Traditional Marketing vs. Non-Traditional Marketing vs. Online Marketing

When crafting your marketing programme, it is advisable to utilize a mix of all three marketing methods; i.e. traditional, non-traditional and online marketing.  In this post, I will share a few of each of the marketing methods with you as well as look at the effectiveness of each category when used as part of your integrated marketing communications campaign.

Traditional marketing refers to any type of promotion, advertising or campaign that is well-known and expected as part of a marketing campaign.   The methods of traditional marketing include print advertisements, such as newsletters, billboards, flyers and newspaper print ads; and electronic advertisements such as those produced for radio and television.

Non-traditional marketing on the other hand, uses new, dynamic and unconventional methods and incorporates those methods used in traditional marketing.  So for example, that same boring print ad sitting on the pages of one of the dailies, may be animated and used as part of an online marketing campaign.

But there is also new type of marketing emerging which uses big data to influence how product and consumer marketing is done.  This type of marketing is called online marketing.  Online marketing delivers many benefits to a startup including:

·         Growth in potential

·         Reduced expenses

·         Elegant communications

·         Better control

·         Improved customer service

·         Competitive advantage

As a start-up it is important to get as best a mix of these methods as possible to achieve the best possible results.

A startup must be strategic in its marketing campaign.  Because your budget is small, it is critical that you are very careful to ensure that the funds you spend reach directly those persons who you are targeting.  New marketing methods such as online marketing using data and analytics and by extension social media have increased direct marketing significantly.

The following are some types of activities that may be carried out in each marketing category:

Traditional Marketing	Non-Traditional Marketing	New Marketing
Print – Advertising (Newspaper, Magazines & Flyers) Newsletters Banners Brochures Promotional items i.e. T-shirts, Caps, Pens etc.,	Events marketing	Online marketing – social media: blogging, vlogging, email marketing, search engine marketing, website, mobile marketing This method allows the business to use data and analytics to identify which segment of the market is being reached and at what cost.
Broadcast – Radio & Television commercials	Sponsorship
Direct marketing – mailing of letters, catalogues and fliers	Product Placement
Telemarketing	Digital Marketing – using digital technologies such as mobile phones and display advertising

Of course, this list is definitely not exhaustive.

The method you choose depends on where your market gets its information.  I should note however that targeted marketing using any of the methods is always cheaper.  It will help your business to reach the persons you want to reach using methods that they use to get information.

Traditional marketing methods remain the most expensive although research suggests that the method is decreasing in popularity.  According to Forbes Magazine “More and more people are choosing to get their news online rather than through the newspaper, and a large number of households no longer take telephone books, since it is often easier to simply look numbers up online.”

The same Forbes Magazine article also noted that while “there are many new marketing tactics and media that have emerged in recent years… not all of them are particularly effective for all types of businesses”.