No marketing technique is dead... well, maybe semaphore or carrier pigeon.
As @AllUpHere says, it's HOW you do it that counts and, depending on your business, some techniques will work better than others. Far fewer businesses have adverts in the Yellow Pages (considering how small and thin it is now) yet one of my business friends swears by it. She a virtual VA and she says her Yellow Pages ad more than pays for itself.
As @AllUpHere says, it's HOW you do it that counts and, depending on your business, some techniques will work better than others. Far fewer businesses have adverts in the Yellow Pages (considering how small and thin it is now) yet one of my business friends swears by it. She a virtual VA and she says her Yellow Pages ad more than pays for itself.
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O
OllieSmith
- Original Poster
- #6
Its funny I have a couple of pigeon that nest outside my office window...! Don't think i'll be using them for mail though.
My best marketing technique currently is word of mouth which we will all say is the best. But my second best one which I also find odd is the use of Gumtree adverts.
My best marketing technique currently is word of mouth which we will all say is the best. But my second best one which I also find odd is the use of Gumtree adverts.
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If old style marketing was dead there wouldn't be adverts on the telly, posters on walls and billboards on roads.
I read a report a while back that showed radio adverts up to 8 times more effective than online advertising.
And putting an advert in the local parish magazine is still good for the right sort of business.
I read a report a while back that showed radio adverts up to 8 times more effective than online advertising.
And putting an advert in the local parish magazine is still good for the right sort of business.
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My friend runs her own oven cleaning business and the amount of work she has got from the adverts she has put in her parish magazine is staggering
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To summarise, here are my answers to your questions:
Telemarketing:
Telemarketing is not dead, it does work in certain circumstances but I would strongly advise against it. No one likes unsolicited calls and it leads to more harm than good, negative PR and you'll end up tearing your hair out with the amount of time it takes to generate leads.
Email campaigns:
Still one of the most effective forms of marketing, considering people have signed up to your mailing list and they are not purchased. If they are purchased, you run many high risks, again negative PR and getting your IP blacklisted.
Yellow pages:
Works for lots of companies but it depends on your audience. Will your typical customer have a copy of the Yellow Pages? My brother is a roofer, and he generates lots of business from advertising in the Yellow pages.
Flyers:
Relatively easy and cost effective, and considering we now live in a digital age, printed flyers can still be an effective way of promoting your business if you're a B2C company.
Advice:
Before you jump the gun and invest in any type of marketing, you should have a full understanding your audience. Where are they located, gender, age, hobbies, are they computer savvy? Start by talking to your customers, try sending out a questionnaire to get a good understanding of how they found your business and what their typical interests are.
Once you have a good understanding of your typical customer, it will get you on the right path. If you're a business that's reliant on local customers, then you should maybe consider local SEO. Are people Googling for your services within a local area? If so, it's a no brainer.
For example, a few years ago my brother was a 1 man band looking after his roofing company. I worked on his website and got him high rankings in Google (organically and locally) for all the services he provides. He now has a team of 6 people, and he's off the tools.
This is the physical impact digital marketing can have on a business, even if you have an e-commerce store or physical store location where you provide a product/service, but of course, it depends completely on your audience.
Hope that helps.
Telemarketing:
Telemarketing is not dead, it does work in certain circumstances but I would strongly advise against it. No one likes unsolicited calls and it leads to more harm than good, negative PR and you'll end up tearing your hair out with the amount of time it takes to generate leads.
Email campaigns:
Still one of the most effective forms of marketing, considering people have signed up to your mailing list and they are not purchased. If they are purchased, you run many high risks, again negative PR and getting your IP blacklisted.
Yellow pages:
Works for lots of companies but it depends on your audience. Will your typical customer have a copy of the Yellow Pages? My brother is a roofer, and he generates lots of business from advertising in the Yellow pages.
Flyers:
Relatively easy and cost effective, and considering we now live in a digital age, printed flyers can still be an effective way of promoting your business if you're a B2C company.
