With the rise of online marketing, social media and the like, some of our clients have asked, “Are brochures still effective for marketing a business?”
Let me start by saying this, I’m an advocate of online marketing. I discuss best practices and help businesses utilize it on a daily basis. But we have to be realistic. No matter how uncomfortable it might make some of us, (ME, ME, ME!) face-to-face networking is NEVER going away! Meeting with a prospective client and connecting in person will always be a part of life.
Since many people retain visual information better than just the spoken word, having a brochure can have a great impact in these situations. So in my opinion, YES! brochures are still effective for marketing a business. The next step is to make sure your brochure is written and designed to convert those prospects.
To ensure your brochure is as effective as possible there are a few things you can do:
The first thing to do is decide what you want the brochure to achieve. Is it to get the reader to know more about your business? Is it to sell a particular product or service? Or maybe you have a specific promotion or event? Once you’ve made this decision you can get to work on writing the copy.
Well written copy is vital. We’ve all seen it before, brochures that immediately go into a boring company history. 20 years in business, dedicated, yada yada yada. You’re prospects are bored! You’re copy needs to highlight what’s important to THEM.
They want to know…
- how your product can benefit them
- why your option is better than others in the marketplace
- enough details about your product or whatever it is you’re selling
Once you have your copy written, you can concentrate on design. The number one thing to remember when it comes to design is to keep it consistent with your brand image. I’ve written about the importance of branding before. With brochures it is much the same. If you sell children’s toys, using vibrant colors and getting cute might work, but that won’t cut it for someone offering financial services. And remember, people do judge a book by its cover. If you don’t put any care into the look of your brochure, people will assume you don’t put much care into your product or service either. The design of your brochure is important to clearly convey your message and to catch the eye of the reader.
Making sure your brochure is well written and well designed, will help it achieve what it is supposed too.
One other thing to remember to include is a call-to-action. Make sure the reader knows what to do next. Should they order online or call a specific phone number? Don’t just leave the reader hanging. Make sure they can easily take the next step.
In the end, I believe that if done correctly, brochures are still an effective marketing tool. Now it’s your turn. Let us know in the comments below if you’ve received a brochure lately? Do you think it’s still an effective tool? In what situations do you think they work best?
