Simplify and Succeed: Using Marketing Templates and Guides For Manufacturers

If you’re in marketing, the biggest asset you need is time. It’s the time and knowledge you provide that allow you to implement your marketing strategies. No matter how knowledgeable or talented you are, it is still going to take time to create any deliverable. One of the best ways to scale you and your team’s efforts is through templated, repeatable processes. 

The final pillar of the Great 8 Pillars of ROI-Driven Marketing is Templates and Guides. A template isn’t just some low-quality resource. A template is a documented process and framework that allows you to produce a repeatable result with less effort. While your templates dictate an output, your guides inform the template user on how the template should be utilized. Together, these are vital assets in marketing as they promote efficiency, consistency, and collaboration. By leveraging these resources, marketers can save time, enhance their campaigns, and unlock their full potential in achieving marketing success.

Templates

Templates allow you to scale, meaning you have more hours in which to do the work by allowing others to follow your path. For example, you have probably heard yourself say, “It would take me longer to explain it than to do it.” That right there is a need for a templated process. Even if it feels as though that moment to make that document will take longer, imagine how much time and money it will save you in the future. In addition, think of all the hours you will open for selling and producing should that task become a templated and repeatable outcome.  

Evaluating Template Quality 

Along with allowing a business to scale its efforts, templates can also improve quality. In the past, we used to create websites from scratch, starting with custom designs and code sets, usually within the HubSpot environment. These sites were unique and performed well for our clients. However, they were expensive and time consuming. Custom code also caused compatibility issues with updates, necessitating more custom code to resolve them. 

As we grew, we realized there had to be a better way. We began exploring templates and had to overcome the misconception that templates meant low-quality or generic websites. Using templates doesn’t mean compromising on value. You can templatize high-quality outcomes without losing your competitive edge. Think of high-end brands like Mercedes-Benz and Rolex. That expensive car or watch wasn't built without a template. Even the most well-known brands rely on repeatable processes that ensure quality. 

Templates should act as guideposts, a result by which others should be measured and modeled. Build them for scalable, repeatable, and high-quality outputs. 

Guides

So where do guides fit into all this, and how are they different from templates? Well, as mentioned earlier, a template dictates an output, while a guide informs the template user how the template should be utilized. A guide documents “your way.” Guides need to be clear and easy to follow to ensure that templates aren’t open for interpretation. 

Evaluating Guide Quality 

A well-built guide enables even inexperienced individuals to complete complex tasks or achieve desired outcomes. When a low-level employee can use a guide referencing a specific template to produce a satisfactory result, it signifies a highly effective guide. If guides and templates are assigned to high-level employees, even if only partially, while maintaining the same fee, it increases organizational profit by reducing costs without compromising quality. This also allows higher-salary employees to focus on other valuable endeavors, such as serving high-level accounts. Moreover, it promotes decentralization of expertise, preventing dependence on a single individual and enabling work distribution across multiple employees. 

Embracing Templates and Guides: Unleashing Marketing Potential With Efficiency and Expertise 

Templates and guides are indispensable assets in marketing, empowering professionals to maximize their potential with efficiency and expertise. Templates not only save time and effort but also foster collaboration among team members, promoting a unified approach toward marketing initiatives. Meanwhile, guides offer valuable insights and knowledge from industry experts, allowing marketers to continuously expand their skill set and stay with the latest trends.

 Wondering what your templated efforts should look like? Visit our free resources page for access to our downloadable templates and guides.