Digital marketing may well be on the rise, but print marketing is far from obsolete. Although many companies are focusing more and more on digital platforms of marketing, they may well be losing out on the benefits of traditional method of marketing.
With digital platforms hosting so many people, companies are right to assume the audience potential is there. However, only 20% of online users click online banner adverts. Is it worth paying the competitive price for the digital space for just 20% – to which not all of those users will convert into sales? If you also consider that magazines are still very much a part of our lives, with 63% of UK adults still reading magazines, according to YouGov – whereas only one in ten UK adults regularly read online magazines – maybe digital isn’t so perfect after all.
Traditional marketing, such as print media, is a tried and true method. The fact it still exists is proof enough of its strength and it can be wildly successful, if used effectively. 34% of all printing is for advertising and marketing products, such as event programmes, tickets etc, and 30% is attributed to newspapers, magazine and brochures etc. The print industry is heavily reliant on marketing and advertising.
In this article, banner and offset print marketing suppliers, Where The Trade Buys, detail how and why entrepreneurs can benefit from print marketing, without having to set aside a huge budget.
Direct mail is often referred to as ‘junk mail’, but data shows that direct mail is not being treated as junk at all! In 2015, more than 2.5 billion direct mail coupons were redeemed and 54% of consumers that were surveyed revealed that they want to receive direct mail from brands that they are interested in. With 80-90% of direct mail getting opened, and just 20-30% of emails getting opened, there is a clear winner for start-up companies looking to get their message across to potential new consumers.
Many start-up businesses worry about their marketing budget, or lack thereof. But you don’t need to spend a fortune to run a successful marketing push. There are several print marketing techniques that can make your campaign a success whilst on a budget.
StartUp Britain, a government-supported national campaign, found that the UK sees 80 new businesses launch every hour, so the competition is tough. Direct mail and brochures are a good place to start – neither need to break the bank either, but it is a big business. In 2009, direct mail accounted for 10.7% of the UK’s whole advertising expenditure.
Having a smaller budget doesn’t mean your brochure or leaflet needs to suffer on quality. Simplicity works. Your main priority when designing your brochure is to ensure your branding is clear, your message stands out and your style is eye catching. Remember you are on a budget so you don’t have pages and pages to play with; stick to 8-12 pages. You want to encourage consumers to act after all, not take up an hour of their time reading your brochure. There are several must-haves, which even when designing on a budget, you must consider:
– Attention grabbing headline.
– Unique selling point(s).
– Call to action.
– Clear design.
– Concise content – keep this limited to ‘need-to-know’ information as you don’t want to throw too much information at consumers, and this will also save you money in printing costs.
– Keep everything accurate – don’t allow mistakes to slip through the net.
With your brochures or leaflets ready to print, be sure to print the right amount of copies. Whilst the more copies you order, the less you pay per copy, ordering 500 brochures if you are only going to use 250 is simply a waste. Your spent money is likely to sit on a coffee table or in a cupboard gathering dust on unused brochures too. Therefore, make sure you utilise your budget wisely.
To conclude, although print marketing is an older form of marketing, it is still around for a reason: it still works. If the figures aren’t enough to convince you, then the affordability of it could sway you. Whilst digital platforms are useful to have to engage with customers on a familiar and mobile platform, print marketing has been proven to drive results. For start-ups, print marketing is definitely something that should be addressed.
7
