What is offline marketing and which channels still work?

What is offline marketing?

Offline marketing is any form of marketing that doesn't run through the internet. A flyer, a board at the sports club, an ad in the local paper or the lettering on your van. A happy customer who recommends you to the neighbours is offline marketing too.

The opposite is online marketing, through your website, Google, social media and email. The two don't exclude each other. How to make them work together is covered in combining online and offline marketing. This article goes deeper into the offline side.

Does offline marketing still work?

Yes, if you use it with a clear aim. Offline has a few strengths that are hard to copy online.

• You stand out. A card on the doormat doesn't have to compete with an endless feed.
• You are visible locally. The neighbourhood sees your van, your shopfront and your board by the pitch every day.
• You build trust. A personal conversation at a trade fair or an open day does something an ad cannot.
• You reach people who are rarely online. Not every customer is on social media.

There are downsides too. You see less precisely what it delivers. You also reach people who will never become customers. And a mistake in print stays there. That is why offline works particularly well when you link it to a clear next step online.

Offline marketing channels and examples

These are offline channels that can work well for small businesses, with an example for each.

Print and leaflets

Flyers, leaflets, brochures and business cards. For example a painter who, after a job, drops a card through the neighbours' doors with a photo of the result and a QR code to their website.

Direct mail

A card or letter with a name and address, to existing or new customers. For example a garage that sends customers a card when their MOT is due. Personal and eye-catching, because less post lands on the doormat than it used to.

Outdoor advertising and lettering

Signs, posters, bus shelter ads, banners and lettering on your van or shopfront. For example a builder with a site board at every project. Everyone passing by sees for weeks where you are working.

Local media and trade magazines

An ad or an article in the local paper, a free community paper or a trade magazine in your industry. For example a new practice that invites the paper to its opening. An article written by the editors often feels more credible than an ad.

Radio and television

Regional radio and TV reach many people at once. That suits businesses with a broad audience in a clear area, such as a car dealer or a furniture shop. For most small service businesses it is not targeted enough.

Trade fairs, events and open days

Meeting people, showing your product and letting them try it. For example a kitchen showroom with a cooking demonstration on a Saturday. Or an IT company with a stand at a regional business fair.

Networking and word of mouth

A business association, a networking club or simply happy customers who recommend you. You can encourage word of mouth. Ask happy customers whether they would recommend you and make it easy for them, for example with a card they can pass on.

Sponsorship

Your name on the shirts of the local football club, a board by the pitch or support for a street party. It mainly earns you goodwill and awareness close to home. Ask for a mention with a link on the club's website too. That helps your local SEO.

Telephone sales

Calling potential customers yourself. That can work with businesses, for example to follow up with people you met at a fair. Strict rules apply to consumers, as you will read below.

Your premises and your packaging

Your shop window, your shopfront, your receipt and your packaging are marketing too. A striking shopfront or a box people like to keep works for you every day.

An offline marketing strategy in four steps

1. Start with your goal and your customer. What do you want to achieve and where does your customer actually go in real life? A plumber gains more from the neighbourhood than from a national trade fair.
2. Choose one or two channels. Better one channel done well and often than five one-off activities. Repetition makes people remember you.
3. Give every activity a step online. A short web address, a QR code or a promo code. Point it to a page that matches the activity, not to your home page.
4. Measure and repeat what works. Agree beforehand how you will measure, and look afterwards at what it delivered. Did it work? Do it again, in the same place.

Rules to keep in mind

Offline marketing comes with a few rules that are worth knowing beforehand. These are the Dutch ones, as we are based in the Netherlands. Check the rules in your own country.

• Leaflets through the letterbox. Respect "no junk mail" stickers. In a growing number of Dutch municipalities, unaddressed advertising may only go through letterboxes with a sticker that says "yes". Check what applies where you are.
• Mail with a name and address. You are using personal data, so the GDPR applies. Only use addresses when you have a sound legal basis and give people a way to opt out.
• Phone calls. In the Netherlands, calling consumers to sell something is only allowed with their consent, even when they are already customers. Calling companies with legal personality is allowed. Business.gov.nl sets out the Dutch rules for telesales (opens in a new tab).
• Signs and banners. Advertising in public spaces often needs a permit from the local council.
• People in your materials. Showing customers or staff in your print? Ask for their permission first.

Making offline marketing measurable

Offline is harder to measure, but not impossible. Give each activity its own QR code or web address with a UTM code. Use a promo code that only appears on that piece of print. Ask new customers how they found you. And check in Google Search Console whether searches for your business name rise after a campaign. You will find more examples in the article on combining online and offline marketing.

How we approach it

We first look at where your customers come across you, online and offline. Then we choose together the channels that suit your goal and your budget. We make sure every offline activity has a measurable step online, with its own page, a QR code with UTM tags and an overview of what it delivered. Fail fast, improve fast. Read more about our Online advertising service.