The marketing function in any business has a high expense profile. This is
due in large part to the need for an array of marketing materialsknown in
“marketing speak” as collaterals. The purpose of collateralsbrochures, white papers, newsletters, web sites, and other printed or electronic informationis to increase awareness, recognition, and interest about a company (or particular product or service) in its target market.
Service firms must rely almost wholly upon collaterals to attract and interest
customers. With no tangible product to see, touch, or try out before buying,
these companies need to convey their quality, reliability, and value by
proxyand collaterals play a major role here. Collaterals are “service samples”
for potential customers. They represent their companies symbolically through the
quality and value of their content, the appeal of their graphic design and color
schemes, and even, in the case of printed materials, their texture.
So, we have materials that 1) must successfully represent the company and its
services and 2) take up a significant portion of the marketing budget. Add in
the fact that the preparation and production of collaterals call for specialized
skillscopy writing, graphic design, web design, printing, to name a fewthat
require outside contractors, and we have a program that needs good management to
achieve the highest return on investment.
Managing contractors to get the best collaterals for the best value is often a
major challenge for small and medium service firms. The array of skills needed
and the choices for final output can cause the cost pendulum to swing wildly:
– Pay too little and you end up with stuff that doesn’t represent you or,
worse, is detrimental to your image.
– Pay too much and you aren’t getting anywhere near the best value for your
investment, or, worse, your materials end up being held hostage by your
contractors because they are too complex for you or anybody else to take over.
How can you avoid “collateral” damage to your company’s image and/or your bank
account? Here are six strategies, in reverse order of importance, that will
stack the deck in your favor.
7. Resist the DIY impulse.
Unless you or a member of your staff really do have the skills needed to
turn out good (= results producing) materials, don’t try doing it yourself.
Better to have no brochure than one that looks “homemade” by someone who doesn’t
know a font from a hole in the ground or who thinks that white space is a
snow-covered field in Minnesota.
6. Get the most skills that you can from one person.
Any creative contractor you hire should be multitalented. For example, last year
I worked with a graphic designer who was excellent in both web design and hard
copy designand understood the differences between the two. For the cost of his
design time, I was able to apply his output to multiple items and have hard copy
pieces that matched the web site.
5. Only hire team players.
Your creative contractors need to be more interested in your business objectives
and results than in art for art’s sake. When you are reviewing proposed designs
or creative solutions, ask what, why, how. What business benefit will this
provide? Why a 6-color brochure rather than a 4-color one? How is a Flash
animation going to attract more business from the web site? There may be valid
business answers to these and other questions; if so, go for it. If not, pass by
the artsy stuff and concentrate on more practical items.
4. Keep up with output technologies.
Printing technology has drastically changed over the two decades I’ve dealt with
it, and it continues to do so. Make sure that you are using the best technology
fit for your hard copy materials. Assuming that you have hired multitalented
team players, you have built-in advisors who will match you up with the most
effective (quality and cost) output medium for your needs.
3. Strive for as much self sufficiency as possible.
While you do not want to go the DIY route for your collaterals, you still want
to maintain control of them and do as much as is feasible yourself. For example,
have your designer create templates for repeating pieces such as newsletters or
proposals, then prepare these documents in house. Another element of self
sufficiency is obtaining and storing electronic copies of all artwork, in
original format as well as any derived versions. You own the art, so don’t brook
any refusals to provide it.
2. Practice good project management.
Any project must be managed, and creative projects must be managed even more
carefully. Plan any collateral preparation with a timeline, milestones, and
resources, then manage your contractors according to the plan. Depending on the
scope of the work and its business criticality, you might consider building in
incentive bonuses to key contractors based on criteria such as early delivery,
adherence to design specs, or other performance indicator.
1. Clarify your objectives before you start looking for contractors.
To get the best possible return on investment from your collaterals, you need to
clearly understand what you want to achieve from them. The results your
collaterals produce should tie in to your marketing and business objectives; if
you aren’t clear what those objectives are, attend to those first before
attempting to create materials. The first contractor you hire, in fact, may be a
marketing consultant who can work with you to clarify your objectives and
identify means to measure the ability of your entire marketing program
(including collaterals) to support their achievement.
Pursuing these strategies will help keep your collaterals on track in terms of
their effectiveness as your representative, and will ensure that you are getting
the most bang for your buck from the “artistic” side of your marketing equation.
Trish Lambert, president of 4-R Marketing LLC (http://www.4rmarketing.com), is an experienced marketing consultant and creator of the 4-R Marketing Model
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