Marketing Tactics That Need To Be Left In The Past

With digital technology such as websites and social media available, the competition is getting more intense with each passing year for businesses. Old fashioned ways of doing marketing just don’t work anymore, at least not in a substantial way. Nowadays, it’s all about reaching the maximum number of customers who are looking at a specific product. The following are some marketing tactics that have fallen to the wayside.

General Marketing Tactics

In the “good old days” of marketing, casting the net far and wide was done with the hope that the people interested in what you are selling would find out. This type of marketing method is disappearing fast. In fact, according to industry watchers, nearly 40% of advertising is wasted on people who are not interested in the product. The main reason for this is the Internet in general, and social media as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) in particular. Now it is possible to market to a niche audience. Therefore, the old practice of “winging it” just doesn’t work anymore.

Cutting the Chord

For medium to large businesses, television advertising was a big deal. Whether it was in the form of commercials or infomercials, the fact is, the number of people making buying decisions based on them, is minimal at best. People below certain age groups, especially below age 30, barely watch traditional TV and have cut the cable and switched to streaming services. In short, TV ads are being replaced by remarketing ads.

Stop Surfing the Airwaves

Close on the heels of TV ads, radio ads are also becoming obsolete. The number of people listening to radios may not have decreased as much, but in the world of niche marketing, radios are too wide and diverse. On top of this, most people just switch stations and listen to something else, whenever commercials start. Not only that, advertising on radio stations will not give you measurable results, which in turn means, you have no way of knowing if the marketing campaign is working.

Flyers and Billboards

Other than newspapers and magazines, using billboards and flyers are also old marketing tools. However, just like radio advertising, there is no way to measure return on investment by using these two methods. Billboards cost a lot of money but at the same time, no one who is driving a vehicle will be able to take down relevant information to contact you. Billboards are only good to create some awareness, not immediate sales. Flyers are a little bit better at getting people to visit your site, but the cost of creating and printing flyers is usually not worth it.

Move Forward

Other outdated marketing tools include snail mail, and even outdated websites. Marketing, even for smaller businesses, requires knowledge and a lot of work. Therefore, resist the temptation to do things on your own. Contact us today to get moving in the right direction.

Lynne Motkoski, Digital Marketing Strategist

Specialty: Digital Marketing Strategies
Education: MA Communications & Technology, BComm [U Alberta]

---

Lynne is known for her strategic approach to marketing communications, technologies, and lead generation. She has a passion for education, keeping up with current marketing trends and practices, and helping clients keep ahead of their competition.