Q: I'm having trouble getting ideas for a professional looking business card and brochure. I tried software programs for making business cards, and they either took me forever or weren't enticing enough. My concierge business is new to this state, so educating and attracting people as well as professionalism is a must. Can you tell me where I can go for help or who I can hire? I'm on a budget and not very knowledgeable about what should go where and what font to use.
A: Before you develop any image materials, you must ask yourself these questions:
What services do you provide?
Who is your target market (type of company, who within the company, hot buttons, the results they're looking for, how they get things done now)?
How can you reach those individuals?
Who is your competition (that includes more than others in the same nominal service)?
How does your competition do business?
How are you different?
What is uniquely special about your company that would entice a prospect to choose you?
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Don't waste money on a brochure right now. Most brochures end up in the wastebasket without ever being read. Two things you do need are business cards and letterhead.
And you're right. They must look professional. However, before you can decide what "professional" means, you must know what your target market thinks it means. Why? Because what you think doesn't matter. Your image must match your market's concept of what someone providing your service should be. Otherwise, you'll never achieve "top of mind" status in your prospective clients' eyes.
For example, to one person, professional might mean detached, factual, no-nonsense, no "thinking outside of the box" to one person. To another, professional may require graciousness, intuitiveness, lots of warm, cheery contact and so on. Appropriate visuals will be entirely different, depending on the image you must convey. That's why you have to determine your best attributes and skills, and how you can find prospects who will value those things. Then create an image that clearly appeals to those values.
Next, you must invest some money. Unless you're a trained, skilled and talented graphic artist, DO NOT TRY TO DESIGN MATERIALS YOURSELF! This is one of the greatest mistakes novice business owners make. You should find a designer who understands the image you must convey. Then you select the best and most appropriate design he or she comes up with. Software cannot make a design any more than a saw can make a table. It's the artist's or craftsman's brain that understands how to use the tool to make a perfect product.
Look for graphic designers through your local chamber of commerce. Attend business functions or trade shows, and collect business cards or take notes on materials you like. Ask the marketing departments who designed the elements you like. Even if the artists work in-house for a nongraphics company, many will be interested in moonlighting if the project sparks their imagination and if they're permitted to do so by their employers. It never hurts to ask. Here are a few tips:
Contact several graphic artists.
Ask for a proposal and to see samples of their work.
Find out how they approach the work.
Find out what clients they have been most successful with and have done repeated work for.
Ask what they usually charge for a logo or layout design, layouts for business cards and letterhead, and formats for service lists.
Suggest possibly trading services to lower your cost. (Be specific about what you're offering in exchange.)
If none of your choice artists will accept barter, bite the bullet and invest in the basic image only.
Get your logo or layout on diskette in various formats for use with other promotions such as advertising specialties, fax cover sheets and note cards. Be sure you have complete and exclusive rights to the work. Usually, by law artists and writers retain the rights even in work-for-hire situations. You must have a document from them that assigns all rights to you.
When I said earlier you don't need a brochure, that doesn't mean you need no materials. However, I'd suggest an entirely different process for handing out or mailing brochures. Try drip irrigation. (For more information on this process, read "You Make The Call").
Laura Clampitt Douglas, CEO of MAX International Converters Inc. and president of Small Business Marketing Analysis, has been providing valuable advice to small and homebased businesses for more than 15 years. She is co-author of the bestselling book Getting Business to Come to You(Tarcher-Putnam) and gives speeches and seminars on marketing at conferences nationwide.
The opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, not of Entrepreneur.com. All answers are intended to be general in nature, without regard to specific geographical areas or circumstances, and should only be relied upon after consulting an appropriate expert, such as an attorney or accountant.