Advice:
Before you jump the gun and invest in any type of marketing, you should have a full understanding your audience. Where are they located, gender, age, hobbies, are they computer savvy? Start by talking to your customers, try sending out a questionnaire to get a good understanding of how they found your business and what their typical interests are.
Once you have a good understanding of your typical customer, it will get you on the right path. If you're a business that's reliant on local customers, then you should maybe consider local SEO. Are people Googling for your services within a local area? If so, it's a no brainer.
For example, a few years ago my brother was a 1 man band looking after his roofing company. I worked on his website and got him high rankings in Google (organically and locally) for all the services he provides. He now has a team of 6 people, and he's off the tools.
This is the physical impact digital marketing can have on a business, even if you have an e-commerce store or physical store location where you provide a product/service, but of course, it depends completely on your audience.
Hope that helps.
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I am afraid I will have to completely disagree with that. Telemarketing is by far still the most effective way of generating business and should always be considered, especially for new start ups.
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The Byre
- Original Poster
- #21
Telemarketing - Targeted calls to warm leads, yes, but the rest dead.
Flyers - Very much alive! And an ideal way to give junior some extra pocket money and out of trouble. Better still, a good local flyer distributor!
Magazine ads - Yes, but only in mags that can PROOVE their circulation, i.e. ABC audited or by mailing lists. The rest- dead.
Radio - Very much alive.
TV - Yes if you spend enough!
Email - Well structured and intelligent emails to customers who are suitable, yes. The rest, dying.
Yellow pages - Dead for 95% of businesses. The remaining 5% - still alive, but not for long!
On-line ads - yes, but only in the right places, such as forums dealing with the type of product you are selling.
Social media - defo! This creates a buzz only, but you need that buzz! Like TV, it is an awareness thing, not really a POS.
Google ads and other PPC - a really great way to cost your competitors money by clicking on their ads!
Flyers - Very much alive! And an ideal way to give junior some extra pocket money and out of trouble. Better still, a good local flyer distributor!
Magazine ads - Yes, but only in mags that can PROOVE their circulation, i.e. ABC audited or by mailing lists. The rest- dead.
Radio - Very much alive.
TV - Yes if you spend enough!
Email - Well structured and intelligent emails to customers who are suitable, yes. The rest, dying.
Yellow pages - Dead for 95% of businesses. The remaining 5% - still alive, but not for long!
On-line ads - yes, but only in the right places, such as forums dealing with the type of product you are selling.
Social media - defo! This creates a buzz only, but you need that buzz! Like TV, it is an awareness thing, not really a POS.
Google ads and other PPC - a really great way to cost your competitors money by clicking on their ads!
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Do you mean 120 dials or connects to decision makers? If you're talking to 120 decision makers to get 1 lead, something is badly wrong.
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Call to conversion ratio. It just hasn't worked for us and it's not worth the bad publicity. Most of our potential clients are busy 'on the job' and they receive dozens of cold calls offering SEO services etc, they won't even give you the time to explain the benefits. We even offer free advice to raise awareness on how local SEO helps, but it's always pretty obvious that it's a sales pitch. Don't get me wrong we have won a couple of clients from it in our early stages, but other forms of marketing work much better for us.
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Which doesn't means don't use telemarketing (as you suggested), it's just that it didn't work for you. Maybe your pitch was wrong or they were bad leads or just you were calling as the wrong time of the day.
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I believe in SMM, though it's relatively new... but not so much anymore,since the Internet is evolving fast. Anyway, SMM does work and it's relatively lowcost. But then again, I agree with all of the above, it does depend on the business and what your target audience is. Also, SMM is one of the best media to spread the word of mouth, which - as you said - works good for your business 
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Yes, if you have an audience to spread it to! Otherwise you have to spend months and months building it up or pay to advertise on social media sites.
There are quicker and easier ways to market a product of service.
