Can online and offline marketing co-exist?

4 replies
Both offline and online marketing are two strategies necessary for every business. While one group refuses to accept the Social Media era and stays loyal to the old traditional marketing ways, other group finds online marketing more beneficial and easier to manage. However, a successful marketing campaign should not be based on only one of these methods. There is no rule that indicates that the marketing of one firm should be strictly offline or strictly online. For this reason, the best solution is to use both of them.

Traditional marketing
Offline or traditional marketing is considered any way to disseminate to the public information about the company you are working for, which is outside the Internet and covering various fields such as radio, television, newspapers and magazines, banners, graphics or textual ads you see on the street, deployed in the usual manner on a pole or along a wall or adhesives vehicles. The materials used for offline marketing (apart from TV, radio) are usually solid and can be spread around, reaching to more people that never heard of the promoted company before. These ways are more expensive and take time to get really successful, which is why they are more common within the large companies with an existing reputation.

Online marketing
Online or marketing is a system to sell products and services to a selected audience that uses the Internet and commercial online services. Social Media is available to everyone so the brand can go viral overnight with a creative campaign and a little bit of luck. One of the best things about Internet is that everyone gets an opportunity to express and promote themselves. It is also beneficial for small businesses as it does not require a large budget. It is a good starting point and a way to get the audience and spread the world about the products and services.

Solving problems online and offline
Both offline and online marketing pursue the same end, as both focus on the exchange, how they can initiate, encourage, facilitate and consummate transactions. Although the meaning is the same, the difference is the process that takes place the business relationship.
There are still many companies and citizens who are not in contact with the online world, which is why the traditional marketing still has a "long way to go''.

The ideal solution is to combine these two ways and be available online and offline. Of course, it doubles the effort since you have to focus on so many details and cover so many categories but it is worth it. Choosing one of the ways means choosing only one group of people when you can have two. Since young population is more available online, old one is not.

Online marketing is very useful for rapid customer acquisition and can be used to keep the mailing, remarketing, newsletter, promotions, offers and other similar activities. On the other hand, offline marketing has an open door to the small screens of every home. These two marketing ways can co-exist because there will always be people who prefer one of them.
#coexist #marketing #offline #online
  • To be honest I think this is kind of a silly question. I can't think of a single brand that wouldn't benefit from both online AND offline marketing, especially if they are done well. One or the other may be more effective for specific types of companies, but if they're implemented well both should be part of a business's marketing strategy.

    There are a couple reasons why you may want to focus on one more than the other--a highly local business may focus mostly on physical promotions, whereas a business selling electronic products is probably going to focus on online promotion--but there's no reason to outright ignore a specific category of marketing. A truly successful business owner works to perfect a variety of marketing methods so they can maximize their profits.
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  • Profile picture of the author AussieCoz
    Most of my marketing strategies for both myself and my client's project incorporate a combination of both.

    Online and offline go hand in hand and you only need to analyse a marketing strategy for any small, medium or large business to see this.

    While some businesses lend themselves more to digital marketing and others fit traditional marketing, the combo is pretty powerful and doubles the power of the engagement.

    I honestly think it depends on what you are doing and when you are doing it. Each different industry and service/product will suit its own combination.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ellen Chedid
    Of Course they can co-exist. in fact using both is even better than using one type of marketing.
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  • Profile picture of the author atrbiz
    Yes, it's obvious, they go hand in hand. If you're sending direct mail to prospects for example, you better send a follow up call to maximize your ROI. Basic rules most folks forget to follow.
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