In the battle of limited marketing resources in this down economy, some small business owners are making a tough choice between traditional forms of marketing (like yellow pages and Direct Mail) and Internet Marketing. Throughout my website, I provide plenty of data from industry research that clearly shows that the cost per customer acquisition is much less with Internet Marketing than it is for more traditional forms of advertising. While this will likely hold true for your Denver small business, you should investigate every possible marketing opportunity that can provide you with a decent return on your advertising dollars.
Direct Mail Stopped - So Did Revenue
The Wall Street Journal had a very interesting article in yesterday's edition - "Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing". The story by journalist Teri Evans describes how some small business owners have ditched direct mail marketing efforts in favor of seemingly cheaper Internet Marketing.
Unfortunately, many of these small business owners have been burned. Their longtime clients are used to receiving the direct mail pieces. An expectation had been set by these small businesses, and when the direct mail stopped, the result was a drop in revenue from clients. A major facet of marketing in general is providing a consistent message within a consistent timeframe.
The moral of the story is to keep doing something if it is working.
Q: So, Should I Keep Doing Direct Mail?
A: If it has worked in the past - keep doing it. Even if your business hasn't tried direct mail in the past, it is worth investigating to see if you can get a nice return on your small business marketing dollars. Internet marketing is a wise decision for most businesses, but should be done in addition to - and not instead of - marketing activities that are proving to be cost effective.
Return on Investment is Key
Don't get caught up in cost. Internet Marketing is almost always going to be cheaper to reach the same amount of prospects - but that may not matter. In most cases, It isn't about the cost of your marketing efforts, it is about what you get back. Regardless of how you measure it - return on investment (ROI) or the more direct return on ad spend (ROAS) you need to make sure that any marketing effort that your Denver Small business partakes in gets a decent return.
You must measure your marketing costs as well as track how new clients are attained, and what offers are getting responses. Most Denver small businesses aren't interested in branding their business for name recognition purposes. They advertise to get clients for their small business. They need to be able to measure the results of those efforts.
Internet Marketing Complements Traditional Marketing
An overlooked part of the Internet Marketing vs. Traditional Marketing Methods battle is that they can actually help each other out. Internet Marketing provides incredible - often real time - feedback. You can figure out which Internet ads and which Internet landing pages work best for your Denver Small Business. From there, you can take this ad and website copy and apply it to your offline marketing activities (like the phone book and direct mail).
Denver Small Business Direct Mail Marketing
To have an effective offline marketing campaign, it helps to have a good list of prospects that you can focus your marketing efforts towards. One list that I recommend most Denver small businesses explore is the Colorado Secretary of State. I talked about the Colorado Secretary of State Weekly Reporting Service in a previous post. It can be a valuable resource to find out information about new Colorado businesses.
How Does this Help Me Market My Denver Small Business?
Denver small business owners need to realize that the strategy isn't to drop all of their traditional marketing efforts and start fresh with Internet Marketing. If you continue to get a good return with traditional marketing methods like the phone book and direct mail, keep pursuing those marketing efforts. Take the knowledge you've acquired through those campaigns and apply it towards new Internet Marketing efforts. You'll likely find - as most small businesses do - that Internet Marketing is the most cost effective way to get new clients as well as market to existing clients. But don't abandon anything that works in favor of something else merely because it is cheaper.