One of the definitions of traditional is habitually done. Based on that, we may soon need to change the definition of traditional media.
Traditional media was once just print media, but has more recently been defined as newspapers, radio and television – all of the places that businesses used to advertise twenty years ago. In the case of businesses, the yellow pages also fell into the traditional media advertising category – after all, those books are still printed on the same newsprint they used before the internet existed.
The problem is that every day, fewer and fewer people are engaging in traditional media.
In 1990, there were 62 million newspaper subscriptions in the United States – today, it’s 34 million.
In 2010, the average household watched 10 hours of TV. That’s down to under 8 hours now.
AM/FM Radio listening has been flat for the past several years, but people born after 1995 are showing little interest in it, and advertising spending is declining because it’s difficult to target specific segments.
The yellow pages, meanwhile, has been rendered obsolete by the internet. Some of these companies have gone bankrupt multiple times each in the past decade.
According to the results of Repair Shop Websites’ recent auto repair shop marketing study, repair shop owners have noticed, and they’re moving their money elsewhere. When asked if shops were happy with the return on investment of traditional media activities (including TV, radio, newspapers, yellow pages, or billboards) only 26% responded favorably. That’s not only because of the high numbers of dissatisfied users – it’s because 46% of shop owners said they used none of the traditional media for marketing!
Compare this to online search, where only 6% report not using it for marketing purposes. The reality is that nearly every business is listed online now – even those without a website – and that they receive at least some business from the internet. In fact, 48% of all surveyed shops found online search to be the most effective source of leads. Traditional media, meanwhile, was rated the best ROI marketing activity by only 10% of shops.
In short, online advertising is fast becoming the traditional form of shop advertising. Traditional media, meanwhile, is fast approaching an unwelcome designation – old media.
To learn how Repair Shop Websites can bring you a great return on your investment, call us at 866-665-1605 or email us at Team_RSW@RepairShopWebsites.com.