As you can probably tell from many of my posts, I’m a big advocate of digital marketing. I’m extremely interested in how digital and social media can help clients improve their marketing efforts. And most of all, I firmly believe that every business these days, large or small, absolutely needs a Web site – or at least some sort of online presence.

You will also notice, however, that I have never advocated replacing print marketing collateral with digital. I do realize, though, that I’ve never actually given a proper shout-out to tried-and-true brochures, direct mail pieces and the like.

These pieces are effective and useful in many situations, and should be mixed with digital marketing efforts to create better-rounded, integrated campaigns. Here’s why:

• Not everyone is always online. Contrary to my everyday reality, not everyone is glued to a computer screen all day. The construction and manufacturing industries, for example, have been slower to make the migration online, and many older executives in several industries are less likely to prefer e-mail and other digital communications over brochures, printed sell sheets and other print pieces. This may blow your mind: Twenty-one percent of Americans have never visited a Web site, sent an e-mail or used a search engine, according to a 2008 Parks Associates study.
• People like something they can hold onto. Sixty-eight percent of adults feel more comfortable when they have something on paper, rather than on a screen, according to a survey by Harris Interactive. Need more specific proof? Sixty percent of b-to-b technology (yes, technology!) buyers reported that brochures influenced their purchasing decisions, according to a 2009 survey from Eccolo Media.
• Longer sales cycles require constant reminders. Ever been haunted by a print piece that seems to linger on your desk for months? The brochure for that service you told yourself you would look into? The product sell sheet you saved for a time when you actually had the budget for it? That event you considered attending? You’ve likely saved both print and e-mail collateral because you thought the service, product or event it advertised might be of interest to you at a later time. However, chances are that while the e-mail got shoved deeper and deeper into the abyss of your inbox – eventually being forgotten forever – the print piece lingered around your desk or bulletin board as a lasting reminder.

Because sales cycles are generally much longer in the b-to-b world, marketing materials that linger can be extremely valuable. Print pieces also allow companies to increase the “stickiness” of their marketing efforts by providing the capacity to create something that is useful to their potential customers. A direct mail piece that includes a pocket-sized spec chart that contractors would find necessary, for example, would have much more staying power than an e-mail.

One more thing: Think you can solve the reminder issue by sending a million e-mails about the same subject? Maybe – but it’s more likely that you’ll only annoy and alienate your audience instead.

• Print pieces stand out. Very few marketing e-mails can meet the attention-grabbing potential of creative, well-done (dare I say beautiful??) printed pieces. Right off the bat, they catch our attention enough for us to at least consider your offer – e-mails have far less capacity to do this. Not to mention, most of us receive far more e-mails than snail mail, making it even harder for e-mail communications to appear unique.

The bottom line: Print is a great marketing medium. So is digital. The key is finding the perfect mix that works for your company and customers.