20 Easy Offline Marketing Ideas to Any Business Can Use

 

 

Offline marketing is a form of marketing that is not conducted online. It involves using traditional media such as print, television, radio, and billboards to promote a product or service. There are many reasons why offline marketing is still important. Offline marketing can help you reach customers that are not only and can help strengthen your business’ branding across both mediums. That is why it is important to integrate both online and offline marketing strategies into your business.

In this article, we will give you 20 easy offline marketing ideas that you can test out right away. These ideas will allow you to reach potential customers that are not online. These ideas can also be more effective than online marketing as you will be able to reach customers face-to-face or through a medium that will better capture their attention.

1. Host a Live Seminar

Hosting a live seminar gives you the opportunity to connect with your target audience directly and distraction-free. Captivate your audience by drawing them in with an interesting subject matter and emphasizing your expertise in your field. Setting up a booth or other gathering spot also leaves room for other, smaller marketing techniques such as handing out flyers, business cards, and merchandise while your audience listens in.

2. Host a Meetup (Using Meetup.com)

Meetup.com is an underrated resource you have at your disposal but likely haven’t thought to use it yet. If you’re unfamiliar with Meetup, it’s an online platform dedicated to helping people organize groups and hangouts. 

Meetup, unlike other social media apps, thrives on arranging in-person exchanges and interactions. This makes Meetup a valuable offline marketing strategy. Meetup has over 49 million active users worldwide, and they’re all signing up for in-person events. The next one they choose could be yours.

3. Send Seasonal Cards

 

Who doesn’t love a friendly greeting card? Sending customers seasonal cards to celebrate the holidays brings you closer to their personal lives and leaves a lasting impact. Your clients likely won’t remember the last social media ad they scrolled past, but they’ll definitely make a mental note of the company that sent them that adorable holiday card. 

Sending seasonal cards is another way to stay on the minds of your customers. This offline strategy also establishes a positive rapport that builds trust between you over time.

4. Ask Friends & Family for Referrals

Your family and friends can also provide opportunities for marketing with little to no real risk involved. Offering your company’s products or services in exchange for testimonials, word-of-mouth recommendations, and more can be a highly effective strategy for finding new clients. 

Even if they aren’t interested in your product, they can still suggest your business to their friends, thus expanding the circle of people who know about and talk about your company. People are more likely to buy from a business they trust.

5. Attend a Trade Show

Trade shows and expos are another excellent marketing and networking opportunity. Trade shows are industry-specific events where businesses convene to exchange and show off their latest products and designs. You may have to make a trip out of it because trade shows are often hosted in densely populated, big-name cities. But doing so is a worthwhile experience. 

You can achieve better brand visibility by bringing signs, banners, and promotional items. While you reel in customers and fellow business owners with your display, you can network and form even more connections that may benefit your business in the future.

6. Attend an Industry Conference

Attending an industry conference is one of the best offline marketing strategies for engaging with customers and other business owners in your industry. At an industry conference, you will meet experts in your field who are eager to share their advice, experiences, and insights with you. 

At an industry conference, the attendees are other business owners, so they’ll empathize with your struggles in marketing, production, social media, and more while being able to provide valuable input that could change the way you work for the better.

7. Place an Ad on Your Car

When you think about it, we spend so much time on the road in the modern world that it makes complete sense to use vehicles as forms of advertisement. Printing branded bumper stickers are an affordable, easy process, and whatever you don’t use for ads becomes eligible as promotional giveaways. 

Some companies, such as Carvertise, are now linking businesses with everyday consumers by allowing companies to pay people to advertise their cars. Your average Joe doesn’t pay much attention to their own bumper stickers, as they’re always behind the vehicle and out of sight, so most people don’t mind putting a sticker there for a little extra income. Using this to your advantage means paying consumers to market for you – which means less work for you in the long run.

8. Hand Out Branded Items

Everyone loves free stuff, and that includes branded freebies and merchandise. Using print-on-demand sites like Custom Ink, you can create unlimited designs and create all different types of free products. Handing out free stuff at local events can make you stand out from the crowd and gives people a reason to stop by and take an interest in your business.

Not sure where to start? Here are some examples of branded items you can give away for free to put your name out there.

• Pens
• Tote bags
• Lanyards
• Stickers
• Apparel (shirts, hats, etc.)

 

9. Wear Merchandise with Your Company Logo

The clothing we choose to wear makes a statement about our identity, whether we’re aware of it or not. Wearing branded merchandise shows those around you that you support your company. 

Most people won’t immediately jump to the conclusion that you own the business yourself because wearing graphic tees and branded clothing is so commonplace these days. Instead, they’ll assume you’re a satisfied customer, which looks great for your brand. If they aren’t sure, then seeing an unfamiliar brand name might prompt them to ask you questions about it. This can create an excellent opening for your pitch.

 

10. Join Toastmasters & Rotary Clubs

Toastmasters is a nonprofit organization that specializes in teaching people how to perform public speaking and how to network. Sometimes running a business means stepping outside of your comfort zone. If you’re a skilled professional but struggle with navigating the social side of your company, Toastmasters will help you learn to conquer your fear. Currently, there are over 364,000 people on Toastmasters learning to push their limits and succeed. Even if you’re an expert in public speaking, it never hurts to brush up on those skills.

