Aggressive Small Business Marketing & Advertising

Big thoughts, ideas and how-tos for aggressive, fast-growth businesses and the entrepreneurs who fuel them.

06 Jul

Marketing Material Supplied By Vendors…

...typically sucks.

Big companies that supplies resellers usually provide marketing support. And it is almost always horrible. Whether you are selling technology solutions or gourmet delicacies; generic marketing designed to fit hundreds or thousands of businesses will NEVER do as well as your own campaigns designed specifically for YOUR business, YOUR personality, and YOUR market.

Some of my clients do use vendor supplied marketing pieces - direct mail, space ads, banners, signs, and so on - but always as a secondary support piece; not the driving force of a given package.

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  • This is true. I’ve been the guy creating those marketing materials for a 3rd party and it’s tough because they have to be so generic. You frequently don’t get enough details to be able to customize the materials to a specific need. It’s just bland stuff for a faceless crowd. And it’s frequently soul-stealing work for the marketer.

    Submitted on Wednesday, July 14, 2004

  • I’ve seen some pretty bad stuff, too. But the flip-side is also true - just consider the materials car-makers provide their dealers. It’s also true that there is a boatload of bad marketing materials out there created by the re-sellers. Often they don’t have anywhere near the budget and expertise that the manufacturer has, and that results in some really tacky and ineffective materials. The real deciding factor here is, who in the chain is most capable and best-funded for providing the materials? If the materials are bad, chances are that neither partner is investing adequately to do the job correctly.

    Submitted on Thursday, July 22, 2004

  • Yes, lots of vendor supplied advertising sucks. That doesn’t mean you should ignore it, however. In my case, I sell hundreds of items, and I’m happy to use the vendor’s professional photos on my website. I even use their brochures - sort of. I rip out the pages that aren’t applicable, create my own price lists, and even combine several vendors’ brochures into binders I give my dealers. There’s no such thing as a free brochure, but some are cheaper than others.
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    Submitted on Monday, November 21, 2005
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