Beyond Brochures
Using creative collateral to help tell your story
By:
Jennifer Marsnik
________________________________________________________________
Do you walk trade show exhibit halls
collecting the latest brochures from dozens of companies and eagerly read them
on the plane ride home? Or perhaps you wait until you are back in your office
so you can examine each one during some downtime there.
No? This doesn’t describe you?
What about your clients? Do they have so
much free time that you envision them kicking back and reading about the great
features and benefits offered by your products or services?
Now more than ever, organizations must find
creative and compelling ways to tell their story and engage potential clients
in a way that leaves them wanting to learn more. People are inundated with
media and messages today through channels that did not exist just a generation
ago. In 1993, did you know anybody who began a day sifting through emails or
checking a Facebook page before even finishing that first cup of coffee? Today
we communicate via text and tweets, limiting our exchanges to a mere 140
characters. Our collective attention spans are shrinking, and yet the need
remains to educate your target market about who you are and how you can solve
their problems better than anyone else. The need remains to tell your story in
a way that convinces a sales lead to take a closer look, eventually converting them
from a lead to a client.
Some see printed collateral as a necessary
evil – insisting there is no replacement for handing out a glossy printed piece
to an event attendee or sharing with a prospect at the end of a meeting. And
while that argument has some merit, there are many ways to tell your story, to
convey the key messages about your value proposition and what differentiates
your products and services, than just traditional folders stuffed with
brochures and product sell sheets.
Case studies – Prospects are less
interested in reading the laundry list of features and benefits about your
product than in knowing how it will solve their problems. Few things share this
information as effectively as a good case study. Pointing out an example of how
you solved someone else’s problem may help a prospect see themselves in the
shoes of a client and how they will benefit from your solution and achieve the
same successful results.
Product reviews – Third
party-authored reviews convey a much more compelling description of your
product than any brochure or data sheet ever could. The credibility that comes
with an independent product review is significant. There may be perceived risks
in letting outsiders analyze a product; they might find something negative to say
about it. But taking this risk demonstrates confidence in the product and your
ability to respond to any potential constructive criticism.
Videos – Most people are visual by
nature, as evidenced by the success of social media platforms such as Pinterest
and Instagram. The popularity of YouTube likewise reflects our culture’s
captivation with visual media. Marketers can leverage this interest by using
short videos to convey company, product or service information that would
otherwise make for rather dry reading material.
Web content – Your website makes a
first impression. Be sure to include fresh, dynamic content. News and Twitter
feeds, announcements, press releases and reprints of bylined articles are ways
to demonstrate your company’s expertise and thought leadership.
Sales materials are no longer limited to just basic
brochures – using creative collateral makes a memorable impression with your
audience and can convert leads to clients.
About the Author
Jennifer Marsnik is a
senior account manager with Edge Marketing, Inc. Leveraging more than 20 years
of experience working in professional services industries, Jennifer consults
with clients to develop and implement strategic marketing plans that complement
and support their overall business goals.
