Online Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing

Sales and Marketing Strategy – Why would one pick one type over the other?

Marketing products and services is not new.  With the advent of technology and the social media platforms, the way marketing is being done is rapidly changing.   However, the overall goal is still  to get  word out to people in hopes that they will become a customer.  So if you are doing things correctly, the end result should still be the same, shouldn’t it?

One to Many Sales and Marketing Strategy

When I  younger, marketing was done in a "one to many" manner .  Companies got out their messages out to the consumers – whether it be by TV ads, billboards, magazines, etc.  The consumers could only listen in return – then make the decision as to whether to buy or not.   The consumer really had no choice but to accept the word of the advertiser – they had no way of talking back or asking questions.  Every once in awhile negative word got out (take the Edsel for example).    So often we listened to women who were dressed like June Cleaver who wore  little white aprons and pearls, perfectly styled hair and fresh makeup, tell us about her unspotted the dishes or silverware or how heavenly her home smelled after certain deodorizers were sprayed around the room.  How I would laugh when I saw how perfect and fake the women in ads looked – as a mother of four  – the oldest and youngest being  less than seven years apart, I NEVER cleaned a house in high heels or had every hair in place when my husband walked in the door after work.  But I think that most of you, especially those of you who are older, know exactly the type of ads I am talking about.   That type of advertising  worked for years.

Unfortunately, even now there are people that still seem to believe that is still the way sales and marketing should be done.  Even though they are using the social media platforms, they are still using the old traditional ways of marketing.  Instead of developing relationships online first, they go on to to Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to push their products and immediately start pushing their products. 

Think of it like this.  Suppose you are at a cocktail party or a backyard barbeque, enjoying yourself and someone you’ve never even met before comes up and immediately starts shoving his product or service down your throat.  Wouldn’t you want to just turn and walk away? 

Well that is what is often happening online.  Many people on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are not getting involved in a two way conversation like they should be.   And that type of marketing turns many people off.  Nowadays we are supposed to be sharing knowledge – not jamming messages down someone’s throat.

Many to Many Sales and Marketing Strategy

Technology has changed the way things are being done and the younger generations, especially, are using the internet to find out about products and services.  Social Media sites are now where you will often find the buyers and sellers.  And these sites are extremely important.  To use Facebook for an example – Facebook has enough members that if it were a country it would have the third largest population in the world.  On that site, as on others, people are sharing their information about products and services. 

The consumer is finally being heard and has no problem sharing both good and bad experiences about a product and service.  If you and your company have been around awhile, your name is out there and people are talking about you and/or your products and services whether you like it or not.  TV and print ads are being ignored – Statistics now show that 76% of people trust their peers" recommendations on the internet more than they trust companies.   The young people don’t do things the way we older people did – I don’t believe many Gen Yers even know what the "Yellow Pages" are, and the mute button on the TV remote is very easy for any age to push

The great thing now though is that small companies can now compete with large companies to get business.  The days of having to have a huge marketing budget are gone.  What is important is how good your product is and how well you treat your customers.  Word spreads very quickly over the internet – especially if someone has had a bad experience.

Isn’t  it time you joined 21st century in your sales and marketing?.

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