While new marketing channels are probably here to stay, don’t disregard the power of traditional marketing channels. Direct mail with targeted GIS marketing, trade shows, newspaper advertising, radio and television, Email and telesales won’t be out of the picture soon, if ever.
According to an article on destinationCRM.com, titled Never Underestimate the Power of Traditional Methods, the power of traditional channels is as strong as that of social channels. Written by Paul Greenberg, president of consultancy The 56 Group, he states:
“ the power of traditional channels is as strong as that of social channels. Traditional channels are much harder to measure, don’t scale the same way, and thus are a lot less sexy. As a result, they aren’t given the importance they deserve.”
“Want at least a self-satisfying personal proof? Answer three questions:
1. If given the choice of being quoted in TechCrunch or The New York Times, which would you choose?
2. If given the choice of a half-hour video podcast that would be broadcast on a YouTube channel or a half-hour TV show on NBC, which would you choose?
3. If given the choice of self-publishing a book on the Web or having one done in print by a major publisher, like McGraw-Hill, which would you choose?”
He goes on to say: “The evidence is more than anecdotal. For example, just three years ago, DMG Consulting, run by contact center management guru Donna Fluss, developed a statistic that belies what people believe. Seventy-seven percent of all Gen Yers—the generation that lives on and for the social Web—prefer a phone contact when trying to resolve a problem.
Moreover, traditional channels still represent the bulk of consumer interactions with customer service. Communications software provider Nuance released a study in April that said, “When asked about their preferred methods for receiving customer service support, there was a fairly even split among: speaking with a live agent via mobile phone and/or landline phone, speaking over chat or IM, using a Web site, and sending an email.”
Note that Twitter and Facebook weren’t in the mix. Given that this was a Twitter usage survey, the result is even more eyebrow raising.
Another April study, titled “From Social Media to Social CRM,” by IBM’s Institute for Business Value, revealed that 70 percent of all the participants in social channels do it strictly for personal reasons, and only 23 percent interact with a company’s brand.”
Last, but not least, he states that “Never underestimate the power of offline, traditional channels. They still represent a substantial way to influence buying decisions and solve problems.
What channels are you using? How are they working to influence your customers and solve your challenges? We’d like to hear about your current ROI results between traditional marketing and social media marketing.


I think it's true that you can't undervalue traditional marketing, and I really think that email marketing will be around for a long time. Email marketing is excellent for increasing the number of transactions with a given client.
Personally, TV ads and radio ads still stand out to me. A great TV or radio spot can really affect my decision to buy.
Posted by: Tim Hargis | January 23, 2012 at 05:47 PM
Thanks for this refreshing read! Just when I thought there are no more online resources about traditional marketing, here comes your piece. I have always been a believer of the "back to basics" principle. No matter how seemingly modern we have already become, there will always come a time when we need to employ some conventional marketing tactics to accommodate the not-so techie ones. What about with Infogrow? Which traditional marketing techniques are you using in your business?
Posted by: Christian Porter | January 26, 2012 at 02:07 AM
these all belongs to social media and tradition is a part of social media now a days
Posted by: SEO Marketing Agency | March 27, 2012 at 02:52 PM
This isn’t to underestimate the power and growth of social channels, especially mobile ones. These are a result of a major and irreversible communications revolution. But there is something more important to remember.
Posted by: Facebook Developer | April 13, 2012 at 08:00 AM
While new marketing channels are probably here to stay, don’t disregard the power of traditional marketing channels. Direct mail with targeted GIS marketing, trade shows, newspaper advertising, radio and television, Email and telesales won’t be out of the picture soon, if ever.
Posted by: tarot falı | May 14, 2012 at 04:32 AM
But I don't think so that tradition marketing is playing a crucial role because social media take over the charge of tradition marketing. Now every thing display on social media channels.
Posted by: SEO News | July 26, 2012 at 11:24 AM
Direct mail with targeted GIS marketing, trade shows, newspaper advertising, radio and television, Email and telesales won’t be out of the picture soon, if ever.
Posted by: Facebook Developer | December 14, 2012 at 07:10 AM
This is true. Investing in Social Media would not only boost your rankings but at the same time increase popularity and engagement online.
Posted by: Lisa Chaves | February 18, 2013 at 02:49 AM
Social media is the main part of traditional marketing.You have many sources to doing this thanks.
Posted by: search engine news | March 11, 2013 at 05:52 AM
Both contributes much in good marketing and it will also boost popularity.But in this fast changing world,we have to accept that everything also goes with the changes to develop it more useful,effective,and accessible.So if we think that social media is most effective why use traditional marketing if it is for the good of majority.
Posted by: Deakins Buell | April 05, 2013 at 01:34 AM