Tips For Marketing Your Business Offline, On the Streets
It’s no secret that new businesses should be marketing their goods and services online. While it was always a popular, useful option, today, it’s essential. We’re not saying that companies that don’t invest in their digital marketing don’t exist, but we’re not a million miles away from that being the case. However, that’s not to say that all your marketing efforts should be digital. Though it’s easily forgotten, the outside, real-world does still exist — and there are a lot of people there. We tend to think that everyone’s inside, conducting all their business online, but that’s not the case.
So if you’re looking to freshen up your marketing a little, why not look at taking things to the streets? This will provide an opportunity to get your company in front of fresh faces, and also, it can just be kind of fun. In this blg, we’re going to run through some useful tips that’ll put your project for marketing your business offline, on the streets, on the right path towards success.
Create a Solid Plan
To begin, think about what you’re trying to achieve with the marketing campaign. This is something you should think about for all campaigns, including when you’re taking things to the street. What is it that you hope to achieve with the marketing campaign? It could be that you want to expose the public to a new product or to get email addresses for your marketing lists. It doesn’t really matter what you’re hoping to achieve — but it is important that you have something to measure. You can think that you’ve done things well, but it’ll be more effective if you’re able to quantify your success.
The Right Location
Just as with digital marketing, you’ll need to market your business in the right location. Unlike digital marketing, this might take a little bit of time to figure out. It’s a big world out there, after all! A good starting point is to ask yourself who you’re hoping to reach with your marketing. This is otherwise known as your target demographic. It is unlikely, after all, that you’re trying to reach everyone; you’ll have your ideal buyer persona. Once you have that information, think about where in your area those people generally spend time. If you were hoping to reach the 18 – 25 year old market, for example, then you could look at setting up near a college campus. Your local knowledge will probably tell you where you should be.
Getting the Look
No one’s going to come up to you if you just look like regular pedestrians. You should try to make yourself look as professional and organized as possible. There are a few things that’ll help you to do this. For instance, you’ll want to look at commercial tents. They can provide a place for you to set up your stall, products, and so forth. Indeed, it’s a highly effective way to attract people’s attention. As well as a tent, think about the uniform that you’re wearing. A branded top would be ideal, but at the bare minimum, a cohesive look among all team members and ID badges will be required.
The Team Members
The enthusiasm of the staff leading the street marketing will be key. If they’re energetic, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable, then they’ll be much more likely to be successful than they would be if they were the opposite. When you’re first thinking about your street, think about which staff members will be best suited to the role. You’ll probably have a few extroverted staff members at your business. If your team isn’t qualified to hit the streets — or they don’t want to — then you can consider outsourcing the task to another company.
What Are You Offering The Public?
You’ll hope that the public will engage with what you have to offer. However, it’s important to remember that you have to be respectful of the public’s time. You can’t expect to just turn up and get the interest of passersby. In order to have a successful campaign, you should offer them something in exchange for their time. There’s no shortage of things that this could be, though it’ll largely depend on your type of business. For example, it could be a sample of your product. If that’s not possible, then it’s important to offer something else as a freebie. There are plenty of branded swag options that you can get made and hand out. If in doubt, go for something delicious — who doesn’t love getting a tasty snack or drink when they were least expecting it?
Check the Laws
You’ll want to check that you’re legally allowed to host your street marketing project. There’ll be some areas where you’re not permitted to interact with the public, so check beforehand. There’d be nothing worse than having your big day ruined by a visit from the police!
Fun Energy
Finally, be sure to make things fun. It’ll be impossible to have a fruitful street marketing campaign if there’s sad energy around what you’re doing. After all, would you go up to a company on the street if it didn’t look welcoming? We don’t think so. Given that you’ll only be doing this type of marketing every now and again, it’ll be best to just throw yourself into the project and make it as fun as can be. This won’t just increase the chances of the campaign going well, but it’ll just make the whole thing more fun, and isn’t that what we all want?
Conclusion
And there we have it! As we’ve seen, there’s plenty of scope when it comes to grabbing a team and hitting the streets for some real-world marketing. While this approach might not become your go-to option or something that you do all that regularly, it’s worthwhile considering doing from time to time. For example, when you’re launching a new product or you’re trying to drum up some interest in your business. Follow the tips that we’ve outlined above, and you’ll be well on your way towards having a successful campaign.
