Marketing is essential for every business, but with the popularity of ecommerce, digital marketing has been receiving all the attention. However, we still live in a physical world where people walk into businesses and pass by physical locations.
Therefore, even though most commerce these days happens online, there are still brick and mortar businesses meaning that real-world marketing still matters.
Any company that does not exclusively operate online needs traditional forms of advertising such as ambient advertising, yard signs, billboards, and more.
The following is why:
People Shop Where They Live
Granted, anyone can go on Amazon and order an item that will arrive in a few short days. However, people still go to the store for necessities, go to a local bar and buy food at the local grocery store.
Real-world marketing still matters because it can enable companies to reach people where they live, which is where they will spend the majority of their time.
Even after spending an entire day online, when you leave home or the office, you will probably be around a particular area, and any marketing out there will have a chance of reaching you.
Convenience
The advertisements you see online will often appear while shopping or reading other information online. It can be very inconvenient to cancel numerous ads just to get through a single article which is why ad blockers exist.
Real-life marketing avenues such as billboards and yard signs are convenient in that you can choose whether to look at them or not. You simply cannot beat the convenience of a yard sign from StickerYou.
Businesses also do not have to wave their promotional tools at consumers constantly. As long as they are well placed, anyone interested will see them and choose whether to respond or not.
Local Brand Awareness
Digital marketing is better for large brands with international followings and for creating global brand awareness. However, small businesses have less ambitious goals, for example, increasing brand awareness in a city.
Traditional advertising still matters because it is effective at creating local brand awareness or strengthening a local brand. Such businesses can place a billboard on a local highway where people commute daily, and they will surely get the attention of local people.
On the other hand, if they were to place the advertisement online, they would be competing against international brands with little chance of anyone close to their location finding out about them.
Attention
The name of the marketing game is grabbing attention and is something every company must consider when formulating their marketing strategy. The more attention you can acquire from viewers, the more successful your marketing campaign.
Online marketing can be targeted using algorithms that are good at predicting behavior. On the other hand, online ads have to compete with hundreds of other ads in a small space, making it challenging to get attention.
Real-life marketing still matters because you can quickly grab attention if you are creative. Flashing ambient advertising, creative bus advertising, and other avenues can still get mindshare which eventually leads to purchases.
Face to Face Interactions
People are social creatures meaning that we have an innate need to connect with others. Digital marketing is excellent, but it rarely offers the chance for interpersonal interaction like some traditional marketing avenues.
Traditional marketing avenues such as cold calling, networking events, trade shows, and referrals are great at harnessing the power of human interaction. It is easier to close a sale with face-to-face interactions, and they create a lasting emotional connection that is hard to match.
Most businesses forget the power of traditional marketing avenues like yard signs, billboards, and referrals. However, they still matter for the above reasons and more.
Consider how you can benefit from traditional marketing channels and use them to your advantage. The results will be surprisingly pleasant. 
