In 2017, the Caribbean had a record number of 30.1 million tourists reports Travel Weekly, and these numbers only continue to grow. Despite a number of natural disasters hitting area in recent years, the attraction to tourists is still booming.
Although many digital-age loving businesses preach that print marketing is “dead”, the Caribbean tourism industry is here to prove that print marketing is not only effective, but is worth the investment.
Direct mail marketing still yields a 13 to one return in investment, according to a study by the Rochester Institute of Technology.
Caribbean-based tourism businesses can continue to increase in popularity if they continue to use traditional, not dead, print marketing strategies for their consumers.
The Myth of Print Marketing
In our modern age of digital media, social media, and online advertisements, many marketing strategists have targeted consumers solely on online formats and abandoned the world of traditional print marketing. There are many problems with a online-only advertising campaigns, says experts like John Smith marketing manager at Vistaprint. With digital marketing, he argues, “a customer will consume the message and then instantly carry on with their online journey.”
Since digital marketing is fleeting, your link to your service is a single link in a sea of competitors. When someone enters “Caribbean resort” in a massive search engine, they will sort through hundreds of competitors before clicking your link. Smith continues, “Print offers longevity. If you hand someone a flyer or a leaflet, they can take it away and read it at their own leisure, and then easily read it again.” The ineffectiveness of print marketing in comparison to digital is merely just a myth.
Print Marketing to Boost Tourism
In the cold of winter, what better way to reach a potential consumer than sending them a mailer advertising your service in the lush, warm climate of the Caribbean. A single stamped postcard in the mailbox introduces a thought in the mind of the consumer: “I don’t have to research and seek out what I want because it’s right here for me.” Forbes argues the most successful businesses targets the consumer in print then continues their journey to their company’s online sphere, plus it is very convenient and simple to mass produce mailers with the use of companies, such as OnlineStamp.net.
Branding efforts, whether for a hotel in St. Lucia or a guided tour in Puerto Rico, are exponentially more powerful when you use a multitude of resources. Instead of relying solely on digital marketing, why not target consumers in both print and digital ways. Companies that fear of choosing one or the other find no success, reports Alliance Business Services. Whereas companies who use both traditional print marketing like magazine ads, brochures, any physical manifestation of a marketing paired with an online presence find more success.
To continue to dominate in the tourism industry, Caribbean businesses must not give up on the power of print marketing. Instead of being one small link in a sea of competitors, be the one brochure in the mailbox your consumer won’t forget about.