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Is any form of marketing ever dead? I'd have thought there was no place for employing "sign spinners" in public squares, or hyper-intrusive pop-up ads. Things just go in and out of fashion. But you can rest assured that if there's some remote chance of making money from it, somebody is doing it.
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M
Mike Wilford
- Original Poster
- #30
Nothing has died, its just evolved from print to digital.
Much of the traditional values are still upheld in terms of emotive advertising that creates a response - the message is the same, but the medium has changed and evolved.
For example:
Like telemarketing - still going strong - even more so in the mobile age.
Email campaigns - Gmail now offer paid spots in email inboxes.
Yellow pages - online directories are huge and numbers are googled constantly.
Flyers - whether this be push messaging or pop ups we still get these little notes.
However traditional values and beliefs are still held up in the digital age. The techniques that worked then still work now on new mediums. For example social proofing, jones effect still being used in digital messaging.
Much of the traditional values are still upheld in terms of emotive advertising that creates a response - the message is the same, but the medium has changed and evolved.
For example:
Like telemarketing - still going strong - even more so in the mobile age.
Email campaigns - Gmail now offer paid spots in email inboxes.
Yellow pages - online directories are huge and numbers are googled constantly.
Flyers - whether this be push messaging or pop ups we still get these little notes.
However traditional values and beliefs are still held up in the digital age. The techniques that worked then still work now on new mediums. For example social proofing, jones effect still being used in digital messaging.
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This is astounding.
Successful marketing strategies differ from industry to industry, and product to product.
Start here.
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B
beasty
- Original Poster
- #32
Telemarketing is misleading as it is not Marketing it is sales and Direct sales will never die.
Emails will always be very useful to convert interest to business, we all read emails
Yellow pages or local business directories will always have a worth, you get a burst pipe, it is quicker to look for plumber in teh yellow pages than go upstairs and fire up the computer
Flyers will always be useful for very local services
just because ppc, seo, video and so on exists, does not mean it is always best.
The old ways will never die, they will shrink as tech use grows and big publications like the yellow pages might not be able to sustain a uk wide coverage but their TYPE will not die
Different industries and sectors have approaches that are more appropriate and effective but none of the above will ever die.
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I can't agree with your telemarketing comment. There is a distinct difference between telemarketing and telesales.
Telemarketing IS marketing, direct marketing to be precise. People often mistake telemarketing for telesales and vice versa.
I would also disagree (not to be a moan) about your yellow pages comment, people use mobiles, tablets, laptops etc. to search for services and I could certainly find local tradespeople faster on my phone than I could by digging out the yellow pages. Older generations still use it I suppose though there are a lot of "silver surfers" out there now!
I think the OP has to define his/her goals and industry before a helpful answer can be given.
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B
beasty
- Original Poster
- #34
Marketing gets them to call you, if you are calling them, its not marketing
Poorly and frequently mis titled job descriptions do not make you correct.
The phrase Direct Marketing in this context is only used so that recruiters can get more people to apply for their mostly crappy jobs.
You can disagree but it is a fact that when my parents who both have tablets and have a computer room had a burst pipe, they grabbed the yellow pages and called someone.
Googling for plumbers is not instinctive to all when there is water gushing into the dining room, personally I would grab a local directory v google (Not to mention the pipe burst on the ground floor and the computer is on the 2nd, would they go find their mobiles and start tapping info in to try and find someone? nope
Disagree but i replied to the OP, i personally hate mobiles and although i got one recently its never used, so i too would use the book
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Reading your message here in disbelief. People sometimes make comments to stimulate discussion not to start petty arguments, however:
I made the point that telemarketing is in fact marketing, plain and simple, surely you aren't disputing this?
I wasn't suggesting people don't still use the yellow pages etc. however, it is common knowledge that consumers are changing their habits when it comes to seeking out tradesmen, or anything for that matter and this medium is being used less and less.
Of course it may still be completely relevant in the OP's industry, but do we know this?
