Marketing Manner

As a small business owner, you have to balance cutting costs and remaining lean and efficient.  Brochures are one of those indispensable marketing and advertising tools.  So, how do you decide at what point you should try to take the do-it-yourself approach to designing and printing brochures, or to hire professionals to do the job for you?
 
First step – know the numbers
How many brochures do you actually need?  This depends on many factors, most important of which are your budget and your customers.  If you have hundreds of customers that you can reach through trade shows or simple meet and greet opportunities, you may want to cut costs and limit your brochure design expense.  In this case, go to a professional printer who can quickly and easily develop your brochures.  But if you have a small customer base, consider a more elaborate design that you may be able to print and design on your own.
 
Second step – know your customers
Your customers need to know how your products and services will make their lives better.  You already have an intimate knowledge of what your customers need, now show them through your brochures why they need you.  If your customers need to see a flashy, brilliant brochure, then consider professional printing.  It is difficult to use small office equipment to create high-end brochures.  If you can keep it simple, your home-based printing equipment may be all you need.
 
Step three – know yourself
This process of “showing” your customers why they need you often requires the special touch of a professional designer.  Do you really have the expertise and patience to develop professional brochure design?  This is a question only you can answer.  If you’re confident in your experience and equipment, save yourself a great deal of time and headache and develop your own brochures.  Otherwise, save yourself the time and headache and hire a professional.

Seth Godin’s blog post of “What do you think of my brochure?” isn’t very uplifting, but it’s true. He tells it like it is. He says that the most important thing to remember about a brochure is that “people won’t read it.”

Depressing, yes. Should it make you want to stop making brochures? No.  

It should make you want to make better brochures. To make your better brochures, use the following tips: 

Use an awesome photo or graphic on the front. Use something interesting that will catch people’s attention. Choose a photo or graphic related to your industry or your brochure’s content that is visually interesting. Whether that  means the graphic has bright, bold colors or a weird photo of something like a dog’s head on an elephant’s body (I’m just making weird stuff up here and my dog is looking at me right now), try to pick something that will make people look twice. Your cover is the first thing that people see and is often your only ticket to getting people to pick up your brochure.  

Use “you” language. Once people pick up your brochure, you need to entice them to read your brochure. Generally, some text is a good way to get them to keep reading. Some interesting text that is. People are most interested in themselves, so by using the word “you” a lot, you’ll get their attention.  

Pull readers into your brochure by asking them a question or tell them one way you can solve their problems. They’ll be inclined to read more of your brochure to find out other ways you can solve their problems or if you can solve other problems. People like problem-solvers and everyone’s got a problem! 

Use an appealing color scheme. Don’t use colors that hurt people’s eyes. Use colors that complement each other (Google “color wheel” if you don’t know which colors go well together – the ones opposite each other on the color wheel are complementary).  

If the brochure’s purpose and content lends itself to using the colors in your logo, all the better. A color coordinated brochure screams a coordinated business. Really, it does. 

If nothing else, use color that evokes an emotion in the reader. Use a blue for a calming effect. Use red if you want the reader to feel aggressive or angry about something (or if you just want them to “Stop” – just kidding!). 

Don’t get long-winded. Don’t say something in 8 words that you can say in 4. A brochure cluttered with words doesn’t look more important; it just looks cluttered.

He who tries to do everything ends up getting nothing accomplished. This truism applies aptly to the world of targeted marketing. Business owners need to step back and figure out who their clients actually are. The large group of customers in your stable is actually just a combination of many small groups.

Let’s assume you sell doorknobs of all varieties. Some buyers might be women in the midst of home decoration. Others might be men purchasing them for an office complex. Yet another might be a college student needing to replace one which was the casualty of a raucous party. These are all quite different individuals. They will respond to different approaches.

Keep this in mind the next time you seek brochure printing companies. Market brochures, however inexpensive, still need to be read by the intended recipient. If you use the wrong design and copy for the audience receiving it, then it constitutes lost marketing opportunity. Brochure printing expense should provide excellent return if utilized properly.

Craft different messages for varying market segments. Customers who feel the product or service is tailor made for them are far more likely to be converted. Don’t be a business that tries to be everything to everybody.