Continuing our review of promotional techniques, this month we take a look at one of the more misunderstood and misapplied techniques: the marketing brochure.
Too often, one of the first things small businesses spend precious time and money on is a brochure or flier, which they expect will be read and understood and will inspire the reader to call and hire them or buy their product. And that's where the waste usually begins-but not where it ends.
The first set of questions of brochure use is, of course, what is its purpose? and what should it look like? The second is how will it be used?, whom will it be given to?, and how and when will it be delivered? Let's examine each set separately.
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Brochure Design
Most small businesses use a brochure to list the products or services they provide and their credentials for providing them. The most important element on the cover is usually the company name. There may be graphics, but they're usually some form of clip art, which only serves as a break in the copy.
Once a reader gets into the meat of the brochure, there's usually too much copy in long paragraphs, requiring a substantial time investment without any value to be gained. In other words, there are lots of words but no incentive to read them.
Don't think only novices are ignorant of these issues. A client of mine, a new business providing a certified training program required by the state, recently hired a professional graphic designer to create a brochure that would probably be the only contact the prospect would have with customers prior to registration. This professional designer made basic mistakes in the areas above.
After being referred to another designer, the business owner ended up with a dynamic sales brochure in which her company name wasn't even displayed on the front. Instead, the cover consisted of a photograph of a quizzical chef and the question, "What Does It Take To Get Food Safety Certification In Pennsylvania?" Inside was the answer: her company name and the tag line "A practical food safety program."
Which brings us to the most important element of any sales piece: the primary issue or problem that the receiver is facing. The only way to get someone to read a sales piece is to start with something the person already identifies with. In this case, it's the problem: The law requires certification. So the solution is simple and straightforward.
The fact is, nobody cares about a company name until they're already interested in the product or service. And nobody is interested in a product or service until they have a sense that they have a want or need to be filled.
As far as the copy inside the brochure is concerned, usually less is more. And the shorter the paragraph, the more likely it will be read. Limited bullets, good use of color, lots of white space-all these elements enhance your message by making the copy easy to read. A few strong, brief points are far more effective than dozens of weak ones or strong ones hampered by excess verbiage.
Distribution and Usage
In most cases, businesses send a single brochure. A few send a second one or give one to the prospect on a sales call or at a networking event. And only a tiny percentage incorporate their brochures into an entire program of contact management, sales and sales support.
Unsolicited brochures are rarely read. Even solicited ones, at best, end up lost in a file drawer to be forgotten. And many of the requests a business receives for information, especially those that result from a solicitation, are merely attempts at a polite brush-off.
To understand why this is, you first have to understand that there are only three types of customers or clients:
1. Those (as so vividly described by James M. Cecil, father of nurture marketing) with a spear already in their chests or who see the spear just before it's going to hit them
2. Those who see the spear at a distance heading for them but determine that the danger isn't as imminent as the urgent matters they're currently addressing
3. Those who never see the spear coming at all
Obviously, the best target for a brochure is the first group. They're what's known in sales vernacular as the low-hanging fruit. But the best way to get literature to them is usually not by a mass mailing or other means of unsolicited distribution. For every two or three active wounded, you'd have to send out thousands of brochures, which will most likely be thrown away.
The best way to get information to a Group 1 prospect is to have it available at places and times when they're vividly aware of the spear. For example, one pet-sitting service assumed it would get responses from a flier attached to doors. Far better to place the brochure at veterinary offices, grooming shops and pet boutiques-places where pet owners are likely to ask for referrals. There is little to do in a vet's waiting area but read whatever materials happen to be available. Wouldn't the best time to consider a pet-sitter be a time when your pet is already on your mind?
For Groups 2 and 3, the best method is to use a brochure as part of an overall customer relationship-building program.
Brochures can be valuable tools, but only when created well and used properly. Until or unless you have a particular need for that piece of collateral material-and you have a well-organized program for its proper use-save your money and use other techniques.
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.