Is the OP a plumber?
And if so, do you have proof that this method of marketing still works for reactive home repair businesses such as plumbers/drain cleaning services?
Of course, I could have joined the discussion by saying "yes, the person before me appears to be completely correct and I agree with him/her totally."
That wouldn't be helpful for the OP.
Basically, what I'm trying to say, is try not to take offence, if I'm wrong, tell me why in an intelligent manner - maybe even use examples, this will help the discussion even more.
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B
beasty
- Original Poster
- #36
You obviously do not know what Marketing actually is and think that sales call constitute marketing
Marketing is the total process of introducing your brand or service to your audience and having them come to you
Sales is calling your potential customers and trying to sell them, if you are making an appointment (See adverts for telemarketing) you are not marketing you are selling appointments, their cost being time, in which way, picking up a phone and introducing a product or service is a SALES call marketing would be what you might have done to have them speak to you.
Good marketing still requires sales, but the terms are confused regularly
So yes i am disagreeing with you.
You corrected me with misinformation, not unreasonable i might reply.
Thread is about Marketing
Picking up a phone and calling someone is sales, I can imagine Marketing professionals reaction if they are told they now have to cold call people. Its not their function, it is not Marketing.
Misuse of terminology should not go unchecked on a Business forum
Staff who work in the Marketing do not cold call anyone, that is what the sales people do, hence the reason there is both a Marketing Department and a Sales Department.
Marketing is the total process of introducing your brand or service to your audience and having them come to you
Sales is calling your potential customers and trying to sell them, if you are making an appointment (See adverts for telemarketing) you are not marketing you are selling appointments, their cost being time, in which way, picking up a phone and introducing a product or service is a SALES call marketing would be what you might have done to have them speak to you.
Good marketing still requires sales, but the terms are confused regularly
So yes i am disagreeing with you.
You corrected me with misinformation, not unreasonable i might reply.
Thread is about Marketing
Picking up a phone and calling someone is sales, I can imagine Marketing professionals reaction if they are told they now have to cold call people. Its not their function, it is not Marketing.
Misuse of terminology should not go unchecked on a Business forum
Staff who work in the Marketing do not cold call anyone, that is what the sales people do, hence the reason there is both a Marketing Department and a Sales Department.
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I'm sorry, but you are so very, VERY, misinformed.
Telemarketing IS different to telesales. Allow me to help you understand:
Here's an example of telemarketing:
A software company who sell programs to other businesses by way of visiting businesses and presenting their software solutions would obviously need leads. One way to generate these leads would be to perform telemarketing - this would involve calling businesses who may be interested in their product, giving some information over the phone, and ultimately securing an appointment for a field based sales person to visit and sell the product.
Notice that the person who called the business to set the appointment did not actually sell anything, they simply marketed the product. It was sold during the sales visit.
This is telemarketing.
Here's an example of telesales:
A company who sell car insurance over the phone by way of calling existing, lapsed, and prospective customers may be able to conduct the sale over the phone.
A telesales advisor could call up Mr Smith, ascertain his car insurance needs, offer him a car insurance policy and execute the sale there and then.
This is telesales.
Hopefully it's clearer for you now.
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B
beasty
- Original Poster
- #38
TELEMARKETING is a job title used by sales companies that want staff who do not like to sell. IT IS NOT MARKETING, it is a sales call where your SALE is the appointment,
Sales and Marketing are labels that are consistently misused you are demonstrating that quite clearly, the patronising attempt at educating me looks pretty stupid to anyone that has studied Marketing.
Sales and Marketing are labels that are consistently misused you are demonstrating that quite clearly, the patronising attempt at educating me looks pretty stupid to anyone that has studied Marketing.
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Referrals will always be the strongest form of marketing - in online terms this is why reviews work so well. I don't think old marketing is dead as such, there are just new avenues to explore, test and refine. The beauty with digital is that it's much easier to track and report than TV and radio advertising.
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