The marketing collateral options available today cover both online and offline audience. It will increase your ability to reach the target audience. They tell customers who you are, and what you do. It should be designed to explain the details of your product or services and provide compelling reasons as to why your customer is making the right choice.
When you think of marketing collateral, the first thing that comes to mind is Brochures or maybe visiting cards.
But its concept has changed since digitization. With traditional approach, the options were limited but now, the list seems endless.
- Business Identity (Business Stationary like Business card, Letterhead, Envelope, Email Signature etc.) – Some of you might wonder “Is business card still used for marketing purpose?” The answer is yes! Despite the constant advances in technology, business card are often the first piece of marketing collateral someone will receive when learning about you and your company. It is the first impression of you and your business. Your business card should reflect the nature of your business and give any receiver an accurate sense of what to expect from your company.
If you use custom letterhead, envelope then prospects can recognize you and your company. Your company name, address and other contact details will be present which serves as a powerful boost to your marketing efforts.
- Company Brochure – Brochures represent your business hence, it should be detailed enough and contain all the necessary information about your brand, product and services. The key is to make it both interesting and informative. Also, more visual elements can be used to make them appealing.
- Product and Service Brochure – Having a company brochure is good but often it is required to explain your product or services in more detail. When a customer asks for brochure, they are interested in knowing about your product and services. Unlike company brochure, it should be focused on detailed explanation of your product and services with a call to action.
- Promotional Flyer – When you have a ton of advertisements flooding up a website, it is difficult to grab the attention of your potential customer. Flyers are an effective way to get your message across. This traditional form of marketing has been used ever since. Not only are they cost effective but they add a personal touch to your message.
Business Identity and Marketing Materials
Imagine walking up to your favorite coffee shop and you see an attractive offer flyer pinned to the wall. Wouldn’t you be tempted to at-least read what’s written?
- Price list and Catalogue – You have a company brochure, you also have a services brochure then why do you require a price list or catalogue? Your company needs price-lists or catalogues as they speed up the inquiry process and reduce the time required for quotation and formalities.
Your catalogue should be strategically designed to feature the products your target market is most likely to buy. Also a catalogue is something that a customer is more likely to carry with himself. Hence it is going to remind him of your company as long as it is with him.
- Retractable Banner Stand – From promoting products and services at an exhibition to making an impact on customers in your office, banners can be a great marketing tool in getting your message across. These banners create a professional impression.
- Explainer videos: Explainer videos or Product Videos can describe your business in an intuitive way. This is even more beneficial if you have any complex product or service. A 1 to 2 minute video describing your business can do the trick. It needs to elevate your brand and separate you’re from the competition.
You can put the video on homepage or share on different social media platforms. If you have a software application then you can go for the HOW TO videos; explaining the application step by step.
- Landing page and blogs – Similar to a website except the fact that it is only a single page that is specifically created for the purpose of marketing and advertising campaign and is dedicated towards driving traffic to a page where you can provide personalized offer to the visitors, without distracting them. Landing page plays a major role in leading the traffic to a more specific segment of the website, increasing the conversion rate.
Blog posts actually represent a very effective form of marketing collateral and are great way to reach customers not only locally but also globally. Blogs are great way to interact with your customers by providing solutions to the problems they might be facing or clarify the doubts regarding your niche industry. They provide an indirect way of marketing and describing topics in-depth.
So, basically there is no specific list that can tell you what fits the category of marketing collateral. Marketing and sales are often challenging and time consuming process. Marketing collateral is just one aspect of a successful marketing program. Explore other options and find what is suitable for your business but make sure to consider both online and offline means.
