Marketing’s the name of the game around here. Not only our own, although we try and pay plenty of attention to that, but also creating amazing marketing materials for our customers. That means that over the years we’ve seen it all, we’ve heard it all, and not much takes us by surprise anymore. Therefore, we sometimes forget that business owners can find themselves drowning in the number of options they have for their small business marketing materials!
What do you really need? What don’t you really need? What’s just taking up time, space and money and what’s really going to help your business grow? How do you know before you invest a ton of time and money what small business marketing materials are honestly going to bring in business for your small business?
Unfortunately, when it comes to marketing materials it’s really a matter of trial and error. With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you slash your way through the jungle of small business marketing materials to find the solution that’s right for your business.
#1: Is it representative of your business? The best marketing materials are ones that really show off what your business can do.
#2: Does it reach your target market? There are a ton of companies posting their information here, there and everywhere, so mass marketing just doesn’t bring in the business it used to. Instead, you have to make sure your materials are going to reach the people you’re marketing to. For example, if you’re marketing to local businesses a small presentation packet and personal sales rep may do a lot more than marketing out on the web. On the other hand, if you’re a B2C company trying to reach the general public it’s going to be much more cost effective to post flyers and brochures than to send someone knocking door to door.
#3: Will it grab their attention? There’s a reason marketing materials don’t read like textbooks! You have exactly 3 seconds to grab the eye of the average consumer before they move on to something more interesting. If you can’t accomplish that, in that amount of time, you’re barking up the wrong tree.
#4: Do they work? Redundant question? Not at all. The best way to judge the success of your small business marketing materials is to set up a system to judge the success of your small business marketing materials! After all, how will you know what’s working and what’s wasting money if you never take the time to find out?