Do Brochures Still Work? Yes: If you have the Right Ones!

by Chaun Soh

In the rush of today’s fast-paced electronic business arena — with its e-mails and websites — it’s all too easy to overlook one of your most powerful sales tools: the brochure.

It remains a highly cost-effective marketing tool: one you can use in many ways — to target clients very precisely, to deliver a message they can read and re-read and conveniently showcase your products and services at point of sale.

Know what kind of brochure you want — and why

It's all about giving prospects the kind of information they need to inform and reassure so preliminary interest can be converted into sales.

Different brochures play different roles.

Some are 'warm-ups' where a client needs some preliminary information and will inevitably compare your offering with that of your competitors.

Other literature works much harder, supplying detailed information (often quite technical) that communicates your product's key benefits in a way that makes it the obvious choice.

The sales support brochure

This can be used very effectively by your sales team when they give a presentation, helping get their points across. Usually, the salesperson will hand out such a brochure to each person there so they can follow along as the presentation proceeds.

It’s a good way to get your key message across and make sure the prospect takes in the important points. It also stays with the client and continues to market your message.

Be sure to include contact details so you provide a channel for sales to happen well after the presentation is over.

The leave-behind brochure

A leave-behind usually has to work a lot harder, typically giving additional details not covered in the presentation.

It will be closely scrutinised by the prospect and colleagues well after the session has ended. Many will not have been to it and will read the brochure in isolation. So it must be able to fend for itself, answering the prospect questions and doubts most likely to arise.

Ideally, it would contain a complete description of each product and service, plus their benefits.

It is especially important to focus on benefits rather than just listing features. And that's simpler than it sounds: a matter of explaining how each feature makes life easier or better for the person or company buying from you.

Your leave-behind also needs to reaffirm what was covered at the presentation. You would further emphasise salient points and explain why the prospect should buy from you and not your competition.

The enquiry response brochure

Often given to qualified prospects, usually in a ready-to-buy mindset or close to it, the response brochure supplies further information designed to persuade them to clinch the deal.

It’s now up to you to reinforce their interest and lead them into the buying process.

Your 'buy ours not theirs' arguments must be more cogent and compelling than ever — as this may well be your last chance to convert their interest into a sale.

The point-of-sale brochure

These are the ones you often see in racks, conveniently placed for you to read and be persuaded. Banks, for instance, use them in great numbers to reinforce and cross-sell; you'll also find them at the register or check-out, often promoting special or time-limited offers.

The purpose of the POS brochure is to attract attention and make the prospect pick it up. It's essential to have a catchy headline and compelling graphics on the front page.

It's also important, as always, to focus on benefits not features — and to answer commonly asked questions. Contact details for further information should come across loud and clear.

Remember: this brochure may be your only shot at a sale or meaningful enquiry — so give your message the extra thought it deserves.

The direct marketing brochure

You're sure to be familiar with these, getting them in your mail: brochures often accompanied by support letters (which make the mailing seem more personalised and more likely to yield a better sales result).

The best ones are closely targeted by marketers who
have really done their homework with their mailing lists.

The targeting of some is highly sophisticated and precise — especially if the target already has a relationship with the sender or has bought from them before.

The targeting of others can be much looser, being addressed by job title or prospect demographic. They produce correspondingly lower results.

Untargeted material is seen by many (including us) as a waste of money: it seldom gets a cost-effective response through not reaching enough of the right people.

Which brochure is right for you?

Your decision will be based on what you expect it to achieve: serve as a warm-up? reassure? provide information a presentation can't cover? — or really get in there and fend for itself and get the sale!

Each has its own mindset and needs to be thought out accordingly then presented with the right combination of copy and design.

We would be more than happy to discuss the variables in greater detail than possible here.

Please feel free to contact us and we'll show you the best options for enhancing your marketing capabilities so you can get extra mileage out of your budget, increase sales and improve your bottom line.