What would be the most important Offline Marketing tip?

Take action!

Shut up and listen to them.

~Dexx

Make it happen, NOW!!!

First, this is an important one. Join a networking group. A hard referral networking group, like BNI or an independent group in your area.

Second, join a service organization. This could be Rotary, Kiwanis, Optimists or a similar group. Givers gain, the people you meet will be local business owners and managers. The best way to get business is by referral.

Third, start using direct mail It's still early in the year so you can use a pitch like "I'm trying to meet all of my fellow business owners in $town, will you help me meet this goal?" And schedule meetings with everyone. Give them a reason to contact you. Maybe your pitch is to meet them and give them a QR code sticker or something. Figure it out. Come up with something that works for you.

Direct mail. We use it with big time success by mailing postcards to people with back problems, CTS, etc and offering a free report, video, (or whatever) in exchange for their contact information via an online landing page. Driving people from the "offline" world to the online one works like gangbusters if done correctly. There's tons of "offline" traffic waiting to be had.

It has to be done correctly though. Check out my free WSO in my sig. It's on exactly this.

You must have a sincere desire to help the business owner.

Brand yourself as a leader in your Industry. Have solid LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter profiles. Then also produce a lot of content for your business, at least 50 articles and 50 videos.

Linking offline promotions back online so that you have some sort of measurable ROI.

You should check out my SlideShare profile- McLoughlin Promotions Presentations

Then if you want, drop me a line at dan@mcloughlin.ca and we can talk about how we can build your brand offline while still being online.

Postcards in the mail are good If you have upfront money to get started. Drop cards that look like money is the next thing I am going to try and see how it goes.

Currently my business is mostly offline, but I am trying to pull it online to open up a lot more lead possibilities (our clients are companies within the US).

The most common practice is taking your online expertise offline to help those businesses take the first steps to moving online. In this case, the business' main goal is more sales and more customers, while using their advertising dollars more effectively. If you can clearly demonstrate that......tying your services to ROI, the case will sell well.

I am also applying many online strategies offline by just changing a few things to adjust. Giving value up front and for free to get them interested and build trust. I am a member of my local chamber of commerce and attend those events to make new contacts and find clients.....but the best thing I have gained from that is meeting a couple other consultants that are great partners. Their services match well with my own because they are not directly competing and our client base of prospects are the same. I get more business from referrals coming from contacts I have made offline, not directly from finding business at the networking events....but everyone's products/services are different.

So, .....

1) Participate in local meetings/groups/etc. to see if the group is a good match for your services.
2) Don't just look for new clients; also try to find partners and if it is more one sided then offer to pay them well for their referrals (I pay 20%, which is strong for offline - also because my main services are totally free upfront to the business).
3) Try to find a realistic link and balance between online/offline marketing tactics. One that fits your business.
4) Last, understand the different uses of your website/online tools when dealing with the offline crowd. When I am dealing with offline clients my website is used just for providing information and not trying to get them to click for a sale, but to sell them on the concept and call me back or understand the value better. Too much sales text with flashy promises and offer upon offer to upsell/downsell can be way too much for them to deal with before they trust you.

Just my general thoughts.
Richard

We found that posting advertisement in the local newspaper consistently was what worked for us. Initially we had no response, slowly we saw hits increased to our website and calls came in.
The prospects would say they had been observing the column for days and decided it was a legit company if they kept advertising.
we had a minimal budget and the smallest ad, but we kept a monthly budget and stuck to it. Got many leads and many friends...

get clients. the rest is easy

First while what you've listed here certainly is offline marketing this section of the forum is mainly devoted to selling your internet marketing services to offline businesses.

But the two can't really be separated.

The most important tip in marketing both online and offline would probably be:

Really get to know and understand your prospect. They can tell you what they want, what kinds of promotions, emails, advertising, marketing they'll respond to.

They can tell you how much they'll pay, when they'll pay, who they'll be happy paying to, how they'll pay, what they'll buy over and over.

All this information is right there in your prospects.

In many cases you can work it out by paying attention.

In some cases you can just ask (that's a radical idea...actually talking to your prospects).

Kindest regards,
Andrew Cavanagh

mailing postcards worked well for us but its not good for everybody just take time and research as much as you can

Offline Classified Newspaper Ads
Offline Flyers
Offline Direct Mail
Offline TV Informatials
Offline Viral Advertising CD-ROM Business Cards
Business Cards
Offline Giveaways
Card Decks Advertising
Chamber Of Commerce or Other Business Associations