Traditional Marketing Vs Digital Marketing
The battle of heavyweights is on! One side of the ring there is the undisputed champion of Marketing world ‘Traditional Marketing’ and on the other side there a new undefeated challenger the ‘Digital Marketing’
Traditional Marketing
Traditional marketing methods have been used since the beginning when even the term marketing was not termed. It is even called so (Traditional Marketing) as it has been used and has a proven success rate for generations.
There are many ways of promoting a product or service the traditional way. You can witness old marketing forms in your day to day life too, for example: if you are traveling in a car on a road and you witness a big hoarding, guess what! you just witnessed traditional marketing. All those wonderful commercials you saw on television are also a part of traditional marketing.
Alongside these we have
- Newspapers
- Radio and
- Advertisement in magazines, which are all forms of old-school marketing.
Digital Marketing
Digital marketing came into being in the early 90’s and caught the attention of all marketing gurus and companies instantly because of its lucrative appeal. It became even popular because of the internet revolution especially in the form of social media and other advertising platforms.
Digital marketing includes
- Social Media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram)
- Email marketing and
- Content marketing is all forms of Digital Marketing
Match Time!
Now that the introductions are done, let’s proceed with the match!
Round 1! The Cost.
In this round, the cost factor comes into place! Traditional marketing employs methods like advertising through mediums such as Newspapers, radio or perhaps even through television. All these mediums are quite expensive, to be frank, and hence can only be afforded by enterprises with deep pockets.
Digital marketing, on the other hand, is the cheapest form of advertising your products and services. Even a startup with less or no budget can use online marketing methods and generate a great amount of revenue by getting online customers.
Winner of round 1: Digital marketing emerged as a clear winner in the opening round because of its affordable quality services.
Round 2: Real-Time Result Analysis
Applying traditional marketing methods for your business needs is just like aiming for a target in the dark using a bow and an arrow. It may hit the targeted audience eventually, but it will take some time for people to actually come down to your place of business with such old means of communication. There is no analysis of how many relevant people the advertisement has reached and how many were really interested in your product and services by just looking at your advertisement.
Digital marketing gives you exact and detailed information on how many people your advertisement has reached and how well it is performing. You can see all things in real-time like at what time your audience is active of the day, Bounce rates, and the conversion rates.
Winner of round 2: It’s Digital Marketing again!! With a vicious left hook, it has taken a 2-0 lead against the old champion.
Round 3: The Internet Advantage!!
Digital marketing practically requires the internet for everything. All the analysis and possible engagements with the leads are done with the help of the internet itself without which all this is not possible. According to Internet world stats, about 55.1% of the worldwide population are well exposed to the internet and the rest 44.9% still have somehow kept themselves away from this blessing in disguise.
So, these stats mean that while digital marketing allows you to grow leaps and bounds it does not cover almost half of the world population. This is where Traditional Marketing strikes a blow and reaches to the remaining audience as well gaining a vital point over online marketing.
Winner of Round 3: Traditional Marketing is still in the fight! Securing a small but vital point over its digital rival in hopes of coming at par and perhaps even take a lead over its rival.
Round 4! Face To Face With Your Clients!
Nothing beats a good face to face meeting with your leads to convert them into your customers. Online marketing does provide a lot of exposure anywhere you need, it is the virtual you who is doing all the talking and chatting with your potential customers. Words might be powerful, but a face to face engagement is a must in order assure the customers about the legitimacy of your business and product and to get an actual feel of your products and to make sure it is how as you have described on the internet as well.
Winner of round 4: 2-2 it is! It’s all square now! Traditional marketing levels the field with digital marketing in terms of points.
Round 5! Return Of Investment
There is one term that is common to both the big businesses and the start-ups and that is ‘The Return Of Investment’ or in short, the ROI. Digital marketing techniques are statistically proven to offer great returns with a minimum budget which the traditional methodology lacks big time.
Following are the perceived level of ROI generated by digital marketing channels according to marketers worldwide as of June 2017 report by Statista. 
Image: Perceived level of ROI generated by digital marketing channels
Winner of Round 5! Winner of Round 5 is Digital Marketing!!
And The Championship Goes to:
After 5 rounds of ups and downs, it is result time! Digital marketing has emerged as the clear winner in this battle of the heavyweights defeating Tradition marketing decisively at the end of this 5-round match. The new champ has a lot to offer to this world with all the positive points it has along with the experience of Traditional Marketing it has gained so far.
Conclusion:
Both marketing types may follow different methods, but their ultimate goal remains the same that is to promote their businesses to get more customers and to earn huge profits. Both types are beneficial in their own ways Digital marketing might have won the battle but the bigger war of edging past your competitors and earning a lot of money can only be won if an organization has balanced strategy of both Digital and Traditional Marketing combines.