There have been plenty of marketing strategies developed over the years. Some old strategies are still effective to this day. Others haven’t aged so well – and yet companies continue to use them. Here are a few particularly outdated marketing methods that you should avoid.
Phonebook advertising
Many companies still pay good money to have a pride of place ad in a telephone directory. However, the truth is that few people still use these telephone directories when searching for businesses to use. Instead, most people now use the internet. Having a website for your company that ranks highly on search engines is likely to be far more effective at attracting extra clients. You can create a company website cheaply and simply using code-free website builders such as WordPress. It could then be worth paying an SEO company to help improve your rankings.
Keyword spamming
Company websites and SEO have also come a long way. It used to be possible to rank highly on Google simply by spamming your website with keywords. However, this now has the opposite effect as is likely to negatively affect your rankings. Your far better off to grow your organic traffic with E-web Marketing or another company that can provide SEO. You can also use other DIY marketing methods of growing your web presence such as creating social media pages and embracing online reviews.
Physical mass mailing
Sending out lots of physical letters to people may have once been an effective marketing strategy, but now email has made it dramatically simpler and dramatically cheaper. With emails, you don’t have to pay for envelopes and paper and ink and stamps. Emailing is also more instant and can allow you get more instant replies. Whilst you can pay to use mass-mailing software such as MailChimp, this is still far cheaper and more effective than letters.
Billboard advertising
Billboard advertising is expensive and generally not very effective. The only drivers that are likely not notice them are those stuck in traffic and nowadays most drivers in traffic jams immediately turn to their phones to kill the boredom. Strategically placed posters and flyers are far cheaper and likely to get noticed. Then, of course, there are online ads, which are also more affordable and more likely to make an impact.
False scarcity
False scarcity involves lying about the shortage of a product to panic-buy customers into buying things. It could involve claiming that a deal is only on today when it’s actually a permanent deal, or that there are only a few products left in stock when actually there are many left. Not only is this an unethical marketing tactic, many people can see straight through it. Try to use other incentives to persuade people into buying your products that aren’t likely to deter people.
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Beatrice McGraw
Aarif Habeeb
Regina Deemer
Kristel Kinne
