How to spend your money on outdated or obsolete advertising?
If you want to know how to spend your money on outdated or obsolete advertising, this article is for you. Although it seems unnecessary to write an article on this subject, after observing common marketing practices of many businesses in 2019 and the first few months of 2020, it is prudent to do so. It is unfortunate to notice the spending by large numbers of entrepreneurs on completely useless advertising products and services to attract customers. However, due to their low cost or because they see others doing the same, they choose to waste their budget hoping for good results. This is what is known as a lunatic marketing practice.
It is unbelievable that in 2020, the marketing strategies of more than 80 percent of companies, small businesses and independent professionals, are the same used back in the 90s. How is this possible or logical? Spending money on flyers, billboards, classified ads, telemarketing, and mass mailing is strategically insane. Sadder still, it is pretending that by doing the same thing which doesn’t work, will yield positive results.
Strategic Marketing during the Coronavirus Restrictions
After the Coronavirus social distancing and quarantine restrictions, businesses and professionals that offer some type of service will face a very difficult situation. Those who did not have a very well-structured marketing strategy will suffer much more. Businesses who have invested in effective strategies will feel a great relief when they can open again.
It is obvious to anyone that those businesses that focused part of their marketing strategies online have not suffered as much during the Covid-19 emergency. Some simply cannot provide their services until the restrictions are lifted. However, even the latter will benefit more than others once the situation associated with Covid-19 passes.
Those businesses that have their online information well positioned for their respective niche markets will benefit greatly. Once the dates of lifting these restrictions are announced, consumers will begin to schedule appointments for all kinds of services. Medical and dental appointments, massages, hair and salon treatments, nail grooming, mechanic services, plastic surgeries, cosmetic treatments, home remodeling and reparations, legal advice, and many more. Therefore, whoever has their information well positioned on internet search engines will benefit immensely.
Traditional Advertising during the Coronavirus Quarantine
Nor before Covid-19 or during the Coronavirus quarantine, traditional advertising has been a good investment. Only before the internet or during its first ten years of existence, traditional advertising was a good investment. The internet has changed the dynamics of consumers, especially in relation to the purchasing of services. Nowadays people look for things when they need them. This lessens the impact of traditional advertising strategies that seek to create a need for services.
Even those businesses who use social media to promote all kinds of offers are not effective, for the same reason. Potential customers of services are different from those of products. Product consumers are more impulse driven. Everyone is a potential product consumer. But potential clients for services are motivated by necessity.
This is the reason why, only with irresistible prices can it be said that traditional advertising is effective to advertise services. But even this type of advertising strategies to attract new customers have a weakness. The type of customer that is attracted by 2 for 1 offers is not a customer with the capacity to be loyal. Additionally, the use of percentage discount strategies no longer works unless the value of the offer is displayed without the discount. The current consumer is not susceptible to these deceptive discount practices, without seeing the value in the offer.
During this Covid-19 situation, people are actively searching for information online. Many are even already planning what to do when the restrictions are lifted. Therefore, businesses that depend on flyers, billboards and other advertising elements to attract customers, are facing a commercial disadvantage.
The low effectiveness of traditional advertising
Traditional advertising that worked in the 1990s is no longer effective. For it to be, a lot of money must be invested in media saturation strategies. That is why, the only usefulness it has today, is brand positioning or brand reminder. To attract customers, its use has become outdated, unproductive advertising. This means that it is a safe way to waste money without having an effective return. This makes it a form of obsolete advertising.
Nowadays and for quite some time now, traditional advertising is the worst form of marketing investment. All consumers are connected in some way to the internet. Most of them search for services in specific local areas through their mobile devices. So this is the kind of advertising strategies that DOES work. However, it must be in the hands of experts in the field. Professionals and / or companies with verifiable results, otherwise the investment will have few positive results.
What is necessary for the success of any business during and after the Coronavirus?
What does every independent business and entrepreneur need to achieve and maintain success in 2020? Taking into account that 61% of internet searches result in a purchase from a local establishment, the answer is very clear. They need to have an online presence.
That presence must be properly structured. It’s not just about running hundreds of ads about your offer. It is necessary to carry out a strategy that shows trustworthiness to potential consumers. This is the necessary minimum:
- Profile on some social networks – Almost all people are present on one of the social media platforms. Therefore, your business should be too, but with proper management.
- Website – Businesses without a website in 2020 are not reliable. This is your business card, so it must be well designed and useful to users.
- Online strategy to attract customers – Your social media profile or website is useless if no one finds you when they search online.
This information can help many entrepreneurs rethink their investments and avoid spending their money on obsolete advertising.