How to create effective marketing brochures that sell

Why do you need a company brochure? Well, one of the primary reasons is that it adds credibility in demonstrating that you are a professional company. It communicates your message, values and succinctly explains why a prospect would want to use you.

It’s a tool that assists in positioning the company, providing persuasive and compelling information (not just explaining products/services and your company) and it saves time - for you: the prospect or customer can read further information on the brochure, in their own time.

It’s a great marketing piece that significantly assists in the sales process. So spend some time developing one that will add value to that process, rather than just “having it for the sake of having it”.

”Next to doing the right thing, the most important thing is to let people know you are doing the right thing.”
JohnD.Rockefeller - Capitalist and Philanthropist

A brochure is also a resource, because once a presentation or enquiry has been answered, you can provide a tool that will reaffirm your key messages, benefits and sales points when the prospect refers back to it at a later date (and thus continue to persuade and assist in closing the sales cycle.)

First, you need to have an objective for the brochure relative to where it will be used in the sales process. This doesn’t mean you need a whole raft of brochures for each stage of the process, but it does mean you need a clear understanding of your sales strategy and where the brochure fits and what it’s trying to achieve. Some common examples are: point of sale literature, when responding to enquiries (“more product information please”), as “leave behinds” – say after a presentation, in direct mail packs, and as a sales support tool.

Wherever it is used it should always meet one fundamental objective – to lead the user to the next stage in the sales process. The other key objective (often missed with very creative graphic designers): form should follow function. For example, if a sales person needs to pull out product sheets from the brochure, this function has to be provided in the brief (before the creatives get the hands on a “fantastic” design), otherwise you’ll have a disjointed sales process (and thus less sales!)

Clearly, you must know your audience – who is going to read it? The style will obviously be reflective of the reader and their sensibilities (eg: presenting to neurosurgeons will be different to 12 – 16 year old girls), but importantly so will the points that are relevant to them.

The cover has to have a strong selling message – it should be crystal clear, be different, stand out and lead the reader to open the brochure (and find out more). Images or visual elements sometimes communicate this more effectively than text (particularly when you’re using emotional benefits to lead the prospect to open the brochure – as in a travel destination brochure.)

”No matter what your product is, you are ultimately in the education business. Your customers need to be constantly educated about the many advantages of doing business with you, trained to use your products more effectively, and taught how to make never-ending improvement in their lives.”
RobertGAllen - Business, Finance & Motivational Author

Give as much information as it takes to achieve the objective (easy, huh!?) This may mean providing more relevant points or alternatively scaling back excessive and non beneficial information. Remember the old adage: educated people buy more, so educate them.

Have a planned structure (see below). The brochure needs to have all your elements and selling points organised in a logical, flowing manner - for the reader. Think of it like a story - a compelling beginning, good supporting information and points leading to a strong close/call to action. Organise your selling points into short, easy to read sections - bullet points even if that’s appropriate. And make sure the benefits are clearly communicated.

All elements used in the brochure (as in any marketing communication) are there for a reason. Images and graphics are there to assist in communicating key messages where the quintessential “a picture is worth a thousand words” (because you don’t have enough space for an extra thousand words).

Use clever captions to assist further in communicating the message, always incorporating benefits where it’s appropriate. Studies have been proven to show that captions get twice the readership as the bodycopy – think of yourself when you read the newspaper.

What have you forgotten? Don’t forget the necessaries – contact details, address, website, hours, map, payment formats, free phones, warranties, legals (trademarks, copywrite and disclaimers).

And last but not least - proof read it backwards (you’ll soon pick up spelling mistakes) and forwards.

A final tip is to endeavour to position the brochure so that it is deemed valuable and not just a throw away. Incorporate some element that causes people to retain the brochure – a map, voucher, special unique information. For example, an accountant might provide a panel within the brochure on the 12 best ways to reduce your tax bill. (Most business owners want to then retain it, to ensure they are utilising those 12 ways.)

There are generally three types of brochures – about a product, a service or a company.

For a product brochure here’s some elements to use:

•         Introduction – product overview

•         Features – highlights that set it apart from competitors (guarantee?)

•         Benefits – “what’s in it for me”

•         “How it works” – and what it can do.

•         Types of markets – a great way to qualify prospects

•         Applications

•         Product availability – models, sizes, availability, variations, options

•         Pricing

•         Technical specifications – other requirements, issues, properties

•         Questions and answers

•         Company description

•         Support – info on delivery, installation, training, maintenance, service

•         The next step

•         Methodology – the way you do business

•         Client list

•         Testimonials – don’t underestimate the power of these

•         Fees and terms

“You are surrounded by simple, obvious solutions that can dramatically increase your income, power, influence and success. The problem is, you just don't see them.”
JayAbraham – Marketing expert

Now you can take all the text and images to a graphic designer to create the finished piece. Do not underestimate the value (and sales) that omitting this part of the process will yield. Why do all the hard work, and then give an amateurish presentation? It certainly isn’t professional and more than likely will not be congruent with your other marketing materials.

As good designers are experts in their field, they can recommend methods, techniques and tips to use to create the impression you wish to achieve, and also save you money by the judicious use of colours, layout, format and stock (the paper/materials).

“Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes.”
OscarWilde - Famous Playwright, Poet and Novelist