Marketing collateral: how to choose the best options for your brand.
Whenever you’re thinking of new and innovative ways to reach your customer base, you often don’t really know where to look. Of course, digital has taken over, there’s no doubt about that and it does render really amazing results. Social media platforms are easy enough, so you opt for that option, crossing fingers and hoping it works fine. More often than not though, you’re missing out on tons of other alternatives that could actually work better - especially if you want to be specific. At Mint Stalk, we sit down and explore all touch points relevant to your target market, before advising which marketing channels we think you should invest in. People are quick to forget about the broad spectrum of all the different approaches, picking the quickest path and cutting corners. As a leading digital and creative agency based in one of the most innovative places in the world, Dubai, we are here to help you make first contact. Welcome to the exciting world of marketing collateral!
Simply put, marketing collateral is a bunch of different marketing materials used to supplement sales effort. It’s typically more informative and ranges from flyers and web content, to case studies and blog posts (to name a few). It might sound a little bit random at first, especially if you’ve never done it but it really comes in handy when customers get curious about your brand. This method is similar to what branding is about, as it helps sustain a long-term customer relationship through many different channels. It’s almost like, wherever they look, they’ll see you somehow and that’s what you want. If you are someone with limited marketing experience, it just means that instead of just selling your products and services, you’re selling your company as a whole - you’re selling your story. It means that you have put considerable effort at being present and visible, showing pride in what you do and wanting to be recognized as a leader in the industry. That way, people will want to rely on you - they see your efforts and they can appreciate them.
Let’s be honest, people do not like to look very far when they’re searching for answers. If you’re not very obvious with your “who”, “how”, “where” and “what”, customers will quickly move on and forget about you. Now that marketing materials are no longer limited to print, your reach is endless - but you also have to find the right way to resonate with them. As a leading digital and creative agency, we’ve worked on countless of these options and here are some examples we’d like to put forward:
Your Landing Page: Plain and simple, your website’s landing page is your chance of making a good first impression. They provide a highly targeted message for one specific aspect of your company. For instance, if you look at AirBnb’s website, their landing page provides good insights on what you could gain if you became an AirBnb host in terms of revenue and other perks. It’s highly specific, straight to the point and offers an attractive alternative to people looking for a different revenue stream. It’s your chance to highlight what you want to put forward.
Brochure: Their purpose is to grab attention and create awareness by showcasing all the relevant information in a digestible manner. It’s usually visually appealing and crisp, with infographics, bullet points and important numbers, giving them a glimpse of what you’re able to deliver. Short and sweet!
Reports: Reports are commonly used by big companies. At the end of each business year, they compile all their data gathered during the year, from their revenues and expenses to new partnerships and future projects, to give a better understanding to their potential clients and people they work with. This is a great way of showing transparency with what has been going on both internally and externally.
Case Studies: These are pretty cool. It’s another way of being fully transparent with your customers about your past experiences and the things that worked well in practice. It shows the public the positive results delivered in the past and helps leveraging your products and services in a very realistic way. Case studies are educational and informative, reinforcing the idea that your products will solve the issue and that your way of doing business is reputable.
Testimonials: Your satisfied clients are your personal cheerleaders. If you have delivered what you promised beyond expectations, rest assured that your clients will be more than happy to put in a good word. As we say here at Mint Stalk, there’s nothing like a good referral! When your partners vouch for your credibility, it adds considerable value to your business as a whole, not just in terms of what you’re selling.
White Papers: Depending on the type of industry you’re in, white papers are useful when it comes showing technical knowledge. It’s similar to the case studies, but a little bit more “serious” and not as accessible to everyone as it sometimes uses very tricky knowledge that only you understand. It gives you an advantage over your competitors as it shows your unmatched skills and knowledge of the industry. It’s like Elon Musk talking about rockets - it’s incredible and impressive but let’s be honest, no one really gets it. And we still put the fate of humanity in his hands!
Blog posts: Blog posts are fun to write. At Mint Stalk, we like to showcase our expertise in the fields we excel at, such as content writing. It’s a creative way to provide insights and engage with our audience, putting forward our dedication to always stay on top of things and current trends. It’s only normal for a leading creative and digital agency based in Dubai, one of the most competitive places on earth.
All of these different alternatives provide tangible proof that your ideas truly work. Marketing collateral often follows specific phases:
Awareness phase: You’re letting people know that you have the solution to their problem. The collateral types typically used for this phase are:
blog posts (the SEO within your blogs help you climb the ladder of the Google search results page),
landing pages (your website is your first touch-point),
and branded content (sponsored article about your company published is a newspaper).
Consideration phase: Customers are seeing your products as a valuable and viable option. This is where you should move forward in helping them decide in your favour. The collateral types used for this phase are:
case studies (to show how well you performed),
white papers (to show your unmatch knowledge of the industry), and
brochures (more detailed account of your products and skills).
Decision phase: They are interested but still unsure. This is the moment to tell them how you can do it better than everyone else. The best collateral for this stage are:
Proposals & presentation. Here at Mint Stalk, we study extensively the different aspects of your company and come up with targeted suggestions and solutions for your industry and product. Every project is unique and different, therefore we are careful in making this phase a positive turning point for both parties.
Loyalty phase: This phase is often about just keeping your existing customers happy and updated. The best collateral types to use are: newsletter, corporate magazines, end-of-the-year reports. Pretty self-explanatory!
It’s also best to put a call-to-action somewhere in there as well, telling them that they can get in touch with you for anything they require. With that being said, why not start by creating some collateral with us? Until next time!
