Avoid this mistake! – Print ads are no longer effective in 2023 for B2B marketing

Save your money and spend it where it counts in this recession

Since before the beginning of Covid the value of print advertising has been in decline, but you really should not be spending your hard earned marketing dollars on it in 2023. Here are 5 reasons why:

Decline in Readership

With the rise of digital media, the readership of print materials has significantly declined. Many B2B customers now prefer to read online resources, which are more easily accessible making print marketing less effective. Customers are searching online for suppliers from a variety of sources and traditional trade magazines are giving way to industry websites that provide more information.

Accessibility is also a major factor in the decline of print media as many people are traveling or working in multiple locations. Easy access to advertising and marketing materials through digital devices is now the preferred method for most people.

Exhibition Print Ads Don’t Work

Print marketing has a limited reach as it can only be distributed to a specific audience. This is especially true at international exhibitions where travelers are highly unlikely to pick up print publications that they have to carry around.

Exhibition daily publications are particularly ineffective due to their size and proliferation of ads rather than useful content. Potential customers may prefer online sources which provide more information and an interactive experience that makes their search for information and suppliers easier.

Higher costs of print advertising

The cost of printing and distributing marketing materials is generally higher than the cost of digital marketing. With the advent of more affordable and accessible digital marketing tools, print marketing is no longer the most cost-effective or environmentally sustainable option for B2B companies in 2023.

If you are visiting international exhibitions you may also have to have multiple language versions of marketing materials available which drastically increases both your costs and your environmental impact.

Print Marketing Lacks Targeting & Data

Print marketing campaigns are not as targeted as digital marketing campaigns. It is not possible to target the ads at specific demographics such as age, occupation or even industry. There is also no way to measure engagement or even whether anyone actually read you ad, so it is very hard to determine their effectiveness and whether they are helping to drive new business.

B2B companies can use digital marketing to reach highly specific audiences based on demographic, geographic, and other factors, increasing the chances of converting leads into customers. After the ads have run, marketing companies can also gather data on the numbers and locations of the people who interacted, which keywords triggered the ads and also whether they sent a sales inquiry as a result of reading the ad.

These factors combined make print marketing far more cost effective and a much “smarter” way to allocate and optimize your marketing budget for most B2B companies in 2023.

Environmental Impact

The environmental impact of print marketing is significant and in the USA alone, the Environmental Protection Administration estimated that “over 100 million tons of paper and paperboard are wasted each year”. If we consider the energy costs and carbon emissions involved in the original production and distribution of the materials as well as the final recycling or destruction of them, it seems clear that “single use” print materials are something to be avoided.

Conclusion

Although many legacy advertisers and exhibitions are still trying to hold on to revenues from print advertising, as we have seen with newspapers and magazines over the last decade, people want to read and engage with companies in more convenient digital formats in 2023.
Digital ads allow you to create a single set of ad content and then distribute it, with minor adjustments across multiple platforms with ease to get the best possible return for your advertising dollars.

Making the smart choice to avoid print advertising altogether and seize the opportunity to switch to digital is the most likely path to success and new business in 2023. If you would like to find out more about digital marketing and how it can help your business, please contact us.