For the inventive entrepreneur, the digital approach to business has been a complete triumph that has allowed new worlds to open up, and has meant that even on the leanest of budgets it is possible to have a quality business launch. Going forward, the importance of this way of doing business is certain to be where the most attention is focused. For now, though, there is something to be said for keeping a mixed approach.
A success-conscious business owner will recognize that while it is beneficial to be across the major trends in business, there is certainly a balance to be achieved between embracing the future on one hand, and getting the most from a tried and tested approach on the other. Any entrepreneur serious about success will take what they can from each possible approach and meld them into their own recipe - and there is plenty we can take from a more analog approach to doing business.
Offline publicity is still worth a lot
Of course SEO is an effective way of marketing a business - indeed, if you’re skilled at SEO, it’s a potentially very lucrative business all by itself. You won’t get very far in business in the present day without digital marketing. However, a more analog approach won’t hurt when it comes to attracting a broad range of customer interest. A vinyl printer can be a very worthwhile investment for printing off eye-catching banners, because people who have become impervious to online marketing can still be attracted by messages in their eyeline when they’re out in the “real world”. Mailouts, trade fairs and sports sponsorships can also pay off in a big way.
Others may abandon the offline spaces; you shouldn’t
Every time there is a change in the way business is done, there is a rush to be first, and a stampede to remain relevant by embracing the change. And that’s good and right, change should be embraced. The problem is that some businesses will always go further than they really should, committing all or nearly all of their budget to the new way. The inevitable outcome is that they leave a clearer field for those of us who still see some value in the analog spaces. Not only will you have a more complete marketing strategy, you’ll also have a less contested shot at attracting business on multiple fronts.
The old saying isn’t “take strings off your bow”
The fact is that it’s not a question of digital or analog marketing: you don’t have to choose. Remember a few years ago when publishers suddenly decided the time was ripe to “pivot to video”, they waved off their written content providers, and then fell flat when the Great Pivot turned out to be an overreaction? The fact that those publishers had missed was a simple one - you won’t boost your business by narrowing its skillset. Be ready to diversify and add strings to your bow, and you’ll see better results - but keeping hold of what’s been proven to work is a big part of that.