Still seeing small businesses waste money on print ads in 2024

I deliver to a lot of local shops and I keep seeing coupons and flyers stuck in my bundles for the same places month after month. One coffee shop near me spends $400 a month on a local paper ad and I asked the owner if they ever tracked the response. He said he just assumes it works because his dad always did it that way. That money would go way further on a simple Google ad or even a neighborhood Facebook group. Has anyone else talked a shop owner out of throwing cash at dead print media?

3 comments

3 Comments

ward.kim10d ago

Ha, yeah that's exactly it! I had a similar thing with a tire shop my cousin swears by. He was putting $200 a month into these little ad squares in a local penny saver. I asked him about it and he said his father in law started it back in the 90s and they never stopped. We ran a test where we put a special code in the print ad and ran a separate Facebook ad targeting the same zip code. The print ad brought in maybe 4 people over two months. The Facebook ad brought in 12 in the first week. But you know what, he still kept the print ad going because his older regulars look for it. So I guess it depends on who your customers are.

the_leo10d ago

His dad always did it that way" - man that line got me. I used to be one of those people who thought print was dying and anyone still using it was wasting money. But last year I helped a buddy who runs a small bakery test this exact thing. He was spending $300 a month on a community paper ad and I convinced him to try a Facebook campaign for the same budget. The Facebook ad got him like 20 extra customers over a month. The print ad? He had 8 people mention the coupon in store and at least 3 of those were his regulars who woulda come anyway. So I was wrong honestly, print still has some reach with older folks who don't scroll all day.

caseythompson9d ago

The_leo's bakery story hits close to home - I once convinced my uncle to ditch his $250 newspaper ad for a Google ad and he got 3 clicks from people searching "pizza near me" and zero actual customers, so maybe I'm the one who should keep my mouth shut about marketing advice. Print might limp along for certain crowds but $400 on a paper ad feels like burning money with extra steps when you could at least get a nice latte for that price. Sometimes I wonder if the real value of print ads is just making owners feel busy while they ignore the actual numbers staring them in the face.