The Real Difference Between Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing for Small Businesses

The last several years have seen many changes in marketing. There is a lot of talk about online and social media marketing, but these strategies have been around since the beginning, and it is just a change in format and focus.

Marketing is the only field of business that exists because we can’t avoid relationships in our everyday lives. It is an activity, process, or group of people dedicated to making an organisation successful by communicating the value of an organisation’s product or service to current and potential customers, clients, and partners.

Digital is the new word in the marketing world. It comes with great promise over traditional marketing techniques like cold calling. Over a few years, it’s gone from being a magic term to a set of tools, methods, and processes. Industry experts reveal it’s here to stay, and its impact will only increase.

Advertising and marketing activities, often carried out using online channels for promotional purposes, fall under the umbrella term of digital marketing. These activities include display advertising, video advertising, online advertising via social media, search engine marketing, online branding, and mobile advertising.

Digital media is a powerful tool that quickly changes how many businesses operate, from startups to the Fortune 500 and everything in between.

Historical Comparison of Traditional Marketing vs Digital Marketing.

Digital marketing is a relatively new approach to promoting products and services and has taken over traditional marketing channels. We use conventional marketing methods or traditional marketing channels in our daily lives, even without an electronic device or the internet.

An audience’s encounter with the brand message fundamentally differs between traditional marketing and digital marketing, so is digital marketing strategy different from conventional marketing strategy. While traditional marketing uses traditional media like billboards, magazines, television and newspapers to reach consumers, i.e. consumers, digital marketing uses digital media, such as social media or websites.

Here are some interesting stats about the rise of digital marketing and the shift in ad spend to digital (Source: Statista).

Spending on traditional media like television is decreasing in favour of digital ones. One thing is sure–U.S. CMOs will invest more and more in mobile marketing, apparent by constant growth in their budgets allocated to this medium.

A survey conducted among U.S. B2B marketers in January 2021 asked respondents about the changes in their spending plans on traditional and digital media. B2B product-focused marketers expected their spending on traditional advertising to decline by 0.61% in the following year compared to the past 12 months. They projected digital marketing spending to increase by 14.32%.

78% of global direct brand marketers believed digital marketing was essential to their overall marketing efforts, while 39% said the same about offline campaigns.

In line with this global trend, internet advertising revenue in Nigeria has shown significant improvement in the last few years and is projected to rise. By 2023, they forecast online advertising in Nigeria to generate 133 million U.S. dollars in revenue.

When Traditional Marketing Fails and Digital Marketing Works.

In today’s digital age, small businesses have many marketing options. Traditional marketing services such as direct mail campaigns, television commercials, and newspaper ads have been the go-to methods for reaching customers for decades.

These methods are still effective, but they have digital counterparts that should not be ignored. With the rise of technology, more and more people are using their mobile devices to browse the internet and social media platforms. This shift in consumer behaviour has given rise to digital marketing, offering small businesses a new world of opportunities.

Unlike traditional marketing, digital marketing allows businesses to target their audience with precision and reach a larger number of potential customers. With social media ads, small businesses can create targeted campaigns that reach specific demographics and interests, resulting in higher conversion rates.

Additionally, digital marketing offers more flexibility and cost-effectiveness compared to traditional methods. Small businesses can easily modify and optimize their digital campaigns based on real-time data and customer behavior metrics. This allows them to make informed decisions and maximize their return on investment. Furthermore, digital marketing allows small businesses to track and measure the success of their marketing efforts. They can obtain valuable insights about customer engagement and interaction with their online platforms.

Small businesses can refine and improve their marketing strategies with these valuable data points for better results. It’s important to note that traditional marketing still has its place in specific industries and situations. For example, trade shows and other events often require a physical presence, with booths and print pieces serving as collateral forms of marketing.

Working with a traditional marketing agency or design professional can ensure that the business presents itself in the best light. However, for most small businesses, the benefits and opportunities offered by digital marketing outweigh those of traditional marketing.

