In our digital age, online marketing can be tough, as you try to outrank established giants and big name brands. What was once an opportunity for smaller brands to get their message out easily is now a minefield. For some smaller businesses, this means turning to more traditional marketing methods to help get them noticed.

With that in mind, here are a few of the best ways a small business can stand out offline to help bring in brand awareness and a new audience.

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Network

Networking events and expos are gold dust to a small business that’s aiming to make contacts and grow their network. You should head to each and every event that is relevant to your industry and start making acquaintances. The rules are simple – keep things friendly, don’t try to sell yourself and follow up on any potential relationships with an email or LinkedIn invite.

Business cards

A memorable business card really helps you stand out. People easily forget about generic cards, so get creative and create something more relevant to your business. LEGO, for instance, use custom mini-figures for their business cards.

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Banners

Whether you display them outside your business or at events you sponsor, a good banner is still a great way to market yourself. You’ll be able to directly advertise your branding and any advertisements or deals you’d like to include — just make sure it’s big, noticeable and tasteful. A large PVC outdoor banner from Where The Trade Buys can withstand the seasons and attract attention in any weather.

 

Printed banners, custom banners and physical advertising are still a great way of getting your business’ name out there and clients in your door. 

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Name badges

At networking events, you’ll end up chatting to people and awkwardly trying to remember their name. If you wear a name badge, you’ll be helping your potential future contact avoid awkwardness by always knowing your name. A custom name badge has the additional benefit of including company details and branding to make you memorable.

Direct mail

Think email is the be all and end all of marketing? Think again. Direct mail is still an immensely popular and useful tool that helps you stand out if you’re creative about it. An email requires one tap of a keyboard to delete – you have to physically throw mail in the bin. This alone makes it worth exploring as in the time it takes your potential customer to decide if they’ll keep your mail, they’ll have read and be exposed to your brand message. Direct mail has a 1.1 – 1.4% response rate compared to email’s 0.03%.