Three essential marketing communications pieces are a must-have for your business to be competitive. They are the business card, brochure, or menu if you are a food service establishment and a website. This concept is even used by the services where you can buy essay. These three items are essential for success because they are the basic forms of marketing communications that can provide your customers with contact information as well as help sell your product or service when your business is closed or when you are not available to answer questions.
Let’s take a closer look at each item, two of which are print items and the third, online.
Must-Have Marketing Communications Collateral
The Business Card
The business card is more often than not, the first marketing communications piece that a potential customer will see. This small, 3.5″ x 2″ printed piece will make a powerful first impression and serve as the bridge that connects the recipient with your business. Your business card should go everywhere you go and it should be handed out at every opportunity.
Make certain that you have all the essential contact information on your business card, such as:
- your name
- phone number
- email address
- website
- physical address
- fax number
- social media site/page
Make that first impression count!
The Brochure
Depending on your type of business, the brochure can be a menu or a small catalog. The point is, to have a printed piece that explains your business, services, or products. The brochure can be a tri-fold 8.5″x11″ sheet of paper, or it can be larger, with multiple pages.
This marketing communication piece will provide more information about your business, such as:
- the history of your business
- services and/or products you offer
- company philosophy
- why your customer should buy for your business
- industry information
- contact information
- price or cost of product or services (see note below on including pricing)
Should You Include Pricing in Printed Material?
There are two schools of thought on whether one should include the pricing of their products and services in their printed brochure. If you are printing a menu, then the answer is yes, including pricing. If you are printing a catalog, then, again, the answer is yes. However, what if you are a photographer, property management company, or some other service company. Should you include price?
One school of thought says yes, including the pricing. By including pricing, you are giving your potential customers the information they need to make a buying decision. If they see the price and find the product or service to be within their budget, they will act further and contact your business. Hannah R. Dudley, a marketing manager at the essay writing service BuyEssayClub, states that if the price is out of their range, they will opt out of contacting your business, and some say they are fine with that. However, the other school of thought says, do not include the price for this very reason; people will see the cost and may not contact your place of business.
The thought not to include pricing entices potential customers to pick up the phone and call your business if they are curious about your product or services. Once they call, it allows the business owner or salesperson to try and sell the services or products. Some people believe that it’s better to be in contact with the potential customer, listen to their needs and objections, build rapport with them, and then tailor a sales pitch that will get them to make a buying decision. If the customer does not make a purchase, the sales individual at the other end may have gathered enough information from the customer to try and provide them with additional product and service information at a later time, thus increasing their chances of a future sale.
To include price is going to be based on your company and sales philosophy. However, for most applications, I prefer the customer to call me so that I can get to know them, build rapport, and then try and make a sale.
The Website
One of the most important online pieces of marketing communications pieces you can invest in is your website. With over 80% of the U.S. and 33% of the world population online*, having a website is critical to a business, even if you are a small, local business. Your website should have the same look and feel as your printed material and it should offer your customers not just the same information as your printed brochure, but additional information about your services and products. It is also a good idea to have a blog on your website where you can add updates to services, product information, company news, industry news, or tips to your customers and readers.
Wrapping It Up
It is essential that your business both printed marketing collateral as well as an online presence. The business card is an essential marketing piece since it is often the first piece a customer will encounter, making first impressions about your company count. The brochure helps provide customers with additional information about your business, services, or products that they can take with them and use to make a buying decision later. Providing price may or may not be beneficial to your business. One school of thought says that adding price to your brochure can potentially lose business by not being able to physically speak with your potential customer. Another school of thought says adding price empowers the potential customer to have all the information they need to make a buying decision before they call your business. To add prices to brochures is dependent on your business and personal selling philosophy.
A company without a web presence is potentially losing business. With over 33% of the world population, and 80% of North America using the internet, both national and local businesses benefit by having a website that provides their customers and visitors with additional information about products and services, especially if they have a blog that updates the information regularly, at least once per week.
