The blending of online and offline promotions

...optimally a balance should be sought between the two promotional methods in order to achieve a synergistic benefit from the promotional efforts.

In general business discussions sometimes one walks away with the distinct impression that a true choice must be made between online and offline company promotion. The argument seems to suggest that only one or the other promotional method can be successfully implemented as part of a promotion of a company. But does that choice have to be made?

The reality of the situation is that optimally a balance should be sought between the two promotional methods in order to achieve a synergistic benefit from the promotional efforts. This especially holds true when a limited budget is being forced to yield greater exposure and henceforth better opportunities for exposure and or a sale to be made. For purposes of this discussion, the term online promotion is used to describe the efforts of banner advertisements, email newsletters, opt-in email announcements, and online press releases. Offline advertising is used to describe what are considered traditional advertising and promotion efforts.

Sometimes at least on the surface, granted it does appear that online promotion should prevail as the promotional tool of choice over offline efforts. Many times this decision is solely made upon the fact that it appears so much more economical to spread the word online as opposed to offline methods.

With a proper amount of due diligence, research will support the fact that it often times is much more expensive to ascertain new clients through online efforts. This is especially true when a company chooses to do general audience online promotion as opposed to more focused and specific target audience groups. The difference is going to become noticeable when the expected returns of click-throughs is tremendously lower for the general audience than a specific target market. The result is that a company conceivably has paid a higher cost per client retention because of the unqualified nature of the general audience that was viewing the online promotions.

So what is the true balance trying to be achieved? The answer to the question depends entirely on what objectives or goals are trying to be obtained by a company. If the company is new and is in dire need of gaining exposure in the communities that it is trying to serve, then clearly while online promotion efforts are being executed, it would be beneficial as an example for the company to purchase long-term exposure (repetition) through classified ads in a local business paper for minimal dollar. This would provide weekly or daily print exposure with an opportunity to have the company URL prominently displayed in the smallest of classified ads and in an offline medium to double the chance of exposure in both online and offline efforts. While this is a simple example and limited in scope, the point is being made that synergy is what is trying to be attained through combining online and offline promotion efforts.

Much can also be said about the virtues of using direct-mail to target potential markets and drive visitors to the company Website where the full story can be more completely told.