How many times have we heard “print is dead?” It’s been drilled into us for a long time. Newspaper revenues are down across the nation, and billboards don’t seem to hold the same appeal they once did. So in the digital age, is print marketing completely done?
Before you jump ahead to the conclusion, I’ll let you know. Our answer is, no. Print marketing isn’t dead. Print still has relevance in marketing your business. It can be a brand supporter, an educator, and as a closing tool. They can help your sales staff all along the process, and can help your business grow. So here are 3 print marketing pieces your business should have.
Brochures
While you’ve probably ignored them when you go to the doctor, brochures are a nice leave behind for sales people to carry with them. Instead of just a business card when they’re canvasing, having a brochure that they can leave with it that tells a prospect a little about your company can set you apart from your competition.
The difference between them visiting your website and having a brochure, is the tactile. It’s like the difference between reading a book and using an e-reader, some folks will just like one over the other. The same brochure can be used in a digital download for your online lead generation as well, this will give you two ways to use the same content.
Sell Sheets
Now, as a sales person when you’ve gotten to the initial meeting, having some thing that showcases all of your product offerings can help you cross-sell. Without that handout you might not have the chance to cover all of these things. It also gives the prospect the ability to read over what you talked about in the meeting.
Just like a brochure, you can use these sell sheets on your website for downloadable content for extra lead generation.
Comparison Sheets
Finally, you’ve gotten to the proposal presentation. You know that they’re probably getting more proposals from potential competitors. If you want to distance yourself from them, a product, service, or company comparison sheet could sway their mind as they review proposals. (Which, ironically, are also printed)
Comparison sheets are those closing items, the tools that could mean the difference between a yes and a no. If you’re not using them, it’s possible that your competitors are, and your weaknesses could be embellished by them.
Conclusion
Print marketing isn’t dead. Are newspaper ads as effective as they once were? Probably not. But, that doesn’t mean that physical marketing sheets don’t have a place in a digital world.
In fact, a way to bring them online is to use things like unique URLs or landing pages that only print people would see. You can offer specials, or just give unique information that normal visitors may not. If you’re using a tracking software, you can identify who visited from those print pieces and what pages they visited. Even if you don’t, analytics will tell you which people entered from a specific URL, and you can gather some data from that as well. This will help you get a better understanding of your marketing attribution into the future.