By leveraging the power of digital platforms and the ability to target specific audiences, small businesses can reach a wider audience and generate more leads. Whether through social media ads, search engine optimization, or email marketing, digital marketing has become essential to any successful small business marketing strategy.

Which is better, traditional marketing or digital marketing? This pandemic seems to provide some small businesses with an excellent opportunity to leverage digital marketing strategies over traditional ones.

Although there is a place for more traditional marketing methods like snail mail, digital marketing has become the more prominent type of marketing. Traditional marketing channels like radio ads, television, phone or print advertising may be better suited for older audiences or people living close to you.

Digital marketing or advertising, like content marketing, is a popular method that has recently helped small business owners reach their consumers. Many small businesses now using online marketing/digital marketing as a strategic marketing channel to reach consumers are seeing positive results.

The Advantages of Traditional Marketing in the 21st Century.

Over the past couple of decades, the world of advertising has changed dramatically. Just look at advertising on the internet, and you’ll see that it’s now hard to know which sites are genuine. Therefore, now is the time to learn the value of traditional methods such as newspaper and print advertisements for your future business prospects.

Your Audience Can Connect with You Locally.

Reaching local audiences through various methods of marketing is crucial to connecting with customers individually. Consumers today rely more than ever on relationships. Businesses with a genuine concern for the well-being of their customers will attract their business.

Your company becomes genuinely part of the community through traditional marketing campaign tactics like magazine advertisements, billboards, local TV or radio commercials, print ads, and other printed marketing collateral. In that sense, you feel less corporate and more organic while reaching your target audience.

Promotional Materials are Both Sustainable and Budget-friendly.

The challenge with digital marketing is the additional cost of providing new, relevant content to keep your audience interested. A lot of companies face this challenge and cost frequently. They will post a video on social media, create a new email, or send an article twice a week.

You can’t go wrong with traditional marketing methods regarding your return on investment over digital marketing campaigns. They are sometimes more sustainable and leave a lasting impression. You can use the same TV commercial, flyer, business card or brochure more than once. This way, the new material doesn’t have to be created as often to promote your service or product. This makes it appealing to marketing budgets.

Credibility is Established Through Traditional Marketing.

The psychological impact on company credibility when using traditional marketing strategies is more significant than online strategies. Although digital marketing makes a company more visible and accessible, it doesn’t seem reliable or professional.

People typically trust printed content and ads displayed in more prominent media because of the tremendous investment involved. Traditional methods of marketing have earned their reputation over time by being associated with established mediums and bigger budgets. You must have sufficient time and funding to run an advert in a magazine or TV or radio commercials. Therefore, the company is perceived as successful, growing, and stable.

Getting Your Message to a Broader Range of People.

Digital marketers often say you can target and track your audience using digital channels. Social media, email campaigns, and your website can give you data to refine your marketing message and promotions.

However, the demographics of your target market may not matter much if your brand represents a broader audience. Having a larger target audience can end up helping a small business grow. Hence, pursuing traditional marketing rather than inbound marketing to attract more customers is better.

Marketing Materials in Hardcopy Can Be Easier to Process.

Even though digital marketing images, graphics, and photos are often impressive, sometimes all the intricate designs coupled with animated features can be overwhelming. The design may distract viewers to where they ignore your message.

Marketing collateral printed on paper can easily be read and improve brand recall. Direct mail and postcards can be easier to read and process than email marketing. Compared to a white paper, a social website or an e-commerce website, a brochure may be easier to skim through. It may be easier to digest a 30-second commercial on TV than a three-minute YouTube video.

Conclusion

As with most business strategies, success often depends on when and how we implement our strategy and the desired outcomes of turning prospects into customers. I hope this article has answered your questions on this topic. If you have further questions on how to improve your digital marketing efforts, schedule a consultation. I can usually find time and fit you in within a day or two of receiving your request.

Is there any marketing-related topic you want us to address on this blog? Contact us to let us know. I will gladly entertain your request, provided that it is a topic that will benefit our target audience. You can also follow us on X (Twitter) @ademolaabimbola or @mauconline for more tips.

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