A Strategic Approach To Marketing Collateral

A Strategic Approach To Marketing Collateral

What s Markeing Without Strategy? TABLE OF CONTENTS Collateral That Makes An Impact Using Marketing Collateral to Drive Revenue Measuring Marketing Collateral Success Maintain Your Marketing Edge Connect With MM

PART ONE: WHAT S MARKETING WITHOUT STRATEGY? There aren t many things that say more about your brand than its marketing collateral. Not only does marketing collateral provide key information about your business, it is made up of tactile pieces of material with weight and character that physically represent your brand. With that in mind, it s easy to see why strategy should play an integral role in the creation of your promotional materials. Otherwise you could end up with marketing collateral that misrepresents your brand and hurts your business. Five questions to ask when creating marketing collateral: 1 What business goals can I meet with strategic marketing collateral? 2 Who is my target audience(s)? 3 Who can effectively create and manage my marketing materials? 4 How much can I invest in my marketing materials? 5 What kind of pieces will work the best for my unique brand? Effective marketing collateral helps you layer messaging and deliver relevant information at perfect points throughout the sales process. Crissy Saint, Senior Communications Strategist MMBRANDAGENCY.COM 3

PART TWO: COLLATERAL THAT MAKES AN IMPACT In today s business world, nearly every company possesses some kind of marketing material; it could be anything from a one-sheet to an entire catalog of collateral. Creating strategic marketing materials that match the aesthetic of your brand and tell the story of your business could be just what you need to make a lasting impression. Here are a few ways to make it happen: Think outside the brochure Trifold brochures have become a mainstay in the world of marketing collateral, and for good reason: they allow you to convey a lot of information in a compact form. However, they re easy for potential customers to ignore and toss aside. Utilize more unique forms of collateral to help yourself make an impression that moves your piece to the top of the pile. Don t be afraid to get specific It s a good idea to have a piece of marketing collateral that gives people more general information about your brand, but don t rely on it to do everything. Create a variety of pieces that are geared toward specific uses; that way you can help your audiences concentrate on the content that is tailored directly to their needs. Make it modular While creating each piece, make sure that it s part of a bigger picture. Find ways for your marketing materials to fit together so they remain consistent, even when the content or method of delivery varies. A truly modular system will provide each piece of marketing collateral with a basic frame and foundation, saving you time and money when a new promotional piece is needed. In the end you ll be able to provide potential clients or customers with a complete package that feels tailored to them, instead of something that seems like it was assembled from mismatched parts. The more scalable, the better There s a good chance that a majority of your marketing collateral will be made up of print pieces. Unlike digital assets such as a website or Eblast, printed materials can t be altered easily they have to be remade entirely. Making your materials scalable will allow you to add new pieces to the puzzle without requiring an overhaul of your entire collection of collateral. MMBRANDAGENCY.COM 4

PART THREE: USING MARKETING COLLATERAL TO DRIVE REVENUE Your marketing materials should be an investment, not a money pit. Creating strategic collateral will help you build brand awareness, connect with prospects, and ultimately convert them into lifelong customers. Four ways to drive revenue: 1 Make it worthwhile It s been said that you have to spend money to make money. High-quality collateral will demonstrate to others that you re very invested in your company, and they should be, too. 2 Inspire people to connect Just like other forms of marketing, your collateral should include calls to action and contact info. Otherwise, you ve inspired your audience to take action, but don t show them how. 3 Integrate communications Don t silo your audience. Make them aware of all the places your brand exists (both online and in the physical world) and direct them to destinations that will foster wanted actions. 4 Infuse your brand personality Humans want to connect with other humans. Infuse your brand s voice and visual personality into your collateral so your audience is able to form a personal bond with your business. Investing in well-designed, strategic materials will help your brand appear more credible and stand out from the competition. Paul Dunbar, Design Strategist MMBRANDAGENCY.COM 5

PART FOUR: MEASURING MARKETING COLLATERAL SUCCESS Measuring the impact of your marketing collateral can be a tricky business. While every brand has different goals and objectives in place, its necessary to find accurate ways to evaluate the success of your materials including your ROI and conversion rate. Key ingredients to measuring success: Determine your baselines Before you begin distributing your new marketing collateral, take a look at all of your major metrics. Include figures such as social media followers, website visits, active leads, etc. Use these numbers as a baseline and make comparisons after your collateral has been out and about for a reasonable amount of time, so you can gauge where your materials have had the greatest impact. Check for changes After releasing any updated marketing collateral, watch for any significant changes in the ways that your target audiences interact with your brand. If you notice any sharp increases or declines in interaction levels, see if you can attribute the change to a specific piece of your marketing materials. This will help fine-tune any future marketing materials and capitalize on positive trends. Ask for opinions Hard numbers can only tell you so much about the successes and failures of your marketing collateral. Ask a few members of your target audiences what they think of your materials and take their opinions into account. However, their responses should be taken with a grain of salt. It s impossible to create something that absolutely everybody is going to love. Look for opinions that are shared by multiple sources. Keep your ear to the ground If you use your marketing materials at events like a conference or trade show, measure what kind of response they get on a large scale. Check to see if your name pops up when you hear any chatter regarding whose booth is worth visiting. If you do, it s a good sign that your collateral is headed in the right direction. Monitor your sales In the grand scheme of things, your marketing materials have one primary objective to drive revenue. Monitor your sales figures to see what kind of impact any change in collateral has on your revenue. If all is well, your profits should see a positive upswing. MMBRANDAGENCY.COM 6

PART FIVE: MAINTAIN YOUR MARKETING EDGE Your brand is constantly changing and evolving your marketing collateral should adapt alongside it. If you let your marketing materials become outdated or stale, you could be providing faulty information and losing out on sales because of it. You should have some fundamental resources in place to ensure that doesn t happen. Five marketing collateral toolbox must-haves: Overall marketing strategy Your collateral is one small piece of a very large marketing puzzle. First thing s first: make sure that your materials fit with the big picture to ensure that all everything is working in harmony. Wordsmiths An intelligent team of well-versed copywriters and content strategists are necessary for the execution of any and all marketing pieces. Arm them with your foundational strategy and objectives. Graphic Designers The design and layout of your materials could make or break their success. Make sure that you use talented graphic designers to create a strategic visual presence that gets results. Production management Printed marketing materials of any kind require close monitoring management, and collaboration with vendors during production to ensure that the end result is spot on. A mismanaged production process could end up being more expensive than necessary. Conceptual thinkers Having someone on your team that can visualize unique ideas that are outside of the box will help you create eye-catching pieces that add value to your brand. MMBRANDAGENCY.COM 7

Connect with MM Brand Agency for a strategic approach to your marketing collateral. MMBRANDAGENCY.COM HELLO@MMBRANDAGENCY.COM TEL 917-626-8270 1017 N CENTRAL AVE SUITE 1 PHOENIX, ARIZONA 85004