Small Business Marketing Better Online or Offline?

As a follow up to the earlier blog post about 2009 New Year’s Resolutions, have you given any thought as to whether your 2009 marketing efforts should be based on tactics used via the Internet (Online), or tactics used without the Internet (Offline)?

Every small business should have a Web site. No discussion on that one. Even seniors in their 70s and 80s are using the Internet and have been growing more comfortable with “googling” something. But as far as using the Internet for marketing purposes, you may want to think twice about the best way to truly engage with your target customer.

It all boils down to truly knowing who your customer is. If your customer is using the Internet throughout the day for business and pleasure (like teens and most people under the age of 60), then yes, you should have a heavy dose of Online marketing in your bag of tools. Good examples include:

Emails
Landing pages
Internet promotions/rewards on your Web site
Social media (Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, et al).

But if your customer uses the Internet sparingly, you may want to think of other ways to market to them. good examples of Offline marketing include:

Direct mail
In-store promotions
Guerrilla marketing
Event marketing & sponsorships
Telemarketing

Some small businesses will want to use a good mix of both Online AND Offline marketing tactics. As you continue to build your new marketing plan for 2009, place a lot of focus on truly understanding your customer. Who they are, how they spend their leisure time, where they get their information and how they are influenced are all key issues to deal with. Understanding your customer will go a long way in understanding which type of marketing that will reach them, ultimately saving you lots of time and money.

Do you know who your customer is? Leave a comment and tell us if you will be doing your marketing online, offline or both in 2009.

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