countries.
Advantages Of Traditional Marketing
It surely possesses a lot of benefits, here are some of them.
- Easier To Reach Local Audience. Traditional marketing is surely an effective approach to reach a local audience. Radio ads, TV ads, newspapers, billboards can help you easily convey your brand message locally.
- Broader Reach. Where traditional marketing helps you reach a local audience, it is also equally effective for mass marketing- reaching a broader audience. For instance, state or national level newspapers allow you to reach your potential customers country-wide.
- A Permanent And Familiar Mode Of Marketing. Before the surge of digital marketing, the world knew only one form of marketing – traditional marketing. Even now, people are more accustomed to different types of traditional marketing. In fact, a significant portion of people aging more than 50 don’t have any presence on digital marketing channels. Similarly, a newspaper ad is there to be read by the consumers until the newspaper is disposed off. Or, a direct mail may stay in your home for days, and even if you skipped it earlier, you might read it later.
- Trustable. Which brand will you trust more? Whose ad you have seen on a random Facebook page, OR Who advertised its products or services in New York Times? People trust ads they see on television, newspaper, billboards, etc. In short, traditional marketing is a trustable practice for consumers.
Disadvantages Of Traditional Marketing
Where traditional marketing offers a lot, it has some horrendous drawbacks as well; here are some of them!
- Minimum or No Customer Interaction. Inability to interact with the customers is one major setback of traditional marketing. Unlike social media marketing, you cannot judge customers’ reactions to your newspaper or signboard marketing campaigns.
- Difficult To Measure Marketing Campaigns. Here is another harsh truth about traditional marketing; you cannot measure the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. You can never know how many people purchased your product because of your TV ad.
- Expensive. Truth be told, most of the traditional marketing channels are pretty expensive. Newspaper or TV ads, billboards, etc., can suck your marketing budget. For example, depending on certain factors, a full-page newspaper ad may cost $2700 to $163,000.
