Digital and Physical Marketing: A Blend of Two Worlds

Virtual (and augmented) reality, 3D printing, Web3 (also known as Web 3.0), NFTs, and even AI (or A.I.) aren’t ready for what might be coming… The blend of two opposite forms of marketing banding together as one.

In recent years, online visitors began trusting website publishers again. Video helped, and so did personalization of content, but the defining factor was personalization of character. People stopped using aliases to represent their brand(s) and, instead, started using their real names. They added a phone number and/or physical address (and not just a P.O. Box) to their site. And they invited their fans, followers, customers, and other users into their businesses (and often lives) by crowd-funding their projects, hosting private/public live events, and, in some cases, involved them in their product-creation process(es)… whether or not it was directly profitable.

This shift solidified relationships, making their connections more real, for lack of a better word. And it wasn’t exclusive to independent publishers or small businesses, either; large enterprises applied these changes, too.

The logical next step, since it has proven to have a positive effect (essentially on e-commerce sales [i.e., the bottom line]), will be the marrying of digital & physical marketing. But, how can it be done, or, rather, done effectively? Surprise physical giveaways for the sale of digital goods would be one example.

This was actually our recent experience with a SaaS company/platform we were trialing. Never did we expect a beautifully-crafted (physical) brochure clearly listing the benefits & features of regularly using their product (especially without us even giving them a cent), and yet here it was. And it made an impact. It said, ‘We’re ready to invest in you if you invest with us’. They initiated rapport beyond the norm, rather than sit there & wait for a buyer to land in their pocket.

But we’re now seeing this increasingly. It was inevitable, even if many anticipated that the physical world would eventually become obsolete regarding marketing. Business cards, postcards, and, yes, brochures are still a thing. Door-to-door sales will continue to be, too. In-person networking events are seeing a revival of sorts as well. Combine those with various forms of online marketing (SEO, AIO, AEO, and the ever-more-popular social media marketing), and you’ve got a powerful machine for growing a strong brand and thriving community.