The Importance of Integrating Online and Offline Marketing

Over the last decade, the way we communicate with each other has changed. Some think the digital world around us has made advertising more complicated, but the fundamentals remain the same. Integrating newer online techniques with more traditional offline methods can help your business grow and allow you to communicate with customers in more ways.

Let's say you spend 3 months running a great outdoor campaign, with well-designed billboards featuring your newest offer “Summer Celebration – 30% Off all Outdoor Items”. After seeing this, a customer goes home and visits your website to shop online. Upon selecting their items and beginning checkout, they notice their outdoor items are still regular price. Most likely, they are gone, and you've created an unhappy customer. Your offline billboard message was not reflected in your online presence.

Whether your business is small or large, your marketing efforts should be consistent everywhere you create a connection with potential customers – online and offline. The idea is to have all these efforts support each other and work together to promote your business. If a customer sees a current promotion in a direct mail piece and walks into your store to find the promotion doesn't start for two more weeks, again, you've created a huge disconnect. Likewise, if the mail piece prompts them to visit your website and they don't see anything about a promotion, you've lost them. Planning your online and offline marketing messages to run within the same time frame is equally important as keeping a consistent message across all mediums.

Easy Steps to Integrating Online and Offline Marketing:

1. Create Customer Referral incentives and promote them on your website, social media accounts, and print ads simultaneously.

2. Offer a discount/certificate that can be accessed only from your website, but can be redeemed in-store or online.

3. Promote an online sale with a direct mail piece.

4. Include your website and social media networks on magazine ads, newspaper ads and in other printed publications.

5. Encourage customer feedback through phone calls and in-store surveys, and post these reviews on your website, social media outlets, and in printed collateral.

6. Promote your electronic newsletter in-store allowing customers to receive product updates and promo news.

There are countless ways to tie your online and offline marketing messages together. The important part to remember is planning out ideas in advance so that your messages can be well-executed across the board.

Destination, Destination, Destination.

The destination from both your online and offline marketing efforts is, most likely, your website. Be sure to include your web address or campaign tracking URL on all communication pieces. Furthermore, if your website is your destination, make sure it looks professional and has the capabilities to deliver on any promises you've made. If you've told your customers they can redeem a voucher online, make sure that functionality actually works. If customers visit your website and can't easily find what they need, they are likely to leave and never return. All of your information should be accurate, easy to find, and match what is being done with your offline advertising efforts. This consistency between your materials is very important and creates a sense of trust in your customers' minds.

Integrating online and offline marketing allows you to get the most out of all your advertising campaigns, large or small. By using these methods together, you're able to increase the performance of both.