Until the huge development of the internet in the 1990s, marketing used to mean only conventional marketing with options limited to newspaper ads, television ads, radio ads, pamphlets, roadshows, hoardings, exhibitions, door-to-door marketing, and the calling to a limited extent. In the last few years, the feeling is that traditional marketing is continuously on the decline and with the presence of deadly COVID-19, a further dent is visible on overall conventional marketing techniques. So, pondering the current situation and the ongoing pandemic hitting at a global level, should we say that the traditional marketing tools are dead now?

Definitely, digital marketing has gained phenomenal popularity and steady growth. Even the business organizations who were not using the digital strategies earlier have felt the heat and left with no other choice have adopted the online way. But still, it is too early to say and reach out to a conclusion that traditional marketing is dead and defunct now. Let us look at the various tools followed in the current scenario.

How organizations are marketing out themselves?

Every organization has a different set of needs, goals, budgets, timelines, and have their own limitations. Major marketing activities followed currently are:

1. Social Media Marketing – Social media marketing has built a new record. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and Pinterest all are actually flooded up with ads and creatives. Everybody is working hard to get their share of visibility.

2. Email Marketing – If you go out and ask people casually whether they read newsletters, or flyers or offers or product information, etc. on emails, you will for sure hear a negative reply. However, the fact is that emails still hold a good chance of getting read, provided it has not landed in the spam folder of the recipient and the heading of the email is catchy enough.

3. Pay Per Click Advertising – Advertisers are using PPC advertisements for achieving three major goals: to promote brand awareness, to generate more leads, and hence to increase their sales revenues. It is allowing advertisers to have better control over their target audience, budget, exposure, and analytics. 

4. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) – SEOs helps an organization to receive more traffic on their websites thus enhances their visibility, credibility, and finally business.

5. Radio Ads – How often you hear an advertisement on the radio? Despite the fact that social media marketing has captured a large share of marketing techniques, radio ads still exhibit a consistent performance. From financial services to beauty products, you will hear every kind of commercial on the radio.

6. Television Ads – Though a lot of people have shifted to channel apps, Netflix and others, the charm of watching an ad on television is yet not over. One reason is definitely that everyone can not be reached on social platforms. Moreover, pandemic and lockdown have enhanced the business of channels through advertisements. From FMCG, e-commerce, retail, to online education – you will surely find a surge in the ad volumes.  

7. Tele-Marketing – Now, people have developed more patience to at least pick the call and hear what the caller has to say. When nothing connects, a call is the best way to personalize your effort. 

Which tool of marketing should you use?

In case you want to run a great marketing campaign, then based on your product portfolio, target audience, and budget, you need to find a perfect balance between the traditional and digital methods of marketing.

If you are into a consumer product and your budget allows you, then go for a television ad, otherwise, the door towards social sites is always open. And you can even try and get benefited from the flavors of both the Worlds.