Marketing has always been the middle man between companies and customers. More than likely it is because of how it was marketed, if a product or service is marketed effectively the reaction is bound to be positive potentially creating an audience of potential Customers resulting in consumers of the product or service.
Prior to the introduction of digital marketing, companies in general had to physically go and promote their service or product. Additionally, they had to use traditional marketing techniques that were at their disposal.
Before the use of Twitter and Facebook (I remember these days) adverts in newspapers, newsletters and magazines were used as a method to grab the audience’s attention. The benefit of print media during the time it was at the height of its popularity was the audience very loyal had a loyal standing relationship with the specific newsletter and magazine. This allowed the marketing to be specifically directed to the audience of the print media. The disadvantage of print media was if a company was looking to expand their audience, print media was not the medium to go for; it restricted the potential audience to only people who were into print media. However, what print media could not do that internet does extremely well; it reaches a wide range of people reason being a large amount of people use the internet daily so the product or service would reach a larger audience more than print media.
Radio and TV was another traditional marketing technique companies used in order to attract their audience through the use of radio stations and TV commercials. When radio was at the height of its usage a large amount of people used the radio as a way to listen to music and take in information so companies used this understanding and create adverts based on the product or service they are offering. The benefit of broadcasting through Radio and TV was its low cost and you were able to place a voice to the brand and create a mental image of the brand based on the voice and tone of the message. The disadvantage of broadcasting is that attention may have not been on the advert but maybe on the song that was disrupted the TV show. The use of social media allows the company to market to a larger audience with the click of the share button. Also, allows the brand to be seen by millions and millions of people on different social platforms.
Emails, Leaflets and catalogues were a method that companies used in order to market their product or service. The benefit of direct mail was it could be personalised in addition to targeting customers with relevant campaigns. The personalised touch allowed customers and consumers to feel a sense of belonging.
Now, fast forwarding to 2018, companies are using digital marketing techniques in order to market their product or service. This seems to be the method that has brought success to many companies. Also, a lot of companies are reverting from traditional marketing to online marketing for example, Argos stores have revamped their marketing instead of catalogues they use tablets where and you can order and scan items online.