Internet Marketing Vs. Traditional Marketing

Today, all businesses are faced with mountains of choice when it comes to marketing their business. Here, we are going to weigh up the pros and cons for both Internet Marketing and Traditional Marketing.

Internet Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

Today, all businesses are faced with mountains of choice when it comes to marketing their business.

Should we go viral? Should we keep it simple? Maybe we’ll just wing it? – If anything… NEVER do that.

Although it does create much confusion for businesses as the last thing they need or want is to invest time, money and effort into a failed idea.

We certainly wouldn’t knock any option, a lot of the time it depends on your brand and target audience to really determine what will work best for you. Here, we are going to weigh up the pros and cons for both Internet Marketing and Traditional Marketing.

Hopefully we can assist you in better making these all important decisions.

Traditional Marketing

When we talk about “traditional marketing” what we refer to specifically are direct sales, through media such as radio, mail & print advertising. Pros of Traditional Marketing:

• It might be the only way to reach your particular target market; for example, older, retired workers who are likely to never be prominent online.
• Person-to-person selling, which does fall under this category, is considered one of the most effective ways to market a product or service. Particularly when the time and place are right.
• A great thing too, is the tangibility of traditional marketing. In many cases there is often an opportunity to obtain a hard copy of advertising which consumers very much enjoy as it is something they can look at, at their leisure.

Cons of Traditional Marketing:

• All in all, it is an expensive form of advertising; from TV adverts to brochures, it’s all costly. Regardless of the benefit it creates, particularly for small businesses, the financial burden will likely be greater.
• It is much harder to track results this way and achieve real quantitative answers.
• It is likely that you will have to get outside help in order to produce the materials for your traditional marketing. This also can add to costs.
• It can appear quite forceful to consumers as they don’t usually ask for it, but yet it is still pushed in their faces.

Internet Marketing

Now with a look at the viral side of marketing and how the internet has helped many business achieve sales and status. The combination of website creation, social media, email, banner ads etc. are the strategies many businesses use when targeting online audiences.

Pros of Internet Marketing

• Results are much more measurable, and due to real data and quantitative results, decision making is improved.
• Through social media, businesses can directly communicate with consumer groups and individuals. It is like the online version of word-of-mouth.
• It is not nearly as expensive as traditional marketing.
• Whether you are new or established, big or small, internet marketing can work for you.
• Through the internet you are given a much better opportunity to build relationships with customers.
• You can instantly send out messages and it reaches many in a short space of time.

Cons of Internet Marketing

• The real success does depend on customers being highly interactive on the internet.
• It can potentially be very time consuming; content needs to be created, edited, approved and published; comments responded to and regular maintenance implemented.
• Due to the number of forums, blogs, social media sites etc. that you are involved in could lead to potential inconsistency. Just be careful!

But what is best?

Way before internet, there was no question; traditional marketing was the one and only option. But since the internet craze began, consumers very much expect all businesses to have an online presence.

The key though… is balance! Both methods are important. The affordability and effectiveness of internet marketing has led experts to believe that 80% of your marketing should be invested in online whilst the other 20% takes up traditional marketing methods.

It’s all about the ratio! 

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Source: This Article was originally published at Parachute