In today’s
digital marketing world, buyers have more information available to them than ever before in all types of media
forms: from online ads to
printed flyers, radio and television ads,
direct mail, video, text, social media, and more.
One marketing piece that is often overlooked is the brochure. However, a company brochure is more than paper. When done right,
it can become a powerful marketing tool for your business.
In order for brochures to truly boost your marketing efforts, though, you first must decide what you want to accomplish with
them. Ask yourself, what is the goal of this brochure? While the seemingly obvious answer might be to sell more of your
products and services, brochures can actually serve a variety of purposes. Here, we break down the three most common purposes
of brochure printing and how you can decide which is right your business.
For the best results, your brochure should essentially fall into one of these 3 main categories:
- Selling a Service or Product: Sales Brochure
- Teaching a Concept: Informational Brochure
- Brand Awareness: Corporate Brochure
While some brochures will inevitably serve more than one role, it is important to make sure that your
brochures
set out to achieve at least one of these goals. Otherwise, you run the risk of missing the mark—and your opportunity
to win new customers. Focus on one of these three goals to make your marketing brochure a success.
1. Selling a Product or Service: Sales Brochure
Perhaps the most traditional of its form is the sales brochure. These brochures are created for the primary purpose of selling
products and services. In order for sales brochures to be effective, prospects must understand how exactly your company
will solve one of their problems. First, capture your prospects’ attention with high resolution images and bold headlines.
List features in easy to read bullet points, and create action by pushing benefits. If your product or service will require
more of a technical manual to communicate the benefits and features then you should consider utilizing more graphics, charts,
photos and testimonials, and possibly choose one of our larger
accordion fold brochures. Finally, include a specific call to action to drive them to the next step of your
sales process. Common call-to-actions include: Buy Now, Call Today, and Visit Us. Offer a first time buyer coupon code. Sales
brochures are great for B2C and B2B companies looking to drive immediate action, but before trying to “sell”
them, be sure to
engage with your customers
on a personal level. If you’re working one on one with clients, ask them to tell you more about their company or what
their specific needs are. This will allow them to be more receptive to your brochures and thus your sales pitch.
2. Teaching a Concept: Informational Brochure
When you’re trying to introduce a new concept or process to prospects, an informational brochure might be the best
approach. Rather than push specific products or services, this type of brochure sets out to teach your readers something.
For example, if you’re a dermatologist, you might create a brochure that teaches your patients about the risks of
tanning beds. The goal of this brochure is not to sell your patients a specific product or service; however, by providing
helpful information, you can become a trusted resource in your industry, which encourages your patients to remain loyal
to you.
3. Brand Awareness: Corporate Brochure
Similar to the informational brochure, the corporate brochure sets out to share information without directly selling products
or services. As the name implies, the goal of the corporate brochure is to spread brand awareness. Most commonly, it will
include the company’s history, mission, values, and general information on products and services. One tip: still
consider placing an offer, perhaps a coupon code, to encourage the prospect into the next step of doing business with you.
There are a variety of brochures you can choose from: tri-fold, half-fold, accordion, barrel, double parallel fold, gate
fold and z fold. View and
order brochures here.
If you own or operate a business, check out some of our other marketing articles:
Four Ingredients of Mail that Sell
Learn the Importance of Creating a Mailing List
Other Marketing Tools here