Rotary clubs are locally-focused organizations that share plans to better their community through humanitarian practices and build connections. One great thing about them is that no two are the same, because every community has vastly different needs. 

Joining your local rotary club can open your eyes to nearby opportunities you may have missed otherwise, and it can be a great place to network with neighbors. If you want to find your local rotary club, you can search for it in the international directory here.

 

11. Business Cards

When used correctly, business cards can be a great and inexpensive form of offline marketing. They provide someone a physical piece of your business to take with them and pass to friends and family. You can also use this as an incentive piece of marketing by putting together a referral program that benefits both the person who takes the business card as well as the one who brings one back in. 

Be sure when designing your cards that your business name and contact information are clear and easy to read. Using fancy fonts doesn’t do any good if the potential customer can’t read how to contact you or clearly see what your name is. 

12. Flyers & Pamphlets

Flyers and Pamphlets create an opportunity for you to give an overview of what products/services you are highlighting currently in your business as well as catch the attention of current and prospective customers. Find places to put your flyers and pamphlets where they will reach your target customer base. 

This offline marketing strategy is another opportunity to offer special promotions and coupons for people to bring into the store or use online so that you can have a way of tracking the effectiveness of your marketing and find ways to improve your reach. 

13. Networking Meetings

Networking meetings can be a way to extend your reach with other business owners and companies in your area. It’s important that you use your time wisely when selecting where you put your networking into practice as just being involved in everything isn’t going to be getting you to the target customers you’re looking for, and you only have so many hours in a day. 

Find associations or civic groups in your area where your target customers are active. Join your local Chamber of Commerce. Find ways to include your brand in the community and with other business owners in your area. There are often times you could promote special events together that could benefit everyone. 

14. Direct Mailers

Many people out there might think that in the world of internet marketing that direct mailers have no place in the budget, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Any mail carrier will tell you that they deliver direct mailers every week. They might even end up making a purchase from one simply because they saw it hundreds of times that day! (You really never know who you are reaching!)

If you are a larger business and have a bigger marketing budget, you can look into the US Postal Services Every Door Direct Mailing service. If you are a smaller business you will want to narrow down your mailers to where you are only trying to reach out to those in your community that can benefit from your product or services. 

 

15. Warm Calling

Warm calling in marketing is where you call potential customers because you have had contact with them previously. Whether at a special promotional event, in response to a survey, or because they were directly referred to you by someone that does business with you.

These calls can be very productive as they show the potential customer that you value them even before they complete any business with you. Even if they don’t make a purchase with this call, they now hold you in higher regard for taking the time to reach out and will be more likely to contact you when they are ready for a product or service that you offer. 

 

16. Cold Calling

Cold calling is not the most fun offline marketing tactic, but even in today’s online world, it can be effective. To cold call, you need to be able to handle rejection and objections. If a person responds negatively, you simply have to move on, pick up the phone and proceed with the next call with a positive attitude. 

Research well so that you are selecting customers with the most potential. There are many ways to acquire lead lists. However, you want to be sure that these lists are scrubbed (which means they have been filtered and targeted). This way, you increase the likelihood of connecting with someone who is interested in your product or service.

 

17. Give a Presentation

Giving a free talk or presentation allows you to show your expertise to a captive audience. A speech presentation, on any subject, gives you an opportunity to present yourself as a leader and expert. Public speaking gives people in your community a chance to get to know your brand and you as a person. 

This would be a great place to offer some of the other tools we have mentioned above such as business cards, flyers, and pamphlets that people could take with them after the presentation.

 

18. Self-Publish a Book

One of the best ways to really establish yourself as one of the most knowledgeable in your business niche is to self-publish a book. Take your years of experience and put it into words and you might be surprised by the reach it can get. 

It’s also a great piece because it’s something you can build on as you learn more. Creating a series that shows how you have grown as a brand and a business owner. 

Handing someone a book you’ve written can create a level of credibility that goes beyond what a website can do. 

19. Advertise on Local Radio

 

Satellite radio might be one of the most popular forms of listening to music in today’s world. But local radio stations are where people go when they want to stay up-to-date with news, sports, and other stories and events going on in their community. 

Research stations in your area to discover if their listeners are your target customers. Do they only tune in for the news at noon or 5 o’clock? Are they holding out for the local stock report or latest sports updates? Also, see where your brand or niche fits in the best. Are you running a local sporting goods store? Ask that your advertisements are run during that segment of the broadcast so that you can reach more potential customers.

 Radio advertising costs average from $200 to $5,000 per week depending on location.

20. Sponsor an Event

Sponsoring an event is another great offline marketing strategy. This is a way to get your brand and business name out into the community and reach a variety of potential customers. An added bonus if it’s an event that coincides with your business or product offering. 

Even if it’s not an event directly related to your business getting your name out there and showing that you support the community. Also, attending the event and taking the time to interact with your community can go a long way. You don’t have to constantly promote your business while you’re there. But, just letting them see you show up can be a very beneficial offline marketing strategy.

 

Conclusion 

Offline marketing is still an important part of a businesses ability to reach a variety of customers. This list provides some easy ways you can market your business offline. Even though these ideas are simple, they can be very effective. If you’re looking for some new ways to attract customers to your business, try a few of these ideas to see which will work business for you.

 

Co-writers

Ari Bratsis

Katie Budd

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