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One of the biggest challenges that Small Businesses face is creating effective marketing collateral.  In addition to a challenging budget, there is just the question of what to communicate.  My motto is K.I.S.S., Keep It Seriously Simple! Don't make the mistake of over communicating your product or services.  Consumers are a lot smarter than you think, but they don't want to be bombarded with tons of messaging or content.  It takes too much time to sift through the clutter.  So in order to help you avoid overkill, I will offer you some Tips in Marketing K.I.S.S.

1. Avoid Hokey Taglines - If you can't afford to hire a marketing consultant, then leave off the tagline all together.  As cleaver as you might think you are, customers can always tell when your tagline is homegrown.

2. Get to the Point - Don't waste time with too many details on your materials.  Your collateral should communicate four things immediately.  1) Who you are, 2) What you do, 3) What is unique about your offering and 4) How to contact you.  Anything more is TMI (too much information).

3. Minimize Images - Too many images can be a lot of the brain to process.  Keep your collateral to 1 or 2 images that communicate your focus at a glance. If you need to show multiple images, then stick to one main image that draws the focus.  Keep the other images subordinate so they con't compete with the main focus.

4. Use the 3-Click Rule - When it comes to your website or blog be sure not to bury your content and confuse visitors.  The 3-Click Rule states that a visitor should be able to get to any content on your site within 3 clicks.    Does your site measure up?

5.  Eliminate Business Card Clutter - While your business card has a lot of 'real estate', its important to stage the content carefully.  Stick to relevant contact details on the front, such as your name, title, email address  and phone number.   Put all other details on the back (but don't make the mistake of printing a book back there).

There are lots of other ways to Keep It Seriously Simple, but its easiest just to keep the customer in mind by asking a simple question.  If I had 5 seconds what would I want my customers to know? I have included a sample ad that we designed for a customer utilizing Marketing K.I.S.S.

Happy Branding!

You can continue this conversation on Twitter @brandcoachllc or on Facebook.com/TheBrandCoach

Small businesses and start-ups put forth great effort to appear stable and established.  But often times they have a 'tell'.  Business cards printed at home, an AOL email address or ...a tri-fold brochure.  No matter how great your company/ service may be, you simply sell yourself short with these marketing flubs.

Marketing Faux Pas

While the tri-fold format in printed collateral has long been a a staple in marketing, in recent years the layout style has become a faux pas.  We live in the age of 'instant' success, consumers want to get information at a glance. That means they are looking for a Visual Snapshot. Its a big risk to assume that someone will take the time to comb through the folds of a page just to find out what you do, and how it will benefit them.

The Visual Snapshot

If you are wondering what a Visual Snapshot is, then imagine yourself in line at the supermarket.  When you glance at the magazines on the shelf you make a decision on whether or not to buy, just by looking at the cover.  The same thing happens when  a person looks at your marketing collateral.  I mean we don't want to have to read the

entire magazine to determine if we should buy it.

The first page of your brochure should state the following (very obviously):

• Who are you?
• What do you offer?
• What is unique about your product or service?

I'm not saying that the triple dipper doesn't have its effective uses.  It can be quite helpful as a pamphlet and its a wonderful tool in the health care industry.  But for small businesses, it just makes you LOOK small time.

I have included an example of a Sell Sheet.  Whether single or double sided, its a sure fire way to impress prospects.

Happy Branding Everyone! (http://thebrandcoach.com/ or @brandcoachllc)