Who says offline marketing strategies cannot work and complement online marketing? Contrary to popular (and usually wrong) belief, traditional marketing can work for online brands, too. There are types of offline marketing that can support your online brand, and they are proven effective as well.

One of these strategies is networking. This is still valuable in the industry because it makes you connect to your clients face-to-face. You can represent your brand live and tell potential clients why you are working for the company.

Networking has several phases: the meet up phase, where you will slowly build rapport with your clients; the discussion phase, where you start explaining the brand and the company; the testimonial phase, where you show samples of testimonials from people who have benefitted from the company or the product; and the call-to-action phase, where you encourage the clients to buy or join the network.

Another effective strategy is to have a speaking engagement. Like networking, you represent your company and you have the chance to entice your market with the benefits of your product or service. In a speaking engagement, you have to be ready with your promotional tools. This is the perfect opportunity to show clients that you have proof of your companys credibility.

You may also use printed materials for the same purpose. There are lots of spaces in magazines, flyers, brochures, and newsletters. If you have a blog, you can widen your market reach if you talk about your blog in a magazine.

Another option is to market via direct mail. This may be more expensive than online marketing, but its nevertheless effective. You can generate leads, encourage call-to-action, and entice clients to purchase more products with direct mail. This way, you dont spam their inboxes and the mails become more personalized. Direct mail is still one of the most common offline marketing strategies today.

Should your clients dislike receiving snail mail, then you can try using cold calls. Contrary to its name, cold calls arent cold they give a personal touch to buyers who want to know more about your brand. Just be considerate regarding the time and day that you call your client. When you do make the call, you should be ready with your fast facts and your spiel.

You may also do print advertising. You can run print ads on newspapers and posters. These are engaging because they are seen everywhere. Just make sure you post them strategically.

Lastly, you can try trade shows and associations. Either way, youll meet prospective clients. For trade shows, at least, you can do a combination of speaking engagements, networking, and passing around flyers.

The best thing about trade shows is the ready audience, as the latter would expect a lot of marketing strategies in these events. You, on the other hand, should engage your target market to make them buy your product.

Technology plays an important role in the promotion of businesses in todays modern world. Both digital and print media providers have been investing in the latest innovations, in order to provide the best services to their clients.

However, these innovations may have the tendency to confuse and overwhelm new clients. To guide prospective clients, several factors must first be considered prior to hiring a printing company.

First, take note that a good commercial printer always invests in up-to-date printing equipment. This doesnt mean the acquisition of all the latest models of printers. However, its advisable to look for a provider who updates their equipment at least once every five years, and have these maintained regularly.

This is an important factor to consider not only because of the quality of printed materials, but also because older technologies often have slower production speeds. Slower production speeds tend to cost more money in the long run.

Another important factor that you have to consider is the stability of the printing company. This is usually associated with how long the company has been in the business of printing. A stable company has an established reputation, and is highly recommended by their current clients. Stability is likewise reflected in the professional way a company presents itself.

Company presence is another important factor. Printing companies with established branches in different locations are often preferred because of their accessibility. Having several locations also enables providers to produce printed material in a location which is nearest to their client.

This is more advantageous than having a single printing station, since different projects can be printed out in different locations. Thus, this results in a reduced production time, less costs and faster delivery.

The fourth factor is quality customer service. You will often deal with representatives of the printing company, so good customer service makes or breaks the deal.

Customer service representatives must always be ready to address your queries and concerns. They must be polite, accommodating, and knowledgeable about the projects and the general printing process. A good commercial printer must also teach their representatives to value customer privacy, especially when sensitive business data is involved.

Finally, you must consider the other services offered by commercial printing companies. Some commercial printers offer additional marketing services that are paired with their printing solutions. Taking advantage of these packages is more cost-effective than hiring two different marketing companies for the same purpose. As the saying goes, its better to kill two birds with one stone.

In hiring a printing company, you must take time to assess the printers strengths and weaknesses vis-à-vis your marketing goals. Hire only one when you are sure that the services offered best matches your companys needs. This can help you avoid traps that will only drill a hole in your pocket. After all, a good printing partner does not only help achieve your goals; it also offers the most cost-effective solutions.