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The world was becoming increasingly digital even before the pandemic. Since COVID19 got a grip on the world, there has, understandably, been a strong aversion to “old-school” marketing tactics such as creating printed brochures. Now, however, COVID19 is finally loosening its grip on the world. It’s therefore the perfect time to reappraise the situation.

Digital marketing vs “old-school” marketing

Unsurprisingly, the growth of personal technology, especially phones and tablets, has led to the growth of digital marketing. This has opened up a lot of possibilities both for companies that operate globally and for companies that operate locally. Local SEO (search engine optimization) has become a huge market and for good reason. It often does a lot to win customers.

At the same time, to a certain extent, local SEO has become a victim of its own success. Even though the competition is lower than for general SEO, the customer base is smaller. This means that getting meaningful results can still be a challenge, especially for genuinely local companies (as opposed to chains operating in a particular area).

It’s certainly worth persevering with local SEO, even if your budget is tight. In fact, there’s a strong case for arguing that it’s pretty much compulsory. At the same time, however, a lot of companies will probably benefit from giving it a boost with “old-school” marketing. This is particularly likely for smaller companies with smaller budgets.

Why “old-school” marketing is so effective

Up until fairly recently, “old-school” marketing was the only option. This meant that potential customers were often subjected to vast quantities of paper marketing materials. To make matters worse, a lot of it was essentially spam, hence the term “junk mail”.  

When digital marketing came along, the potential for upfront cost savings tempted many companies away from “old-school” marketing. Initially, this was potentially a smart decision. The early days of the internet were a lot less commercial than they are now. This made it easier for small companies to punch well above their weight and marketing budget.

Now, however, the digital-marketing landscape is heavily saturated. It’s absolutely still possible to make an impact there. You should, however, be prepared for it to take a lot more time, effort, and money as compared to the old days. The “old-school” marketing landscape, by contrast, is becoming increasingly fertile.

The importance of strategy

For most companies, just delivering basic leaflets to everyone in your service area is a sure-fire way to waste your marketing budget. Instead, you need to do your research so you know where your potential customers are most likely to be living (or working). Then make the time to create a marketing asset you can be proud of.

In general, it’s far better to send a well-designed, high-quality bi-fold brochure to a small number of prospects than a thin paper leaflet to everyone you can think of. Also, effective marketing is a combination of relevance and repetition. This means you need to be prepared to repeat your “old-school” marketing campaigns at an appropriate frequency.

As a rule of thumb, marketing every 4-6 weeks hits the sweet spot between maintaining brand recognition and going into brand overload. If you want extra impact, try reaching out to local media and/or charities for collaborations.