Marketing collateral is an essential component of doing business. Leaving information about your company with potential or existing clients can help make an impression, seal the deal or set you apart from the competition.

Here is a list of the most critical pieces that every business should include:

Mandatory Collateral Basics

You may not have every marketing piece there is to have for a business, but even a small business needs these three things to show himself legitimate:

  • Business Card – this is one of the most critical pieces of collateral every business owner needs. At a minimum, it should contact who you are, what you do and how to contact you.
  • Leave Behind Piece – this is a marketing piece that you can leave behind with potential or existing clients after a meeting. It should simply define what you offer and the next steps should they want to move forward. It can be a brochure or a flat/folded card.
  • A Promotional Product –  this should be a giveaway that is fun and memorable and in line with your products or services. Simple go-to’s are pens, t-shirts, magnets or tech gadgets. It should be an item that people will use on a regular basis. Your brand should be reflected. Doing so will keep you on their minds.

Six Tips for Your Marketing Collateral Basics

  1. Make sure that your design inconsistent. Design elements such as your colors, style and logo elements, should be consistent across your marketing collateral pieces.
  2. Make sure it is easy for customers to understand what you do. After reading any collateral, customers should have more questions answered than not. It is important to be clear and easy in your communication.
  3. Share useful information. Brochures, cards, and publications can be a great way to share useful information with potential and existing customers. You can use them as an education piece establishing yourself as an expert.
  4. Make it easy for your team to use. Whenever your or your team comes in contact with a potential customer, your marketing materials should allow them to quickly share your products and/or services and leave them with contact information.
  5. Make sure your materials are high-quality. Time is out for printing at home and Vista Print business cards. If you are serious about your business, there are affordable, quality papers and processes that you can use to ensure that your materials look good. After all, they are a reflection of your and your company and the quality of service they will receive from you.
  6. Have clear call-to-actions and contact information. There should be some form of a CTA and contact information on every piece that it can go on. Put yourself in the shoes of a potential client: what are the next steps?

While marketing collateral can be expressed in a myriad of mediums, these represent the few basics that you should have as a legitimate business.