Local Businesses Need Offline AND Online Advertising

Often, I hear or read discussions about offline OR online advertising for local, small businesses. The discussions center around which is more beneficial for a local business. I cringe when I hear so-called consultants advise small business owners to drop all local advertising, because “online is the place to be." Most local small businesses do need some level of online advertising, but that doesn't necessarily mean they should drop all offline advertising. The answer isn’t so black and white.

Statistics Say “Use Both”

Seventy percent of U.S. citizens now have online access. The odds are high you’re losing business if your company doesn’t have an online presence. Still, I wouldn’t be too quick to abandon traditional marketing methods. Consider this 2005 Dieringer Research Group Report.

Two of three people said they specifically researched local businesses and services online. But listen to the rest. Of this 67% of people, 77% said they also learned about local merchants from TV ads, 67% from newspaper ads and 44% from radio ads. Interestingly the same report notes that online advertising actually influenced more purchase decisions than other types of ads. Clearly, the majority of consumers expect to find both traditional and online advertising.

Local small business owners, usually with already limited marketing dollars and time, must strike a delicate balance between offline and online advertising. First, consider your specific business. Do you sell a product that could potentially be marketed beyond your immediate community? If so, you may want to devote more funds to online advertising. Do you provide a service, such as a hair salon, used primarily by those in your hometown? In such an instance, you may choose to spend more on local, offline advertising. Such factors must be weighed when determining your allocation of offline and online advertising dollars.

When developing your small business marketing plan, consider how offline and online advertising can work together, as part of your overall marketing mix. This will also help with allocation of ad dollars. For the most effective marketing, the look and theme of your local campaigns, and any special offers, should be consistent with your online advertising.

Coordinate Offline and Online Advertising

Here are a few tips and ideas to help you coordinate your offline and online advertising promotion.

• Keep your website up-to-date. When you’re running an offline ad campaign, visitors should easily find the same information on your home page. As statistics show, if someone sees your newspaper ad or hears your radio spot, he is likely to look for the same promotion (possibly with even more information) on your website. Make sure he finds it when he gets there.
• Take advantage of free listings in local searches offered by search engines and online directories. While local searches differ a bit, the overall concept is the same. They help consumers find businesses in their immediate geographical area. Have you ever noticed those little Google maps that show business locations at the top of your search results? That’s an example of local search, and you don’t have to pay anything to be on those maps. To make sure you’re there, go to Google Maps, create an account and complete your own listing. You can even include a company description, website address or coupon at no cost. Here are other sites where you can submit a free basic listing:
  
  Yahoo Local Search
  Windows Live Local (Directions on their site say to submit your listing at InfoUSA.)
  TrueLocal.com
  Local.com
  YellowPages.com
  SuperPages.com
  
  
• In your offline advertising, always consider how you can drive traffic to your website.
  • Include coded coupons for online purchases in offline advertising, such as newsletters. When the customer makes a purchase on your site, and enters the coupon code, he receives a discount. This drives people to your site and enables you to track the effectiveness of coupons placed in different media.
  • Use trivia contests or sweepstakes to attract people to your website. For example, include a trivia question in an offline newsletter or direct mail piece. Invite the recipient to visit your website and complete a contest entry to win a small prize or entry into a drawing for a larger prize. (Make sure a drawing abides by any lottery laws your state may have.) Along with getting the person to your site, this also enables you to collect the visitor's email for future use.

• Keep your website content fresh so people have a reason to come back. Use blogs and web feeds to let users know of new site information, sales or other promotions. Produce a monthly ezine or enews, and let site visitors sign up to receive it. Not sure how to do all of this? Visit my "Start a Website" page for a suggested resource.

  Your ezine should contain information on promotions but shouldn’t be one big advertisement. Include helpful or interesting articles current or potential customers look forward to reading. And never overlook offline ways of collecting emails. Ask every customer for an email and build a database.

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• Do listen to your local newspaper or television station’s pitch for advertising on their websites. You can reach a wide local audience this way, as news or weather changes throughout the day. In fact, 40% of Americans say they now use the web daily for news.

  Local media websites generally offer all levels of advertising. Purchase a simple banner ad. Sponsor live, local sports results. If you purchase TV advertising time, inquire about reduced cost online advertising as a package deal.

  Since this type of online advertising can be a bit pricier, make sure to monitor your website’s monthly traffic reports and scrutinize the referring URL’s. (Watch for spikes on breaking news days too.) This information tells how many people clicked your ad on the media site to visit your site. If your ad isn’t generating the traffic you expected, move your advertising dollars elsewhere.

Find the Right Mix

Online advertising opportunities continue to multiply. How do you, as a busy business owner, find time to use all of them? More than likely you don’t. Your job is to decide which ones are the best fit for your small business. Which will complement your offline marketing? How much can you fit in your budget? Answer these questions and start by incorporating just a few online advertising ideas into your marketing plan. Monitor results and don’t be afraid to change course.

Over time, you may find great success in your online efforts and shift more of your marketing dollars and time to the Internet. But for now, if your small business is new to the world of online advertising, begin by learning your options and testing the waters. With this approach, you can reach the right mix of offline and online advertising for your business without wasting valuable time and resources.