What Kind of Marketing Is Hybrid Marketing?

Small businesses can turn to less traditional methods of getting the word out about their products or services. Hybrid marketing allows a marketer to combine two marketing concepts into a single marketing campaign. Effective hybrid marketing allows a company to increase the return from their advertising dollars more effectively through better conversion or expanded market reach.

Hybridization involves combining two or more marketing or advertising methods to create a unified concept. Technique selection depends heavily on the goal of the campaign and the target market. Combining entirely offline methods, such as fliers and coupons, can only effectively impact a market that has little or no online presence. Entirely online methods, including the combination of cell phone scan codes and specialized discounts, creates a campaign with a nationwide reach which may not work well for a local business such as an auto repair shop or small grocery store. The combination of both technological and traditional methods can provide any desired combination of locality and impact.

Choosing a hybrid concept over a single method can divide the marketing focus for the campaign. In order to create a cohesive overall goal, entrepreneurs should examine why they have chosen hybridization. One of the two major goals of this technique is to increase conversion. Combining offline scan codes with online discounts increases conversion by making it easier for smartphone owners to access the information provided. Prominently featuring such codes in offline marketing communication or in visible locations at a physical store and linking them to a second advertising method, such as discounts or coupons, makes it easier for the customer to access the benefits of the campaign.

The concept of expanding market reach revolves around the theory that hybridization will create a greater visibility than a single technique. Continuing with the example of the smartphone scan code, if the code delivers customers directly to an online store or sales page instead of a coupon for an offline discount, then the combination of the online and offline marketing increases reach by bringing offline consumers directly to the company. Scan codes may be placed inside traditional mailers or on door hangars for further hybridization. This allows the code to be accessed by those used to less modern methods, but who still have online access.

Entrepreneurs should strive for clarity when combining marketing techniques. Setting up a hybrid campaign can help you reach new customers or increase conversion, but it does run the risk of confusing consumers used to a specific marketing method. For example, written URLs should always accompany scan codes for those customers without smartphones. This allows a marketer to capture those viewers of the marketing communication who do not have scanning technology but still wish to access the site or discount.