Don't Lose Site of Classic Business Building Strategies!

You too, have the opportunity to package your business for success. The "package" you can create is a collection of marketing materials that enable you to present your company in a way your competition may not consider. It's simple. We are in a fun, creative industry and there are so many ways we can stand apart from our competitors. Here are a few ideas to encourage you to think outside the box as you develop a package that reflects your company's character:

Make the most of your printed collateral. If you haven't already, make sure you have basic items such as quality business cards and letterhead to include with the items you send. Consider doing something creative with your business cards. Mine has the title, "Business Construction Foreman." This designation often triggers a question about what we do. (We help clients build their businesses.) My industry colleague, Stephen L. Ropfogel, uses the title, "Findologist." This is a great title that invariably begs the question: What is a findologist?

An innovative job title on your business card can help you stand apart from the crowd, says Jerry Shereshewsky, Ambassador Plenipotentiary to Madison Avenue for Yahoo!

Don't tell someone what you do, show them. In our industry, we have a tremendous opportunity to showcase the power of our marketing medium. Your package should include branded items that tell your business story. At my company, we maintain our business-building theme by distributing screwdrivers imprinted with the phrase, "Let Us Fill Your Marketing Toolbox," stress hammers, business building blocks to success and measuring tapes/levels with imprints asking, "Business Measuring Up? Let Us Take You to a New Level!" We also include T-shirts compressed into hammer shapes. All these branded products are packaged in a cardboard box printed with toolbox graphics, thus supporting our company's "Marketing Toolbox" branding.