A new study released today suggests that more than half small businesses surveyed continue to mix it up when it comes to using both offline and online marketing in their campaigns.
Small business owners and managers often wrestle with the question of which is the best marketing strategy when it comes to online vs. offline marketing.
For some business owners traditional offline marketing methods like advertising on billboards seem to bring good results, while others swear by online marketing methods such as advertising on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
Vistaprint Digital, an online marketing service for small businesses, commissioned a Google Consumer Survey of U.S. small business owners to uncover preferences and attitudes as they relate to online vs. offline marketing. The insights uncovered by Vistaprint Digital in its Micro Business Marketing Mix Report were quite interesting.
Small Business Owner’s Preferences Between Online and Offline Marketing
According to the Vistaprint Digital marketing survey that was conducted from September 20 to September 26, 2016, the majority (68.8 percent) of small business owners responded affirmatively to the question: “Do you market your business both online and offline?” However, more than a quarter (28.9 percent) of small business owners said they do not market their business both online and offline.
When asked “What is the main way that you market your business online?,” the majority (53.3 percent) of the respondents said they mainly use social media. The next popular way small business owners market their business online is using a business website followed by using online ads.
When the small business owners were asked, “how important is balancing online and offline spend when marketing your business?,” the average ranking was 3.9/5 stars, meaning fairly important.
Of those small business owners who market their business offline, the majority (51.1 percent) said they use business cards. Roughly 1 in 10 small business owners, however, said they mainly use print advertising to market their business offline.
The 10-question survey was completed by 1,001 respondents and is representative of the U.S. small business population. Check out the full report for more insights.
Mini Shoppers Photo via Shutterstock
Aira Bongco
It is important to have a mix of online and offline marketing methods especially if you are on retail. Most of your transactions are done offline anyway.
An effective marketing campaign is an appropriate mix of on-line and off-line marketing. It is all about being in the right place at the right time during a purchasing decision and maintaining a position in the buyers mind at point of purchase.
Tahnks for the post.