Marketing Collateral Goes Digital

Marketing Collateral is a collection of material for marketing and sales of a product or a service. Businesses use marketing collateral to communicate their message to their consumers. These media aids enhance the sales and projects the brand image. Some common examples of collateral items are

• Brochures / Flyers
• Newsletters
• Fact Sheets
• Data Sheets
• Web Content
• Sales Presentations
• Other printed or electronic promotional items

A company needs collateral items not only for its consumers but also for its investors, employees, potential clients and media.

There is a difference between business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) marketing. The main differences between these two marketing strategies are their goals. The ultimate goal of B2C marketing is to convert buyers to shoppers. B2C marketing campaign is designed to entice buyers using visual merchandising like displays, store fronts and website landing pages.

B2B marketing campaigns are designed to build a relationship with other businesses. In short, B2B marketing strategy is designed for products and services to be sold from one company to other and B2C services are sold from one company to end user.

B2B marketing strategies are designed differently because the business buyer is more sophisticated than your average B2C buyer. He understands your product and services and wants to know more about them. So, the information he needs is more complex and your marketing material needs to provide him with the properly researched content. Here, content is definitely the king. In contrast, B2C marketing is more visual and has to capture the buyers’ attention almost instantly.

In this digital age, when shoppers are gravitating to online shopping, some due to ease of shopping, some because of time constraints; the online marketing collateral has become an essential tool.

Though we still see printed marketing collateral everywhere in the form of brochures, flyers, newsletters and store displays, digital marketing has found a way in. With the advent of social media, all businesses have a web presence. With the brands being so much in the public eye via their Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest pages, social media campaigning is becoming an essential tool for marketing. It used to be a free way to promote your brand and services for small businesses. But, with the popularity of social media, even big brands are integrating social media with the traditional means of marketing. It makes your brand more accessible and builds relationships with customers. Many small companies are reinvesting in the digital marketing campaigns. E-newsletters, landing pages and social media are a great way to cut costs and find your digital footprint on web. Today, we give digital sales presentations and provide simple mailers with QR codes, which redirect customers to online catalogs.

Now, even a start-up can afford to market its products and services in contrast to a pre-digital marketing era when you had to spend money to create direct mailers or posters and billboards to advertise.

What Businesses need is a marketing strategy. Never start marketing without a plan. With a vast array of marketing tools, it sometimes becomes difficult to track all your marketing campaigns. Remember, quality is always better than quantity. Keep your website content updated, work on your SEO, update your blogs. The digital marketing though easy and fast is also a click away. With web being accessible, it is important to grab the consumer’s attention so he is not tempted to move on.

That huge billboard on Times Square might have captured your attention many times. Or a creative mailer in your post would have created a first impression. Being a little creative and understanding all the marketing tools is the first step to create an effective marketing plan. Each company has its own plan which cannot be one size fits all. All businesses marketing strategies need to be tailor-made.

Digital and print collateral mix well together. It’s all about finding the right balance. Traditional marketing tools have a bigger life span. A poster at the corner of the street is there everyday, though not interactive. It still might have caught the attention of few and gain you some new customers. Looking at that glossy catalogue of products might inspire a customer to visit stores or shop online. There are people who still favor traditional means to be wowed.

But for small businesses, digital collateral sure saves the day. Cheap or free, Internet marketing needs a good understanding and a responsible strategy to fulfill your goals.

Combine both or go digital, marketing collateral is an important part of your business plan.