Do offline channels drive online search?

Press Release authors love numbered lists - example "1o things you should know about marketing", or "8 marketing tools you must use".  By putting an exact figure to any subject there is an implication that if you follow that advice, then success is ensured. We advocate the use of an appropriate mix of marketing methods integrated into a coherent marketing plan, not a list to  simply be ticked off as done. This includes a mix of offline channels as well as online activity. Writing about market research is another fertile source for PR people too, so it was interesting that Marketing News Flash, an e-mail newsletter published by Industrial Technology, selected a statistic from some previous research to support the value of advertising in magazines. Print advertising  rather than being in terminal decline, according to the research is the stimulus that prompts 30% of all online searches. The magazine's own research found that "76% of readers prefer magazines to keep up to date with new products and information relevant to their job. 66% also find out more information from a supplier after seeing an advertisement in the magazine".

However looking at the market research conducted in America in June 2007 by iProspect and Jupiter Research, further interesting figures emerge demonstrating the importance of offline marketing channels in prompting further search online. Television advertising at 37% was in top spot, but hot on its heels at 36% was word of mouth recommendation by a friend or acquaintance, then indeed 30% due to print advertising in newspapers and magazines. Perhaps of equal interest was that the company name or brand at 68% was the most commonly used keyword.

Although clients typically report that most of their sales leads come from their web site, what is very important is that more than two thirds are searching for a company or brand rather than a generic product category and most of them will have discovered their awareness of the brand offline. So perhaps it is premature to move all marketing investment to the Internet. Customers are still strongly influenced by the offline world and turn to the Internet as a convenient tool to learn more. At Technical Marketing Ltd, we help businesses put together and implement marketing plans that develop the brand message, raise top of the mind awareness and develop compelling content that provides the information your prospects are searching for. Informed people then make enquiries. 

Image: iProspect.