The good ol’ days, way back when, simpler times. For some people, these poetic times mean the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. For some young whippersnappers, the days of old are anything on the wrong side of 2010. While we reminisce about what used to be and talk about how much has changed, there are still traditional marketing tactics from the pre-technological era that are effective. Here are a few of them:
Throw Some Cards
Throw your business cards at people as much as possible (This is a figure of speech, Midwest Marketing in no way endorses the throwing of business cards at your customers). Business cards are fairly inexpensive, and you can leave them everywhere. Pin them to public bulletin boards, slip them in magazines, and hand them out at events. These little cards can become your secret weapon.
Pony Express
While the actual Pony Express stopped delivering mail in 1861, physical mail is still a great way to reach customers. It’s a common misconception that younger generations don’t like getting mail in anything but their Facebook inboxes. This is just not true, back in college when someone would get a letter, or even better a package, it was a big day!
Merry Christmas Strait to You
You’re going to need the Pony Express for this one as well. Send seasonal cards to customers and potential customers. Seasonal cards help build a solid rapport between customers and the business. Most people hang up every Christmas card that they get, so you might as well throw your card next to Jim & Susan’s!
Up for Bid
Silent auctions and charity events can be a great way to gain exposure. Donate to these happenings and start to build a personal connection with your community. Having this connection with the community can lead to a huge increase in word of mouth, which in turn transforms into sales.
Cold Calling
This one is tricky. Cold calling is great and miserable all at the same time. You get to actually talk to someone in real time and not wait on an email that may never be opened. If you don’t cold call correctly you can annoy potential customers and then people can get mean, which is miserable. Make sure you keep cold calls short and sweet and be aware that everyone is busy and don’t have a ton of time to talk. Doing this will help your cold calling experience.
Guerrilla
Guerrilla marketing means going after the conventional goals of profits, sales and growth but doing it in unconventional ways. TV, radio, billboards, print, and digital are all off the table. Guerrilla marketing is all about outside the box thinking and creative ideas.
Nice Humans
There are lots of different kinds of humans. There are doctors, lawyers, accountants, and mechanics, but the best kind of humans are nice humans. Being nice is the best offline marketing tip. No amount of marketing strategy in the world can make up for being a genuinely nice person.
