Are Brochures a COST or an INVESTMENT for your business?

June 17, 2019

The answer is…

It can be either. And it’s your attitude that determines which one applies to you.

Let me explain…

If you think that Brochures are a ‘necessary evil’ but don’t really believe they offer much (or any) value to your business then clearly they are a cost to you, and you are likely to look for the cheapest options when getting them printed and certainly wouldn’t spend much (if anything) on design. Everybody wants to reduce their costs, right?

If however, you think they help you win customers and make sales, then they are an investment and you would naturally expect a good return on that investment. Consequently, you look for ways to improve your Brochures – paper & print quality, layout & design, distribution methods, etc. to make them as effective as possible.

And as the saying goes: You get what you deserve, rather than what you want, and you only ever get what you pay for.

Again, let me explain …

If you have a limited knowledge of or background in Graphic Design and a limited knowledge of Marketing, the chances of you being able to create a Brochure design that will grab the attention of your ideal prospects, showcase your business so that you outshine your competitors and therefore help you attract higher value clients, is fairly unlikely.

So what you really need is a Graphic Design and Print company in Melbourne that will make sure your brochures are truly effective and will help you win those customers and ultimately provide a great return on your investment.

There are some exceptions of course, particularly if you have a product or service that everybody knows about and needs (or rather wants). The need for quality brochures is not so important, however, nobody would know about that product or service if there had not been any marketing in the first place.

Warning

In this digital age, many people think that Brochures (at least printed Brochures) are a thing of the past and you can email a digital brochure to your customers and save on printing and distribution costs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Receiving a Brochure in person or in the mail creates much more impact than receiving an email. After all, how many emails do you get every day that you don’t bother to or have time to read?

If your prospects are at all interested in what you have to offer, they will keep your brochures. It’s something tactile that they can touch and feel, utilising more of their senses and making it more real than just images on a website (that they may never visit) or in an email (that they may not bother to open or read). A brochure can be kept on their desk, will be referred back to time after time and is a constant reminder of your solution.

Things your need to know before you get Brochures designed or printed

Brochures ‘should’ provide information in both written and visual forms and should be more about the solutions and benefits of your products and services and less about you (how long you’ve been in business or how good you are at … well anything).

The two most important elements of a brochure are the main image and the heading. These elements are what will (or won’t) attract the attention of your prospects and need to be emotive and succinct, solving a problem that your prospect has or provide an answer that is vital to their success. Once the attention has been attracted, your prospect will look for more information.

Design plays a significant role in all marketing; whether you will be noticed and then later recognised, how well your information is absorbed and whether you will be remembered, all comes down to the ability and skill of the Designer.

  • A good Designer will ensure that everything is designed to be;
  • Visually appealing and easy to understand (providing a strong link between your imagery and headlines)
  • Focused on the solutions you provide rather than you
  • Consistent with your Brand.

Something to remember

Whilst your logo is (or should be) the centerpiece of your brand, it should not be the centerpiece of your Brochures (unless Brand exposure is the sole purpose of your Brochures). Your customers don’t care what your Logo looks like, but appropriate branding will help your customers’ recognise you in the future.

Marketing Tip:

Brochures can also be used to help drive people to your website, thus combining the benefits of print with the benefits of the digital age.

Depending on the purpose of your brochures, the design is often more important than the content itself (even brochures that are technical in nature). So if you want your brochures to be effective and attract attention then I recommend you have them professionally designed.