If you own a business that sells products or services, you generally need a way to get your message out. Most businesses today use many forms of marketing collateral to do just that.
Marketing collateral gives your audience a chance to hold something in their hand, get important news right from their mailbox, or encounter your product or idea on a flyer or poster in a public place.
Make a good first impression
The collateral of your brand is often the first impression of your product or service and first impressions really count! A poorly executed design can do as much damage as a great professionally designed solution can do to enhance the perceived value of your offering and increase your sales.
Typical collateral materials
Marketing Collateral includes business cards, letterhead, envelopes, printed & digital brochures, printed & digital newsletters, magazines, literature, websites, Facebook splash pages, packaging, point of sale, direct mail, vehicle livery, advertising, display exhibition stands & graphics, signage, a branded power point, keynote presentations, and videos.
Business cards are a must
Believe it or not, business cards are still a vital aspect of business marketing. Due to their pocket-sized convenience, business cards are the type of marketing material customers can easily hold on to for future reference or recommendation. When designing your business cards, keep in mind they are often the first interaction customers have with your business so keep your branding strong, simple, and to the point.
Brochures and Flyers
Brochures are a fantastic way to offer interesting yet essential information relating to your business. A professionally designed brochure can:
• Tell a story about your business
• Create an overall positive first impression
• Be distributed to a broad audience
• Be used as a quick reference
• Be cost effective
• Make a great ‘leave-behind’
Flyers enable your business to advertise an event or sale, ask for information, entice potential customers to go to your website or come by your store.
Don’t forget about the digital platform
It’s important to remember marketing collateral spans across both print and digital platforms. Printed marketing collateral presents an opportunity for your potential customers to instantly get a sense of your business’ style.
But don’t forget about e-marketing collateral. This includes the basic internet tactical activities that support the marketing of your product or a service on the internet. These basic tactics are intended to support, facilitate and ease the internet presence of a website, product or a service.
Poor design can be costly
If you try to design your logo, website, and marketing materials yourself or invest in cheap designs, this can cost your business more money in the long run. You’ll end up having to hire a professional to create new materials for you and in the meantime, your business isn’t taken seriously by the high-value clients you want to attract.
Whatever form of collateral you choose to market your business, have it done professionally. The money a professional graphic artist charges usually pays for itself.