How to Create Marketing Slicks
Businesses will not survive without some type of marketing. Whether it's social media, print, television, radio or word-of-mouth, you must make consumers aware of your product or service. Marketing slicks work well because they vividly display your product and put it in the hands of potential buyers. If done well, the layout and graphics you use in your marketing slick will sway even the most finicky consumer into purchasing your product or service.
People in advertising sometimes refer to marketing slicks as sales slicks. Marketing slicks are printed, single-page advertisements or digital pictures that display your product, highlight a few enticing sales details and perhaps list some technical specifications. Depending on the effect you wish to achieve, advertisers can design slicks that display either heavy or light graphics and colors. Advertisers use glossy paper for printed slicks, hence the name "slicks."
Once you have the idea for the product or service, you need to assess your target market to determine the best approach. You must decide if the benefit of your offering complements a need consumers need to fill. For example, suppose your Viper Vacuum cuts housework in half. Busy homemakers will appreciate this. Next, you must conduct research to determine where to display your marketing slicks. If you want to display them at a community expo, you need to know the number of married couples living on one income in the area if you're targeting stay-at-home wives or husbands.
It takes a team to create a successful slick. You might have created the concept, but you also need experts such as layout designers, graphic artists, website designers and copywriters to bring the slick to life. For a vacuum cleaner, for example, you want copy that describes the benefits of the product as well as images such as a photo of a happy housewife with her new vacuum. Make sure the arrangement of copy and graphics appeals to consumers. You also need a professional printing company to print the glossy copies and a web expert to place the slick on your site under a jpeg or other file extension.
Once you decide on the design, you must hook your consumers. Show them that your product is different. If this is a new product on the market, then you must make the consumers believe they want it. To do this, tap into their emotions because consumers base the majority of their buying decisions on how they feel. For example, you might explain how your flashy business suits will make businesswomen feel better about going into the office. Just make sure that the claims you make on your marketing slick are true, accurate, and can be backed up with facts.