Throughout most of the 20th century, marketing came to be known as its own science. In some circles, an art. Marketers learned from the businesses and market leaders who came before them - people like J.P. Morgan, P.T. Barnum, and traveling hawkers became the model for sales and marketing teams all throughout the U.S. As technology became more of an influence in the business world, marketers began to adopt these new technologies - TV, radio, the telephone - to market their products and services to the ideal customer. But they didn’t stop using the tried and true methods of the past.

Well, thanks to the Internet, there are new technologies that marketers can adapt to put their products and services in front of customers. That doesn’t mean you should stop using the methods of marketing that you are currently using and have been using for most of your life. Those methods still work.

Particularly at this juncture in history, the old and new methods of marketing should be seen as complimentary and work side by side. As the Baby Boomer generation ages, members of that generation will continue to rely on their ideas rather than the new ideas of younger generations. Traditional marketing methods will still need to be employed to reach that generation. But the new media opportunities that are presenting themselves today are more effective for the younger generations. That’s one reason integrated marketing is desirable.

But it’s not the only reason. Marketers have always segmented their target markets. The reason this is effective is because different audiences require different approaches. And if you can figure out how best to reach a particular segment of your market then you should use that method of delivery to get your message out. Today, some of the biggest users of new media online are in the 40-50 age group. That means you can still reach them through online marketing if your marketing message is effective and carefully packaged to appeal to that group.

Integrated marketing is the next wave of online business marketing. While online marketing works for some groups, it doesn’t work everywhere and for everyone. Even younger generations still read magazines and do off line shopping; you’ll still need to reach them through traditional methods of marketing. The big question is, where - online and off line - do they hang out and what kind of media and message will get their attention?

Learn more about integrated marketing at Melberg Marketing.

Caroline Melberg
Melberg Marketing
Blue Chip Marketing Tips
Small Business Mavericks

Tags: generations, Integrated Marketing, online marketing, traditional marketing

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 at 10:35 am and is filed under Integrated Marketing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.