Why Print Media is Failing You
So I know that being a brick and mortar, your probably fairly partial to traditional marketing methods such as print ads in your local newspaper or yellow pages, and flyer’s passed door to door. Maybe you shell out big bucks for a two page spread every month in a local trade magazine, or buy a tiny block of ad space on that diner place mat just down the road from your shop.
Whichever of those methods you choose, you should know they are failing you. You are shelling out a huge investment for a lukewarm return, and you just don’t HAVE to do that anymore! Seriously, print media is floundering, and the savvy advertising firms are focusing their efforts online now.
Does that mean print media just plain doesn’t work? Of course not. Put something in front of people enough times, you are bound to get a bite or two. But the problem I have with that, is print media is ridiculously expensive! With the current ROI these days, it is way over priced, and you could be doing 3 times the business for 3 times less money if you take the bulk of your marketing focus online.
Build your web presence, build your brand online, and utilize all of the free and low priced ways of marketing your products or services that are available to you. Make your advertising dollar work hard for you, rather than working so hard for your advertising dollar.
And just because you are a local business does not mean you can’t take advantage of international traffic. If you sell products, it’s the same process to sell them online and ship, or offline to the locals. If you sell services, there are a ton of services that can be offered remotely these days.
And even if your product or service MUST be sold locally, building an online presence can still help you get the locals in the door. The first thing a prospect will do when passing by your shop, is go home and Google it if it’s something they may be interested in. If they can’t find you, you just lost a potential customer. And a local one at that.
So ditch the print media and jump online. Or at least ditch that which isn’t delivering an excellent ROI. Your advertising budget will thank you, and if you do it right, you business will thrive.
To your success!
Ron Davies