Digital Marketing

Digital Marketing vs Traditional Marketing

Name: 7 Eagles
Brand: 7 Eagles
Rating: 4.4 (259 reviews)

June 13, 2024

11min read

Marketing is involved in reaching potential customers. Traditional marketing is a kind of marketing that follows conventional methods and covers newspaper ads, billboards, TV, advertisements, and print ads.

Whereas Digital marketing uses digital channels like websites, and social media platforms, through mobile, internet, and laptop to market the product/service more conveniently and easily.

When doing traditional marketing, it is a little competitive to reach the target audience in offline media compared with digital marketing. Digital marketing includes cost-effective rather than traditional marketing.

Both the marketing are aimed at showing and advertising the company in the best ways, the main intention is to satisfy and retain the customers.

Key differences between Traditional and Digital Marketing

When you choose traditional marketing, it can reach only local audience through offline mode.

Digital marketing reaches a wider audience with the help of demographic profiles and interest in conducting the campaign and measuring results.

The traditional mode also excels in brand awareness through advertisements on people’s footpaths and eyesight. The following table explains the key differences between traditional and digital marketing.

Basis of distinction	Traditional Marketing	Digital Marketing
Medium	Offline mode ( TV, newspaper, billboards, outdoor)	Online mode ( website, social media, all search engines)
Audience reach	Targeting TV shows, especially prime time, can reach a broad audience.	Reach the targeted audience through interests, demographics, and behavior online.
Cost	Costs are high comparatively. Includes advertisement on TV or large print boards with a suitable location.	It is cost-effective. It depends on the platforms and strategy.
Adaptability	Limited in this, it may lack flexibility in a fixed content.	More adaptable, content can be changed quickly.
Engagement	One-way communication means limited ability to interact with the audience	Two-way communication helps to build real-time relationships.
Measurement	To track is not easy since it has only indirect measurements.	Easy to measure, it has analytics to track impressions, clicks, conversion, PPC, CPC, and Return on investment.

Choosing the Right Marketing Strategy: Traditional vs. Digital Marketing Across Industries

Marketing strategy is a long-term, where you analyze the business goals which should reach the right audience. To succeed in the business, you need to understand the needs of customers and meet the competitive advantage.

To apply the right marketing strategy, you need to consider Industries such as B2B, B2C, Retail, Finance, Real Estate, or Healthcare, etc.,

If you take the traditional way, it helps to reach a broader audience through Newspapers, magazines, and TV advertisements. It focuses on the local audience by improving your brand awareness. It might work though it reaches only a limited audience.

Spending more cost while facing measurability challenges is like taking a risk in the business, it’s better to go with digital marketing to avoid such risk with cost-benefit, measurable results, and highly targeted.

It is advised to choose a digital marketing strategy for some industries like B2B, B2C, health care, etc., as it may not be suitable for all industries. If you choose a traditional marketing strategy, it is good for a limited audience targeting in particular areas.

Retail, B2C, healthcare, and real estate might work out in this medium.

Industries that Benefit from Traditional Marketing

To target the local audience traditional marketing is better, which includes banners, billboards, broadcasts, TV ads, and posters, is often better to reach the audience, especially homemakers.

Retail and healthcare industries are the ones who decide to buy the brand, a variety of provisions.

For eg: reaching the audience by attracting or promoting with the buy 1 and get 1 option or comparing with other variety of normal brands or promoting as health benefits.

Automotive and real estate might be targeted to the whole family, who is leaving suggestions to buy a flat (comparing price, location, facilities, etc.,). Prescribed to make automated.

Automotive

Printed advertisements are fixed in bus stop banners, flex boards, billboards on buses, radio, and print ads, which might cover traditional audiences.

Take an eg: If you are looking for a car to buy at the best price, offers, and discounts. When you are crossing the road by seeing the kind of ad on the bus billboards which could be useful information right?

Thereby traditional marketing is often used in the Automotive industry.

Education

To reach potential students and their families, schools, colleges and universities frequently use traditional marketing strategies like print brochures, open houses and local newspaper ads.

Real Estate

Focusing on local customers, through newspaper ads with high-quality photos can catch the ideal people into the buyer. Telecasting the ads in potential timing, and peak hours helps to increase the sales in the real estate industry.

Retail

Providing the ads on the TV, and radio with a call to action, billboards nearby stores can eagers to buy the product in the shop.

Industries that Benefit from Digital Marketing

Some industries are suited for digital marketing, which gives high revenue with a low cost of investment.

Taking the Entertainment industry, even if it is telecasted on TV, those who would like to watch the show may not be available at the time. Here, people would prefer to see this on Mobile through OTT platforms where telecasted the previous, present, and future shows.

Other industries can also market their products through ads and promotions.

E-commerce

This is one of the booming platforms now, it helps to target the right customers through SEO, SEM, social media platforms, and Google ads, often showing the ad on the eyesight can make the customer search for the product.

Technology

In this industry, the customers might know about the updation in the existing product. The target audience is already engaged online like social media marketing, content marketing, and influencer marketing.

Financial Services

Digital marketing helps the financial industry by concentrating on online advertising, product clearing and financial education.

Entertainment

Usually, it is telecasted on TV and radio whenever a break is there ads can be allowed. Whereas, in digital platforms not only social media but also users like an influencer, creators are forward to promote the products directly to the customers.

Influencers also promote movies, music, and shows that help to boost their channel.

Travel and Hospitality

Digital Marketing strategies helps hospitals to reach a wider audience. Patients looking for healthcare services online can easily find the hospital’s services and facilities.

Search engines and social media are helping to redirect online travel bookings.

Conclusion

Choosing marketing methods is completely on your preference, your end goal is to reach the right audience thereby increasing the sales and revenue in the business. Considering digital marketing can be the highest value when it compares.

Instead of fixing the flex or banner on roads or bridges, you can utilize the ads in social media and Google ads where your product reaches a broad audience to click your ad and boost it to increase the conversion.

How can I measure the success of my traditional marketing campaigns?

You can measure the traditional marketing campaigns through Leads/ conversions, return on investment, return on the ad campaign spending, and profit after running the campaigns.

Is digital marketing more effective than traditional marketing?

Yes, it could be. Digital marketing targets a wide audience with more cost-effective. Traditional marketing also reaches a larger audience at a high cost.

How do I decide on the right mix of digital and traditional marketing for my business?

This is an integrated marketing, where you can combine both traditional and digital marketing by using a consistent call to action across all the materials of marketing.

Using traditional marketing directly to your website, advertising in digital versions of newspapers and magazines, and Expanding radio reach into Spotify, wink, and other e-commerce ads can be the right mix of traditional and digital marketing.

Ashkar Gomez

Ashkar Gomez is the Founder of 7 Eagles (a Growth Marketing & SEO Company). Ashkar started his career as a Sales Rep in 2013 and later shifted his career to SEO in 2014. He is one of the leading SEO experts in the industry with 8+ years of experience. He has worked on 200+ projects across 20+ industries in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, UAE, Australia, South Africa, and India. Besides SEO and Digital Marketing, he is passionate about Data Analytics, Personal Financial Planning, and Content Writing.