A brochure is there when your sales person is not. One of the worst things some clients have said to us is, "just throw in the usual copy and stick in some nice pictures, I don't have the time to explain this stuff to you, just make some stuff up. Isn't that what you guys do anyway?"
We then ask them if they would send a newly hired sales person on sales calls without prior training or knowledge about their products. "Of course not!" Is always the answer. "As soon as he opens his mouth, they'll realize he knows nothing!"
What makes them think a potential customer wont feel the same way when they send him a brochure that says absolutely nothing.
Some marketing managers think all brochures are alike. In fact, we were shocked by potential clients we were pitching when they referred to the copy in their own brochures as "the usual bull ..."
After we read their brochure, it became obvious to us why nobody read them, it indeed was the usual fluff. A good brochure is unique and different from any other. Why? Because every business is unique and different from any other.
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Clients have said: "Don't put too much effort into it, nobody reads it anyway."
"Nobody listens to boring speeches either", is our standard reply.
A brochure serves two very important functions. First, it's a communications vehicle, providing detailed information about your products. Second, it's a sales tool, persuading your potential customer to choose your products or services rather than your competitor's.
Contrary to popular thinking, an informative, well designed brochure will be read. Creating one is not easy. It takes time and a degree of intelligence to learn about a client’s products, how they work, the potential benefits, and how they are sold.
There are agencies that prefer to mask lack of knowledge about the customer’s product by over emphasizing artistic content and creativity. It’s like a movie with lots of explosions, special effects....but no plot. Easy to do and very impressive.
These brochures are so artistic, they win creative awards. In fact, it’s common knowledge in the trade, some agencies are more concerned with winning the most creative awards than they are with the actual selling power of the brochure. They have even convinced their clients that in advertising, winning awards is what counts!
The fact remains, the measure of effective communications and persuasion is not judged in a beauty contest, but in the amount of sales generated.
We don’t create brochures to be hung out and judged like an art competition. In fact, we have never entered a creative competition, like the famous ad man David Ogilvy, we don’t believe in them. What we do believe is creating brochures that will effectively communicate and emphasize the benefits of using your products or services. After all, what is the point of creating a brochure if no one is going to read it.
When buying products, human beings are instinctively disposed to always look for value. Why? We don’t know, but that’s the way it is. One thing is for certain, you will not sell your product unless the person you are selling to is actually in the market for that particular product. Not only is he a potential customers, he is a value hunter.
Value is not a constant, it is a perceived variable. In other words, people's values are not on the same level. Features in your product may seem worth paying for by one customer, but may look like unnecessary frills to another. And, that's provided they know about the features and benefits or if they even know your product exist.
This is were a well written, and informative brochure fits in. Every sales call should be supplemented with a brochure or two. Not all customers are receptive and may not even be seriously paying attention to your sales pitch. But if the person is in the market for your type of product, he will most likely read your brochure – provided your agency had the smarts to outline the value and benefits of your product rather than creating a prize-winning piece of graphic art.