Pro Tips on How to Design an Effective Marketing Collateral

Pro Tips on How to Design an Effective Marketing Collateral ​

Pro-Tip: How to Design an Effective Marketing Collateral | Brave Achievers

Collateral should be one of your brand or company's most prized possessions. It reflects their value and it is always designed to make an impression of the company's identity on customers.  ​

The endpoint is to create a connection between you and your audience. They should be able to see all that you represent in your marketing collateral. How do you create that connection? How do you move them from being an admirer to someone that buys into your vision? You need compelling words to do that right? Yes, you do! But that is not all you need! More than words, you need a design that fits your content. You don't want a design that contradicts all you've written in your collateral.  
 
​Good marketing collateral is the combination of compelling words and compelling design. As much as you can have a guide on the kind of words to write, there are also principles on how to design collateral.  ​

Pro Tips on Designing Effective Marketing Collateral ​

Your marketing collateral should be able to get your point across as quickly as possible and also evoke the right emotions. This requires that you know what to do before you start. So, what are the things to do? ​

1. Focus on the customer ​

A conventional advertisement focuses on explaining what your product is and what it can do. 
 
Now, you must consider the message for your marketing collateral from the customer's point of view. 
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Your business exists because of the customers' problem. This should be visible in your collateral. Don't make your collateral all about yourself and what you can do. Make it about your customer. What are their challenges and pain points? You only talk about yourself concerning the problems you are solving. It makes them feel you are interested in offering help to them. Your focus should be on what they need and not what you can sell. ​

2. Clear Design ​

Have you seen a dress that seemed like the perfect dress for your body, but it'd just torn or has faded out? That is exactly how it looks if you have an idea that offers a real solution but people can't even get to understand what you wrote in your collateral. let your design be direct and very clear. 
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After you have settled the issue of purpose, that is the purpose for the collateral being the customer. It is always good to use a clear design. No blurred words, no misspellings, the logos, and other graphics are where they should be. A mistake in the text or the wrong placement of a logo or an image can create a wrong signal. So, you want to be diligent with your visual design. 

Have you read? Strategies for Designing a Better Marketing Collateral

3. Consistency (in Branding) ​

This implies delivering messages that are consistent with your brand's identity and values always. Consistency means that your target audience is exposed to the same core messages. Because your branding will be more consistent if your messaging is consistent. The reason for the importance of brand consistency is that it leads to brand recognition. You should always strive to be recognizable by your target audience. You could say that brand consistency is a higher level of marketing. By being consistent in your messaging, you can differentiate your brand from competitors. It is especially important in a highly competitive and saturated market. 
  
Consistency gives you credibility. Changing designs every now and then on your collateral doesn't sell you well. Ensure consistency in your branding. The logos, slogan, text format, and overall purpose should be consistent. inconsistency confuses people and makes them lose interest easily. However, consistency makes things easier. It makes recognizing your brands very easy. If you are known for a particular color, your brand name pops up wherever the color is seen. 
  
In designing your marketing collateral, clear visuals and brand consistency are critical. However, you are not the only one who generates collateral. There are other people communicating about your brand, and they might not even adhere to the three principles. ​

So, how do you ensure that all of your marketing collateral is consistent in design?  ​

What happens when a policy changes, you begin working with new external partners, or you hire new employees who were not present at your initial presentation session? 
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The easiest way is to use Digital Asset Management. You can compile all your collateral in a Digital Asset Management software that has cloud backup. ​

Final Thoughts ​

Marketing collateral is not just about words. The design projects the words better, making them more meaningful. The logos and icons communicate to customers too. Hence, it is important to know design principles that will be useful for creating compelling marketing collateral. This blog has answers to your questions on design, (UI/UX). You should visit here more often ​