This is the fourth post in my series called Local Marketing Mondays. The previous posts covered the topics of:

• Education
• Great Creative
• Providing Guidance

This post will cover the topic of providing tools to local marketers.

Tools should be seen as just that - tools. They are not silver bullets. They are are not magic marketing pixie dust. They are tools. Now that being said, anyone who has used a spoon to dig a ditch or a saw with a dull blade can tell you just how important it is to:

1. Use the right tool
2. Make sure the tool is high quality
3. Make sure the tool is in good condition

Tools vary widely in the local marketing arena. You have e-mail marketing tools, ad builders, printers and their on-line ordering platforms, local pay per click providers, direct mail tools and the list goes on and on. In each category there is a wide range of features, quality and cost to be considered.

When evaluating solutions to offer to your affiliates, you must balance your desire to have a highly functional, feature-rich, high-end solution with the actual needs of your affiliate base, and with the cost of the solution.

NEEDS
Striking a balance between functionality and usability is a very difficult thing to do. The more functionality you add, the more complex the tool is likely to be, so make sure the feature you are looking for is really a necessity for your affiliates. When considering the purpose of the tool, ask yourself, "do we need a pneumatic jack hammer or will a good old fashion sledge hammer do the job?" If your affiliates are going to be banging away all day on concrete, then get then the jackhammer even if it is more expensive. If they are only breaking up a couple cinder blocks once or twice a year, then a manual sledge hammer will do the job.

COST
You need to be willing to pay the appropriate amount for the solution that best fits your needs. All too often, we run into brands that are in desperate need of a solution that we provide, but they are not willing to pay for it. They would rather pay less and get a substandard solution than to invest more into the right tool. While this may save money in the short term, it becomes very expensive in the long run.

In summary, consider the functionality you need and be willing to pay the appropriate price once you find the right tool. Doing anything less or more and you may be chopping wood with either a robotic axe or a dinner knife.