In today’s digital marketing-focused world, it’s easy to forget about the more traditional methods of offline marketing – and how powerful they can be. This is especially true for small and local businesses, such as retail stores, restaurants, salons, fitness studios, agencies and more. There are several instances in which tried-and-true methods of offline marketing – print, mail and advertising – can boost sales significantly.
There are a few key steps to take when developing and executing an offline marketing plan, according to Total Retail. We’ll discuss a few of those steps below.
Define Your Goals
As with any marketing plan, don’t do offline marketing just to do it. Define your specific goals – brand awareness, customer loyalty, a specific sale or promotion – and develop a plan that will help meet that goal. Then ask a few key questions: What does success look like? How will a specific marketing tactic help you achieve success? What steps do you need to take to execute your plan? How will you track progress?
Set Your Target Audience
Once you’ve defined the goal, determine the target audience – and think quality, not quantity. You’re more likely to have success – and less likely to blow the budget – if the target audience is narrowly-defined. Also, by really understanding that audience, and what they want and need, you’ll be better able to target your campaign specifically to them.
Create Unique Print Materials with a Specific Call to Action
As in digital marketing, the challenge with offline marketing is standing out in the crowd. Competition is fierce and your materials need to stand out. Include an attention-grabbing headline, concise copy, a compelling image and – most importantly – a clear call to action.
Track Analytics to Measure Success
Just because you’re working offline doesn’t mean you can’t track the progress of your campaign. Including a custom URL, offer code or QR code will allow you to see whether recipients took action in response to your print materials – and tweak your plan accordingly for the next go-round.
A point of sale system is an essential tool for tracking marketing efforts, both online and off. Contact Retail Tech to find the POS system that is right for your small business or store.
Retail Tech carries a wide variety of new and refurbished POS equipment. We offer installation and staging, POS printer repairs, and more. If you need help choosing a hybrid POS system, contact our POS systems specialists for help finding the perfect point of sale solution for your small business.
