Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Marketing, just like most other business strategies, is progressively developing along with technology. As technology develops, new modes of mass communication evolve and subsequently improve marketing. As a result, businesses are increasingly leveraging digital marketing at the cost of past marketing methods like print marketing.
Although print marketing is viewed by some businesses as a thing of the past, a significant number of marketers are still using it to reach their target audience. Some of them have adopted it while others have continuously reported dreary results. Consequently, most business owners are left questioning the overall effectually of this marketing method compared to other strategies.
Just like any other marketing strategy, print marketing has its benefits and disadvantages. Its effectiveness principally depends on how you employ it, your target market and the overall marketing goals. For instance, a business can transcendentally employ print marketing to reach out to the local audience. However, when it comes to the global audience, it is advisable to explore digital marketing methods.
The Importance of Tangibility
The chief benefit of print marketing is tangibility. In digital marketing, the target audience only gets a soft copy of the marketing message on their digital devices. That means it can be easily and promptly ignored, since most digital device users only pay attention to other elements in their devices.
Print media on the other hand, is not as easily ignorable as digital media. Being tangible means that the writing is permanent. It cannot be obliterated or moved to the ‘trash’ folder. In fact, people always tend to pay more attention to hardcopy content compared to softcopy content.
Reaching the Elderly
Print marketing is also effective in expanding the target market. Although the internet is currently the single biggest platform for global convergence, not all types of people can be reached through it. The old age target market, for example, prefers sticking to the conventional mass communication methods like newspapers and magazines. To market to such a group therefore, one should leverage newspaper and magazine advertising as opposed to online marketing.
The Power of Personalization
The secret to marketing, as most marketing experts would advise, is personalization. A prospective customer can be easily converted by a personalized marketing message. Although personalization is possible in other marketing methods, it is incredibly expedient when using print marketing. Businesses can conveniently print and send personalized and attractive post cards and other printed media to their prospective customers. Although this may be relatively costly especially in big businesses, the ROI is considerably high.
The Disadvantage of Cost
Due to its numerous benefits, many businesses have considered relying on print media as their primary marketing strategy. Unfortunately, print marketing is arguably pricey compared to simpler digital marketing methods. Buying paper, ink, printing and distributing the printed material is noticeably costly especially in large businesses which are progressively expanding and increasing their scope on the target market.
Small businesses are also being affected by the cost of print marketing especially since they always have relatively diminutive marketing budgets. The most effectual way of compensating a business for the expense is ensuring that the actual marketing is thoughtfully planned and efficaciously implemented such that the ROI is considerably high.
