Each and every touch point affects your reputation and how your customer perceives and values your brand. It is critical to convey your brand values and communicate your professional intent with every piece of communication whether it be via email, in person, through your digital presence or your collateral and merchandise.

Impact on new customers

You only get the chance for one first impression and the first collateral and physical meeting will made a significant difference to their want to deal with you. If you provide collateral that looks amateur, they are not going to want to spend money on your business. You have significant competition among very large and slick players and you need to be able to compete with them in your communication and highlight your strengths e.g. agility and approachability.
Impact on existing customers
They need to see new products as commercially viable and worth their time and attention. They should already trust you, but you need to build a case for upselling or cross-selling that will solve more problems and further improve their business.
Marketing collateral must communicate the value proposition and include the following:
• Logos – financial justification and ROI
• Pathos – visual stimulation and story telling
• Ethos – evidence-based proof points

Questions to answer

To get the sale you must provide answers to critical customer questions including the following.
1. Why change?
2. Why now?
3. Why us / our products

Using the CLOSE method below can help you to define your value proposition.

CHALLENGE – What challenges and or problems are you solving?
1. The customer/end user may not realise they have a problem.
2. Provide compelling business insights as to the potential risks of the problem.
3. Paint a picture of the problem with operating with business as usual / status quo.

LOSS – What is the cost of the current challenges / problems?
1. Quantify the specific “Cost of Do Nothing”– exactly what maintaining business as usual / the status quo is costing the organization.
2. Tally the current “do nothing” costs as (at least one):
• Unnecessary expenses
• Lost productivity / inefficient or error prone processes
• Potential risks and risk-related losses
• Lost revenue and growth opportunities

OPPORTUNITY – What is the value of addressing the challenge?
1. Communicate the potential business benefits of solving the challenge.
2. Tally the impact to specific business metrics – value drivers.
3. Quantify the results of affecting the business metrics:
• Cost savings / avoidance
• Improved productivity / business processes
• Reduced risks
• Improved revenue growth

SOLUTION – What is your proposed solution?
1. Document the specific solutions to address the specific challenges and deliver business benefits.
2. Communicate the differentiating components of the solution and features, proving how the value is unique and providing business benefits.

EVIDENCE – How can your customer be assured that the proposed solution can deliver?
1. Validate how the proposed solutions have been successfully used by other prospects just like them, and the tangible business and personal value they achieved.
2. Quantify specific customer benefits, with specific KPI impacts, financial benefits and ROI.
3. Filter the evidence by industry, size and role to better resonate with prospects, so prospects know the benefits were achieved by prospects just like them, and via transference, can see themselves reaping similar business and personal rewards.

Collateral examples

Each piece must look professional and if they include images or graphics have them graphic designed, with simple and clear messaging and no typos or errors.
Remember to include a call to action on each piece of collateral with contact details and channel and ensure your pieces are branded appropriately including your product and brand name.

Rhonda Locke is a highly experienced marketer, a customer, product and brand champion, and is the Founder and Director of Unlocke Creative.