Is Print Marketing Collateral Still Relevant?

March 15, 2021 Big Hit Creative

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If you are one of those people who believe using marketing collaterals is the thing of the past, you are about to find out why they are still relevant. In this article, you’ll find out:

How marketing collaterals can jumpstart your business.
How marketing collaterals can drive prospects through the sales funnel.
And some of the perks of using marketing collaterals.

Even in today’s age, where 60% of the promotion is conducted digitally, print marketing collaterals still play a huge role in promoting products and services. If you still harbor doubts, think about this: you wouldn’t know which products your local grocery store sells at half-price without picking up a brochure.

So, as a business owner, you still need to use various means in your marketing efforts. That includes using several marketing collaterals that will help nurture prospects through the buyer’s journey.

Not all collaterals will work for your business though. You’ll always find that certain materials will only work for a specific segment. Hence, it’s essential to approach each target market with well-prepared collateral. Failure to do this may result in the misusing of your company’s resources.

By now you might be itching to know more about marketing collateral. Let’s dive into it.

What is Marketing Collateral?

Marketing collateral can be defined as a variety of materials used by businesses to promote brands, generate leads, or even educate customers. Marketing collateral can be anything from branded brochures, catalogs, case studies, ebooks, branded stationery, and so on.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be print-based only. Blog posts, landing pages, Slideshare, digital reports, 3D videos are some of the digital collaterals most used today.

What kind of marketing message should you use?

Every marketing collateral should have a marketing message. But not all marketing messages will hit the mark. Therefore, for your collateral to be rock-solid it needs to have the right message.

Use the following questions to come with the right message:

● What is it that you need each marketing collateral to achieve?

● What is your value proposition?

● What are the benefits of using your products or services?

● What makes your brand unique?

● Who are you targeting?

Mind-blowing facts about using marketing collaterals:

Some entrepreneurs think people do not read marketing materials such as brochures anymore. Or that once you hand them over to people, they chuck them in a trash bin. Nothing could be further than from the truth. Think about the following facts:

● 40% of people have confirmed brochures influence their

decision to travel.

● 32% of tourists believe whatever they read on a travel brochure.

● At least 65% of tourists are likely to pick up a brochure displayed

on the racks.

● More than 75% of brands use marketing collateral to fortify their

brands.

Here’s why using marketing collateral still matters

Collateral materials are the backbone of every business. They allow businesses to promote their brands, close more sales, and retain customers. Any business that invests in stunning marketing collaterals has a good chance of communicating better with prospects and nurture them through the customer’s journey.

Marketing collaterals don’t have to be print in order to be effective. There are other interactive materials that you can use online and save on printing costs. Since each type of marketing collateral would be efficient in different stages of the buyer’s journey, it’s crucial to categorize your marketing collateral in this manner:

1. Awareness stage

At this stage of the funnel, prospects know nothing about your brand and services. You can use collateral marketing such as blog posts, an ebook, a webinar to draw their attention to your brand.

2. Consideration stage

Once the prospects interact with the above-mentioned collaterals they slowly move further down the funnel. They will begin to think more about some of the pain points your collateral has addressed and learn more about your brand. They may subscribe to your blogs or your newsletter.

● You can then send a case study showing how efficient your products or services are.

● Or even free podcast episodes that address their problems.

3. Conversion stage

At this stage of the funnel, the prospect is ready to decide whether or not to purchase. If you are a tech company that offers a purchase order application, at this stage prospects may sign up for a free trial or agree to attend a demo. The kind of marketing material you should use includes automated email series, or samples of your products, or a free trial.

Consider this: Nearly 67% of the buyer’s journey is done digitally, which means your landing pages, blog posts, and website will play a huge role in aiding conversions.

4. Loyalty

At this stage, you have a customer that you should try by all means to retain. You will continue using various marketing collaterals to keep them informed. Surveys, email blasts, and branded gifts are some of the collaterals that you can use.

Here are 5 ways that marketing collaterals will boost your marketing efforts:

1. Marketing collaterals help raise brand awareness

Raising brand awareness should be a crucial part of your growth plans. And marketing collaterals can help you achieve this. From using visual content such as videos, infographics, brochures, and billboards, to using subtle ways of promoting your brand such as experiential marketing.

2. Your sales team can hand out collaterals to prospects

Every time your sales team meets with a prospect, they should have something they can hand out. Be it a brochure, pamphlet, or catalog. It will not only make an indelible impression but increase the chances of closing a sale as well.

3. Marketing collateral helps you seal more deals

Using marketing collateral allows businesses to close more sales. While having a brochure, a landing page, or an explainer video doesn’t seal deals on its own, it just makes the job a lot easier.

Additionally, you and your sales team can use collaterals in order to follow-up, schedule another appointment, cross-sell, and up-sell, which is nearly impossible if you don’t have any printed and digital collaterals.

4. Marketing collaterals helps your sales team to present better

Presenting a product with no marketing collateral can have prospects thinking, “I am still not sure if these guys know what they are talking about” or “would they be able to satisfy my needs if they can only tell and not show benefits?” So, having marketing collateral on hand can help your sales team to show and tell. Over and above that, your team can use collaterals to tell your company’s story easily.

5. Marketing collateral can be used by other departments as well

Marketing collaterals are not only relevant to sales and marketing. They can be used by your human resources department to promote your brand when recruiting new talent. They can also be used for PR purposes, as well as to promote other company’s social corporate investment (SCI) initiatives.

6. Brand advocates

Some of your existing customers can easily become your brand advocates. Turning them into evangelists of your brand is pretty simple if you have marketing collaterals that you can hand over to them. These can be t-shirts, pens, stickers, bags, and other similar freebies.

If you want marketing collateral to be a big part of growing your brand, then talk to someone who has created countless impactful collateral materials before. Reach out to Big Hit Creative.