|
|
|
|
Both the visual quality and the text of your marketing communications have a tangible bearing on your ability to convert prospects into clients.
Your competitors are constantly looking to increase their market share and one of the tools that they are using is professionally created marketing collateral. More than ever, consumers are looking for meaningful information from reliable suppliers before deciding to pull out
their wallets. Gone are the days where consumers are able to be persuaded with poorly designed and poorly written marketing materials.
Even if your product or service is better than a given competitor, prospective customers are receiving a whole lot of signals, both good and bad, based on the way that your offer is presented to them. The deciding factor can often come down to a perception of quality as its
presented in the sales and marketing materials during the pre-sale process. Weve become a visually literate society and if your materials look dated and uninspiring then you will face an added hurdle in converting sales.
|
|
Good design is Good Business.
Using top-level design and copywriting, coupled to the right marketing strategy and tactics will give you a significant competitive advantage. One of the most important objectives for your marketing will be to create a clear point of
differentiation between your offer and those of your competitors and then delivering that message in a highly professional form.
One thing to consider is that most businesses use the same kinds of marketing approaches as their competitors, all operating in a thin band of sameness. This provides a real opportunity to venture beyond the ordinary in order to get your message understood as having some preferable
benefits in comparison to your competitors. The role of a commercial graphic designer is to help you achieve this differentiation.
Nowadays, it takes more than just creating pretty looking graphics in order to cause a shift in the mind of your target audience. It takes a strategically minded designer to hone your offer to a sharp and compelling point. Most designers just
dont have sufficient experience on the sales frontline to be able to really understand the subtle insights necessary in generating leads and converting sales using marketing communications design.
With over 20 years of experience in business, marketing, advertising and design, I have developed a special set of skills that I bring to every design project large or small.
Which Marketing Channel are you going to choose?
There are countless marketing options available to small businesses. And its wise not to fall into the trap of thinking that all your marketing should happen via the online channel. Each business and each specific strategy will have a best fit in terms of channel choice and it pays to
have a number of strings to your marketing bow so that youre not dependent on just one approach. Its not a problem if you first start with one medium and then once that has been optimised you can then explore the next most appropriate channel for your strategy.
Heres just a small selection of the various marketing channels available to small and medium sized businesses in NZ:
|
|
Commonly used Marketing Channels for SMEs in New Zealand |
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Internet Marketing |
|
Direct Marketing |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Printed Marketing Collateral |
|
Telemarketing |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Radio Advertising |
|
Print Advertising |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Point of Sale Marketing |
|
Word of Mouth |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Outdoor Advertising |
|
Affiliate Marketing |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Public Relations |
|
Sales Force Marketing |
Clearly, with all those options (and theres more) you are going to have to decide where to concentrate your finite marketing budget. As a result of my many years of developing strategies and design solutions for businesses across multiple industries I can help you to select the right
channel for your message.
Which Marketing Tool are you going to choose?
As well as selecting the right channel, you also need to craft the right marketing tool to deliver your message into that channel. Both these elements go hand in hand are must be tightly conformed to your overall strategic objectives.
Critical to your communication success is selecting the right marketing collateral for your specific strategy. Ive had many companies approach me for assistance with their marketing after having burned up a bunch of cash using the wrong
tactics. The single biggest mistake I see is where marketing budgets are being spent on campaigns that have a low ability to achieve measurable results. Im not a big fan of building awareness type marketing. I much prefer to see marketing budgets spent on tactics that give an immediate
return in terms of specific criteria.
For example, old-school DLE brochures are almost extinct now I havent designed any for my clients for years simply because in general they provide a low return on investment. Very few purchasing decisions are based on low-rent brochures. There are much better tools to use when looking
to persuade clients to choose your offer over that of your competitors.
Of course there are always exceptions, which is why I always evaluate the most appropriate tool based on what it is that Im asked to promote. DLE brochures are a very good fit if you sell rental cars and you want your message seen within
those brochure racks that are in every motel and hotel around the world.
Heres just a small selection of the various types of marketing tools that are used by most small to medium sized New Zealand businesses:
|
|
Common Marketing Tools used by New Zealand businesses |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Paid Online Advertising |
|
Link Exchanges |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Search Engine Marketing |
|
Social Media & Blog Marketing |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Email Marketing |
|
Mobile Platform Marketing |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Loyalty Programmes |
|
Sales Letters |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Free Guides & Reports |
|
Capability Profiles |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Billboards |
|
Press Releases |
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Newspaper & Magazine Ads |
|
Trade Journal Articles |
Many decisions need to be carefully evaluated if you want to achieve the best marketing results. But heres something that Ive learned every business owner has the chance to become an expert marketer if they apply a
disciplined approach to the testing and measuring of their marketing activities. Over time you will gain invaluable data and insights that can be used to tune-up your results.
I know that my experience across multiple industries will serve as a very valuable element as you go about developing a powerful sales-building system for your business.
So lets get started shall we?
|
|
 |
 |
|
Sam Strati - Brand Catalyst |
|
|
|
