Comments on: Are You Too Online?

By: Max Entin

Max Entin — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 03:20:52 +0000

Yes, it’s important to have a complete “portfolio” of marketing strategies. Online marketing alone is not as effective.

By: Andrew Sokol

Andrew Sokol — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 07:05:14 +0000

Funny, I was consulting with one of my small business owner clients about this today. She had exactly the opposite situation. The web terrifies her. Blogs, social bookmarking, affiliate programs, pay per click, were all terms that made her feel overwhelmed. I discussed with her that the use of these online tools was actually fairly easy, and that she might feel less overwhelmed if she developed a basic understanding of just one at a time. It seems that what counts isn’t so much how many internet tools are available for marketing, but who chooses to make use of them and how.

By: Mitchelle

Mitchelle — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 20:22:47 +0000

Online marketing is certainly growing and being in the web business I am not against it – but there is still so much potential offline. Printed marketing materials like posters, and sales sheets and presentation folders and more are much better to have in hand where the consumer can read them over and over as well as share with others. And don’t forget the power of plastic and the marketing value that comes with it. Plastic cards and gift cards are growing with retail businesses everywhere.

Mitchelle
http://www.my1stop.com/

By: tri-win

tri-win — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 21:03:29 +0000

I always believed in maintaining a balance in online and offline marketing and social networking. Traditional marketing still has it’s place in a world that is beginning to place too much emphasis on online marketing nowadays :S

Good post on re-instating the importance of maintaining offline marketing efforts!

By: Engago Team

Engago Team — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 20:50:39 +0000

One more tool:
Know who is visiting your B2B website by company name.
Most B2B desls start with an Internet search.
Thus better know as soon as possible who is interested in your products or solutions.
Reach them early in their buying process.

By: Steve Cook

Steve Cook — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 09:54:30 +0000

As a web developer one would think that all our business contacts would be online, but most of my clients are firmly rooted in the real world. So to reach out to then we use offline methods as much as possible.

I’ve been using a form of direct marketing that combines ease of communication with a personal touch. I have produced a bunch of postcards with an offer of a 1 hour free consulting session. I left space on the cards to write a personal message and I send this to prospects. First though I take a look at their site and jot down a few thoughts about where they may be facing challenges. In my hand written message I say that I’ve looked at their site and have some ideas that may be of interest and that I will be in touch.

This the the ice-breaker. I follow it up by ringing a few days later and have hopefully piqued their interest enough to get them to book a free consultation.

With the consultation I focus on helping examine what their wesite is for and examining any particular issues they may have. I guarantee in advance that I will be able to return with 5 concrete suggestions that they can either take to their existing supplier or that we can help them with.

This gets me a foot in the door, gives the customer some value from day 1 of our relationship and gives me a chance to win business from companies that already have a supplier.

By: Susan Pascal Tatum

Susan Pascal Tatum — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 01:58:19 +0000

In the business technology world, offline marketing is still important; but online presence is priority number one. This is because of the process business technology buyers use to make buying decisions.

Virtually all such purchases involve at least one visit – usually more – to the seller’s website. So, having a good website – more than just an online brochure – is critical. Also, these buyers begin with an online search. High visibility in search engines will reach around 80% of active prospects. Offline tactics can be used to fill in once the vendor has established a solid online presence.

So, I agree that online marketing has a place. It just won’t work as well if the online factors aren’t taken care of first.

By: Jacob Angel

Jacob Angel — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 15:20:23 +0000

I’ve had great difficulty integrating on and offline tactics for my clients.

A recent project used PPC to drive foot traffic to stores, but we had to halt it when it became clear that the agency handling the offline aspects hadn’t provided complementary materials for in-store use. It was also impossible to calculate ROI effectively because there wasn’t a clearly defined call-to-action in the PPC campaign that could be tracked to the store level.