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Overview |
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Too often, advertising
leaves the prospect dangling, with no idea of what to
do next, where to buy, or how to obtain more information.
It fails to build a bridge between the prospect and the
sale. At the very least, the ideal advertising and marketing
process should reach out and involve the prospect.
Stan Rapp, Thomas
L. Collins, “Maximarketing”
We
have discussed how to define market segments and how
to structure our communication to those segments. Now it’s time to reach out and connect: to
put marketing into action by deciding what tools and
materials we will use to communicate.
Some lend themselves more to the Hot Buttons,
while others are more effective for providing customer
education and advanced information.
Choosing the right tools and materials will make
all the difference in terms or reaching your markets
with timing, impact and cost-effectiveness.
First,
let’s look at the difference between marketing tools
and marketing materials. Many marketing experts consider these to be one and the same; however,
it is helpful to draw a distinction between the two. Marketing tools are more abstract and sometimes
less obvious than marketing materials, which are typically
finished, mass-produced items.
Marketing tools are used in a continual process.
Once marketing materials are produced, you have
to hope that they will serve you in the most optimal
ways. Marketing
tools generally have a longer lifespan, while materials
must be produced on a regular basis. Understanding these
critical differences could wind up saving you thousands,
if not millions, of dollars when planning the marketing
campaign – and could make the difference between success
and failure.
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Marketing Tools
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Marketing Materials
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Things consumers can interact with: websites, interactive
presentations (i.e PowerPoint or Flash downloads),
banner ads, and online catalogs. We can interact
with these materials by querying them, extracting
data from them, and sorting through them in ways
that are far more dynamic than traditional printed
materials.
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Traditional printed literature such as brochures,
sell-sheets, catalogs, binder kits, direct mail,
and user guides. We can read through these materials,
but not really interact with them.
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Things marketers use to manipulate and distribute data: databases,
e-mails, computer equipment, and desktop publishing
software.
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Printed news
media
such as trade publications, articles, and press
releases (also downloadable PDF files).
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The relationships that exist between marketers and the news media, distribution
partners and retailers. Relationships are like
tools in the sense they the require interaction
and some degree of manipulation.
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Product packaging and the signage for in-store promotions.
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Custom electronic
presentations such as PowerPoint files, Flash files and electronic documents can
be created for a specific client or group (i.e.
niche or market segment) of clients.
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Mass produced
multimedia
product promotional items such as product videos
and CD-ROMs.
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Broadcasting, whether through television,
radio or the Internet (web-casting), is a tool
that allows us to disseminate information to markets
via a dynamic process.
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Novelty items and giveaways such as T-shirts, pens, and toys.
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Search Engines
are
one of the most important tools used by marketers
and consumers. Effective search engine placement techniques
make it easier for products to be found by consumers
querying them.
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