Effective marketing techniques

Do-It-Yourself

Provided you have a good eye for design and a computer, there’s no reason why you can’t try some DIY marketing. Your toolkit should contain:

Microsoft Office, which most people have, so you can send information through using its formats

Adobe Creative Suite 3 (or a similar graphics program) to create professional collateral

Colour laser printer for quality printouts

Paper folding machine, exponentially faster than humans so will pay for itself

Paper guillotine or trimmer for neat edges

Laminator to create professional-looking signage

Appropriate paper stock (glossy, matte, card etc) to infer the quality of your brand

Blank CDs if you want to issue multimedia

Digital camera (at least 4 megapixels) to capture images

Phone system to handle customers. Ridis says your ‘on hold’ message is another opportunity to consolidate your marketing message.

Stop! Press?

Don’t forget that the media can be a great way to spread the word about your business so it’s a good idea to make sure you’re press ready. Here’s a checklist:

Press releases: Have a core list of relevant media contacts to which you send press releases. Press releases should be newsworthy, such as the launch of a new product or an award win. If you don’t have media contacts, allocate space on your website for news and update it regularly.

History: A brief history of the business, with perhaps a short biography of the founder, gives the company some context. The ‘About’ page on your website should perform this function. You should also prepare this as a Word or PDF file.

Images: Hire a professional photographer to take pictures of key people in your company as well as your flagship products. Keep the rights so you can use them wherever you need to, such as in your collateral or for external publication. This way you can control your business image and, if you don’t have time for a photo shoot, you won’t miss out on exposure. A print quality image has a resolution of 300dpi (dots per inch) and should be at least A6 size (about 10cm x 15cm). The commonly used image file types are jpeg, tiff and png. They should travel easily over email, in a CD, or on a memory stick.

Spokespeople: Designate interviewees—founders, CEOs and managing directors are most in demand—who can field questions from the press. Make sure they are available for comment, particularly after a big announcement.