Getting Started
When starting your marketing, there are things you must prepare for. Without a professional look you will be perceived as unreliable and your product may even look less appetizing.
You must have good marketing materials along with a solid offer to present. We have seen countless manufacturers spend thousands and thousands of dollars getting a product patented, produced, inventoried, but have not spent any time or money on formulating creative suitable marketing materials. And many times when they did, they used a company which did not know the industry and it ended looking very amateurish.
What you will need:
You will need good photos of your product, with a few showing the product in use. Unless you are a good photographer with the right camera equipment, you should hire a photographer that knows your industry to take your shots.
You will need a press release about your product. A press release should be part of your overall marketing strategy to get your product in front of the right category of buyers. It also helps if you can send some press clippings to buyers along with your marketing materials.
You will need a sell sheet. A sell sheet is really a color brochure that pictures your product and gives key features and benefits about the product for buyers to read. Stick with key features and benefits of using the product, and your contact information. Be careful if you are having your sell sheet printed in quantity not to include information that is subject to change. Sending this information electronically can be a much better solution.
You will need a cover letter that goes to buyers along with your sell sheet. This is the letter that would include an introduction to your company, and changing information you did not put on your sell sheet.
A sample request form makes it convenient and easier for buyer to take action sooner rather than later. Along with any product customization that may be done.
If you have any awards or testimonials about your company or product, put them in a separate document to be sent along with the rest of you marketing materials.
Make sure you have all your terms and conditions ready before you start marketing. Minimum Opening Order (If any). Minimum Re-Order (If any). Wholesales Discounts, Credit Terms, Freight, etc. How past-due accounts are handled and/or penalized. Freight Damage and Shortage information. Your Guarantee/Warranty and Drop Shipping if possible.