Collateral Marketing Items Every Small Business Needs
Eight items to have on hand, ready to distribute
Over time, you'll want to provide information about your company to lots of
different people, including employees, investors, existing and potential
clients and the media. Your company's success may depend in part upon how well
you communicate that information -- which in turn may depend upon how well you
prepare collateral items ranging from company and product fact sheets to
biographies of key employees.
Every business should always have the following eight items on hand, ready
to distribute. Get them printed today.
1. Company fact sheet. Potential investors or employees, analysts and
media people should be able to learn important facts about your business with a
quick look at your fact sheet. A company fact sheet should include the
following information:
- Date the company was founded
- Where it is headquartered and
has affiliate offices
- Names and brief backgrounds
of founders and upper-level management
- Contact information
- Brief mission statement
2. Product fact sheets. Keep a fact sheet on file for each of your
products or services. A product fact sheet should include the following:
- The product's function
- Distinctive features
- Comparison to similar
products on the market
- Quality level
- Reliability
- Cost
3. Bios on founders and senior management. Make sure
you have a bio on hand for each founding member of the company, every senior
manager and each member of the board of directors. Bios should include the person's
education, relevant experience, awards or honors, and publications that
featured the team member or the team member's work.
4. Mission statement. A mission statement can motivate and direct
employees and give new hires an idea of how your company works. You can also
show the statement to potential investors, lenders or members of the media.
5. Company background. Whereas the company fact sheet essentially is
just that -- a list of facts -- this document is written in paragraph form and
should include more detail.
6. Current list of clients/partners. This information may be
interesting to investors or potential clients.
7. Press kit. When you open your business or launch a new product,
consider sending out a press kit. Press kits also can come in handy if you
decide to pitch your business at a trade show. Your kit should include the
following elements:
- Folder with your company's
logo
- Personalized letter pitching
your company, product or service
- Company fact sheet
- Product fact sheet
- Press release
- Articles written about your
company
- Business card
- Company background
While you may want to keep a few press kits on hand, don't keep a giant
stack of them around. Otherwise, you risk distributing out-of-date materials.
Instead, keep each element of the press kit in a computer file, and update as
needed when you're distributing a new round of kits.
8. Clip file. Make someone in your office responsible for collecting
and maintaining any articles written about your company. Note: If you are
thinking about mounting a PR blitz, consider hiring a PR firm to track where
press kits were sent, make sure they are received and then monitor the press
for mentions of your firm.
Source: http://www.allbusiness.com