What is the best way to do offline marketing?

[borwick]

No - they don't in my opinion. We get flyers and fax broadcasts regularly - and I can't say that I have ever acted on one of them.
If someone were to target my business in a very personal way - straight into my letterbox (good old snail mail) - then they would have a better chance of getting my attention (if they were offering a service to me)
And they had better have a strong call to action - no wishwashy stuff. You need to give people a time limit in which to respond, with a special offer.
Or they will forget to act.

 

[sparksman]

Try craigslist (or Gumtree in the UK) ?

 

[kissermoney]

There are four formula to do offline marketing successfully. At very first is place. Research the need of the market around your place. You don't need to sell the best hamburger in the world, if there are no any hamburger restaurant in the town. The second is affordable price and the third one is the best way to promote. I have a very successful 'fish n chips' shop in my town.

 

[surferdude]

I want to add some tips for offline, but really this thread sums it up pretty quickly, plenty of various ways to go about it from emailing to cold calling, to referral partners etc

 

[mistodin]

I don't think you'll get anything good to help you out with your, whatever it is. This is question is way to complicated.

 

[HannahMontana]

I know that C.r.a.i.g.s is a website, but because most people will ONLY deal locally on there, I find it is the perfect online/offline hybid.
It's great for selling ANYTHING, service or product, that you have.
I do tons of "offline" marketing on CL all of the time.

 

[Dariaen]

Hey...
here are some tips for offline marketing....
1.Business cards – Most of the business cards around list the company’s website address, you can even do the same by listing your blog. This will help your blog stand out and even assist you in starting conversations with future and current clients.
2.Letterheads and stationery – Create a letterhead to use for all your offline communication. Mention your blog or website address on your letterhead or any form of company correspondence for that matter. Other useful products you can brand is company cd’s or DVD’s.Also consider giving your current customers a cool Christmas gift with your logo and services on. It will catch the eye and possibly a new customer…
3.Stickers – Stickers can be very useful especially if you have a website or blog about young and happening services and or products. Something like a skateboard website or an online shop. Stickers or as they are called: Vinyl’s on the side of your car can also be a very effective form of communication!
4.Presentations and talks – By putting your website or blog’s address on every piece of paper people will remember your address and most surely go and have a look when they have nothing else to do. To drive this home even further you can post electronic version of your presentations on that website, advertise that you will be posting it there. That will make visitors return and become usual clients that check out your website for new info on regular occasions
These all tips play good rule in offline marketing....

 

[HannahMontana]

Hey...
here are some tips for offline marketing....
1.Business cards – Most of the business cards around list the company’s website address, you can even do the same by listing your blog. This will help your blog stand out and even assist you in starting conversations with future and current clients.
2.Letterheads and stationery – Create a letterhead to use for all your offline communication. Mention your blog or website address on your letterhead or any form of company correspondence for that matter. Other useful products you can brand is company cd’s or DVD’s.Also consider giving your current customers a cool Christmas gift with your logo and services on. It will catch the eye and possibly a new customer…
3.Stickers – Stickers can be very useful especially if you have a website or blog about young and happening services and or products. Something like a skateboard website or an online shop. Stickers or as they are called: Vinyl’s on the side of your car can also be a very effective form of communication!
4.Presentations and talks – By putting your website or blog’s address on every piece of paper people will remember your address and most surely go and have a look when they have nothing else to do. To drive this home even further you can post electronic version of your presentations on that website, advertise that you will be posting it there. That will make visitors return and become usual clients that check out your website for new info on regular occasions
These all tips play good rule in offline marketing....

Gorilla Marketing - Official Site of Guerrilla Marketing

 

[jeanlors]

Hey guys great ideas, I just started my Local Consulting Business as well too, one issue i came across is phone directory leads , those can be very good leads, but having hard time to pass the gatekeeper/secretary, since i don't have the name to the decision maker, what are some good ideas how to bypass that.

 

[3ammary]

Start with friends or people that you know who have a business.

 

[thefrenchmarketer]

but having hard time to pass the gatekeeper/secretary, since i don't have the name to the decision maker, what are some good ideas how to bypass that.

Hi,
Here is a small part of a ebook that I have on offline marketing. This part is about Getting Past the Gatekeeper. So, if it can help

Getting Past the Gatekeeper
The Gatekeeper is the receptionist or secretary who is paid to field your potential client’s calls. So how can you get past the gatekeeper and leave a great impression?
Paul doesn’t use any fancy tricks. He simply tells them the truth, and uses a version of his 6-second elevator pitch. Sometimes he’ll add, “I believe Mr. Jones
will be interested in what I can do for his business.†Regardless of the results of that initial phone call, if the gatekeeper is kind and professional, he will call back and leave
message on company voice mail stating how terrific the gatekeeper is. Not only that, but he’ll follow it up with a postcard sent to the gatekeeper with a short
note, “I called the other day. You were so polite and kind on the phone, I just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you. – Paul Grimard, [Company Name]â€
Now, you’ve left a great impression with the gatekeeper and he/she will be sure to show that note to his/her boss, and you will also have started to build positive rapport with their
boss. Now, you’ve left a positive impression on both the gatekeeper and the decision maker. Make every touch with that company count in a positive way. Consider all your touches
with prospective clients – some of those touches will definitely count with the gatekeeper.

Also, remember the law of reciprocity. The law of reciprocity states that when you do something for someone else (or give them something), they feel a sense of indebtedness
and they then want to reciprocate in an effort to relieve that sense of obligation. When you take the time and effort to go the extra mile for your clients then they will feel an
increased sense of indebtedness and loyalty.

 

[BH-NoHomo]

the best way to do offline marketing is online marketing. HELP offline businesses establish their net presence.

 

[socialdiva]

I like showing them what their website will look like. I use Craigslist for that. Create industry specific template for blogs and show them a screenshot of it and say it's for sale.

 

[samran_expert]

Put Banner on the Local four wheelers and also advertise in local news paper

 

[InternetMogul]

List your company and all local service listing. There a many sites out there.

 

[mimimi]

Pay some (trustworthy) kids from your neighborhood to deliver some simple fliers. You would be amazed at the response rate, of course that greatly varies on the type of product or service your offering.

 

[2BIG]

If you have a library card, most libraries can give you access to something called ResearchUSA, which is a free version of InfoUSA. You don't get access to email addresses, and you can only download/print 25 records at a time (it can be automated with some clever scripting...), but its probably the simplest & cheapest source of b2b leads. You can also use something like yellabot to scrape the yellowpages. That's like a C-note or something. Not bad.

 

[abdelkarim]

Start with friends or people that you know who have a business. Or be introduced by a friend who knows business owner.

 

[greyninja]

Agreed, this thread has some great info to help you get started. You really need to accertain your strengths, cold calling might work for you, dropping by in person, maybe its direct mail, or going to a business meeting at your local business center.

However if youre just starting out, there is no better way then talking to your friends and family, tell them youre starting a new business helping small businesses get online or what ever your business strategy is, either do 1 or 2 jobs for free to get some great testimonials, getting both written and video, and put them on your website. If you get paid, even better.

You also need to use an easy to sell front end offer, with little to no risk to the prospect to get your foot in the door, then develop a bunch of back end offers, utilizing email to constantly stay in their minds. And always ask for referrals. Once you get up to 5+ clients, referrals will start to be your main source of leads.

Good luck in your endeavors.

GN

 

[juliapattrick]

Try to promote with your friends and give advertisement about your product in newspaper or magazine.