20 Outdated Marketing Trends That You Will Have to Explain to Your Kids

The way companies market their products has changed drastically over the past 5 to 10 years. This is because the conventional marketing tools are being replaced rapidly with newer more advanced techniques.

We have put together a list of 20 marketing trends and tactics that you will have to explain to your kids one day because they have either become outdated or soon will be.

20 Things Your Kids Will Never Know About Marketing

There was a thing such as direct mail. It seems that in the next few years, email is going to completely take over sending mails through the post.
What YellowBook was and how people used it to search for local businesses.
There was no such thing as internet marketing till a few years back because there was no such thing as the internet!
Mobile marketing did not exist till a few years back as well because cell phones weren’t as sophisticated as they are now with numerous features and on the go connectivity.
Connecting to the internet was not an easy task. There was a thing known as a modem through which people had to connect to the internet!
People did not have the option of not answering cold calls from telemarketers as there was no caller ID or Do not Call Registry System in place.
Most of the websites were designed in a very simple and dull way. Website designing and content is extremely crucial now as most of the marketing is done through the company’s website.
Previously, companies could spam your inbox without the fear of any legal consequences. Now, doing this could lead to lawsuits.
Facebook was ad free and its use was restricted to Harvard University Students.
Having banners, skyscraper and pop up ads on your website was actually considered to be cool.
Companies once used billboards to market their products. It seems that marketing through billboards is soon going to become outdated as it is a costly technique. Internet marketing can do a better job and does not cost so much as well.
Online shopping did not exist until a few years back. The only way you could buy things without going to a store was through magazine subscriptions.
The best SEO practices were keyword stuffing and buying inbound links. Now, keyword density is kept as low as possible to subtly get your message through to your audience.
The young generation used to spend most of the time watching television rather than surfing the internet.
Marketing analytics did not exist and marketers had to guess which of their tactics were working. Now, reliable ways of analyzing your marketing tactics exists.
Social networking was limited to passing around your business cards as websites like Facebook and Twitter were unheard of till a few years back.
Sales marketing was based on knocking random doors and trying to force sell your products.
Newspapers were the main way people consumed content. The number of people who read newspapers has dropped drastically and more advanced ways have surfaced.
There was a thing known as radio and it was once thought to be an innovative place for advertising.
What outbound marketing actually was and how it has been completely replaced with inbound marketing!

All together this list shows a shift in the way businesses market to consumers. Times have changed with the advances in technology and so have marketing tactics. The next generation can look forward to marketing that people love through inbound marketing. Gone are the days of interruption based marketing.

What entertaining things have you had to explain to your kids? Are there any other outdated marketing tactics that we missed? Share your comments below.