Nancy Allen Bowser, Results Through Communication, Evanston, IL, USA
Does your company have a brochure? Should it? Consider these basics when making your decision
So, you're going along in your die business, and savvy business person that you are, you are always on the lookout for innovative ways to reach new customers and retain your existing ones.
How many times has it crossed your mind, "Maybe what my company needs is a brochure?" You know, something tastefuland tangibleto hand potential customers during a sales call, or to mail to them describing your services and presenting your company as the best one to meet their diecutting/diemaking needs.
Then, in chimes your practical side, and you wonder whether a brochure really is an effective marketing tool. Maybe it's only a useless expense, and for sure, nobody needs any of those. Besides, even if a brochure were a good thingand good for whathow would you know what to put in it, how much would it cost and what would you do with it when you had it?
Caught in this marketing quandary, perhaps despairing of ever finding a way out, you pick up this month's issue of The Cutting Edge to check out the latest news from the IADD.
Smart move.
As part of our usual efforts to help members improve their businesses in every way we can, The Cutting Edge will be writing about marketing issues for the diecutting and diemaking industries on an ongoing basis. This month, we're covering brochures.
It turns out that if you are considering developing a brochure for your business, you have hit upon POINT ONE of any marketing plan, be it simple or elaborate. So, right off the bat, you're brilliant.
Now, just as an aside here; marketing consultants will tell you, and rightfully so, that marketing consists of more, much more than brochures. Marketing consists of strategies to identify your customers, find out what they need, determine what to charge them, tell them you have what they need and sell it to them efficiently. Obviously, a brochure is only a small part of this whole process.
However, if a full marketing plan seems like too much to put on your plate on your first pass through the buffet line, (and let's face it, for many businesses it is) marketing consultants will also tell you that a brochure is a great place to start. In fact, a nationwide survey of marketing directors in 1991 revealed that 97 percent of firms used or planned to use a general brochure for promotion purposes.
Everyone knows what a brochure is. It can be as simple as a sheet of paper or card stock folded in half or in thirds, with basic information typed out on a computer and run off in black ink on a photocopying machine; or as elaborate as an oversized booklet laid out by a professional designer and printed on glossy paper stock with full-color printing and photographs.
A brochure can be part of a long-range plan to reach hundreds of new customers and increase business among the customers you already have, or a simple informative piece outlining your basic services and how to reach you that you present during a sales call.
Whatever it looks like, though, and however you use it to promote your business, it pays to plan carefully because a brochure speaks volumes about your company.
But when it's your brochure, where do you begin? And even more important, is it worth doing in the first place? Every businessperson must answer that last question for him or herself, but for this article's purposes we'll assume that the aforementioned 97 percent of marketing directors are on to something, and that having a brochure is indeed a good thing.
"A brochure is something that you can mail before or after a sales call, or take with you when you go on a sales call or to a trade show" said Jill Lewis of Jill Lewis Public Relations in Chicago. "It positions your company in the marketplace, and communicates your business' key messages."
Think of it this way: Your brochure represents your company to customers and potential customers when you can't be there to represent it personally.
Every brochure consists of two components: Content and style. Your brochure's content serves to introduce your products and services to your customers and potential customers, while your brochure's style communicates your business image, that is the size of your operation and of your intended market; even things like what kind of customer you typically serve and how committed you are to increasing your business are hinted at by the design of your marketing materials.
According to the United States Chamber of Commerce, writing an effective brochure involves 1) identifying your target audience, 2) outlining the benefits of your products and services, and 3) presenting this information in an eye-catching and easy-to-read format. Not so hard, when you think about it.
In terms of content, which should be the first thing you decide, Lewis' first rule of thumb is to tout your company's capabilities. Think of the people you want to be your customers and ask yourself, `what are their needs?' Then tell this audience how you can meet those needs. Highlight your strengths, and don't be shy about it. "You've got to blow your own horn," Lewis said. "You don't want to be the best-kept secret in town."
Remember to focus on your customers' needsand the needs of the people you want to be your customersrather than your own internal processes. As the old adage goes, you don't sell the drill, you sell the hole. "Are your customers' priorities budget, quality, fast turnaround, your track record, customer service, or follow-through, or all of the above?" Lewis asked. Your brochure should address those needs and explain how your company can meet them.
If you have the space, your brochure can include background on your company, such as when your business was established, the industries or companies you already serve, any relevant association memberships, awards your company has won and highlights from your mission statement. (A tip: To indicate how much experience your company has, use the year you were established, which never changes, rather than the number of years you've been in business, which changes every year. That way, your brochure won't go out of date as quickly.) Finally, no brochure would be complete without telling people where you are and how to reach you.
As for style, or the appearance of your brochure, here the sky is the limit. What your brochure looks like will pretty much depend on three factors: 1) How much information you want to give your customers and potential customers, 2) How much attention you want them to pay to it, and 3) The all-important consideration of how much you want to pay for the notice they will pay to you.
Whatever you do, don't underestimate the importance of the appearance of your brochure. Remember, it represents your company, and you want it to make a good impression. Even more important, how your brochure looks can go a long way toward making it effective. We all know that if something is attractive, people will spend more time looking at it. And the more time someone spends considering your company's capabilities, the more likely they are to use them.
So, invest in the design of your brochure. Use more color rather than less, use photos or other art if you possibly can, pay attention to the typefaces your brochure contains, and have it printed professionally on a good quality paper or card stock. And don't forget to make your brochure's design compatible with your corporate letterhead and any other printed materials your company uses.
"In terms of cost, a simple brochure that you write and design yourself and have professionally printed can cost as little as a few hundred dollars to produce, while a professionally produced four-color brochure with photographs, saddle-stitched pages, and heavy glossy paper stock can cost thousands, Lewis said.
If you don't want to pay for a four-color brochure, adding a second ink color and using a textured paper stock can be very effective, and an inexpensive computer clip-art program might have some good illustrations if your budget won't accommodate a photographer.
The number of brochures you'll have printed depends, of course, on how you will use them and how long it will be before you update the piece.
Plan on sending or taking the brochure to each of your current customers, to everyone you want for a customer, and to referral sources—people who can refer new business to you. Also have enough on hand to take to trade shows, conventions and association meetings you attend.
There are no hard and fast rules about how many year's worth of brochures to have printed, but a few things to keep in mind. A good, basic design can last several years, according to Lewis, but should be updated as soon as any of the contenteverything from your area code to your company's capabilitieschanges, or when design elements such as photographs, drawings or typefaces begin to look tired. "Obviously, you don't want to spend all of your time creating and updating marketing materials, but you don't want your company's image to look `old hat,' either," Lewis said.
Finally, is all of this effort worth it? Is a brochure an effective marketing tool? "It's hard to measure, but it does make a difference" said Lewis. With all of the pressing business issues you face every day, working on a brochure might not seem to be the best way to spend valuable time. "A well-done brochure that represents your business is a critical element of any business development plan," said Lewis, who credits her own marketing materials for bringing in clients years after she mailed them out. "You can't have a sales force everywhere. You have to think, `what would I do without it?'"
Note: Next month, The Cutting Edge will talk to four IADD members about their approaches brochures and other marketing materials. If you have a marketing issue or question you'd like The Cutting Edge to cover in the future, drop a fax or e-mail to Cindy Crouse, Editor, at 1-815-455-7510 or cuttingedge@iadd.org.