Believe it or not, the leave-behind marketing plan is still profitable and even necessary. You probably already know how important search engines, social media, and email marketing are. Efficient marketing contributes majorly to the success of a company. The right marketing plan helps find new customers and leads to consistently higher profitability.
Despite the increasing digitization of business, tangible advertising and informational materials are still essential. In fact, traditional advertising mediums like business cards are the most personal form of marketing. But how do you integrate business cards and leave-behind materials into your marketing and content strategy?
What is the Leave-Behind Marketing Plan?
Your business card is leave-behind content and part of a profitable marketing strategy.
Content marketing isn’t limited to online business. Instead, marketing professionals understand content as everything that the company provides to its customers in terms of information. For example, content also includes the appearance of the company building, the company colors, the corporate typeface, flyers, the website, the clothing of the employees, and the business card. All advertising media is content.
It’s best to anchor your leave-behind marketing materials in the content strategy. After all, content marketing has one primary goal: to give the company cohesion. Cohesive marketing plans make your business appear like one big brand in a world of customers, people, achievements, and shared values.
Your business card is part of the content and represents a central part of the direct customer approach.
How to Use the Leave-Behind Marketing Plan
Marketing using business cards and other leave-behind materials won’t send your business back in time. Instead, it helps you stand out, covering the most target demographics.
You should design your leave-behind marketing materials according to conventional criteria. In times of digitization, tangible marketing items should convey the company’s image and digital competence. In business cards, the tactile, traditional design is what counts and how skillfully it communicates your digital presence.
Before you rush off to the printers, know precisely who your customers are. Some of your target groups won’t need leave-behind materials. Fortunately, this can save you lots of money.
Within your marketing strategy, agree on where your team will distribute business cards or pamphlets and the purpose and goal of the leave-behind materials.
Offer Digital Touchpoints
You can guide your digitally savvy target groups to your website using a QR code on the business card. This means that all contact details are available on one page.
But leave-behind goals require different types of information and content. Sometimes it’s a booth with information, a presentation to gain new clients, or taking part in network meetings. Your business card is your first advertising medium.
Harnessing the Success of Leave-Behind Materials
How do you feel when you visit a website and find no contact page or see no pictures of employees? It likely feels impersonal and leaves you with a distinct lack of trust in a business.
Or imagine speaking to a company representative at a networking event. They hand you a business card that only contains vague information like the company’s name, its services, and a general email address such as info@companyname. Would you leave that interaction hoping to do business with that company? Probably not. And what does such behavior say about the corporate culture in the company itself?
Studies have shown that today’s generation of customers attaches great importance to personal contacts, considering subjective evaluations of the company when making a purchase decision. Business is always about mutual trust. You take the customer into your world, and they trust you to guide them well.
The more personal and personalized you address your customers, the more authentic you will be perceived. This applies to the analog and the digital world.
So, when you’re ready to design the best leave-behind materials, let NuMedia Marketing help you plan an integrated approach that combines traditional and digital marketing efforts to enhance business communications.
We want to share your vision and build a brand with you. Take your marketing to the next level and call our experts today at 317-563-7235 to find out how we can help.