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 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.

Exhibitions and trade shows are great at getting large numbers of people to attend and it’s likely that many of them are qualified prospects, at least for the overall industry you’re in. Many of the consumers of your product or service are likely to be there, looking for new innovative solutions to the issues and problems they have.

The biggest problem you have is that there are also many of your competitors there too. So standing out from your competitors in a closed environment is therefore critical to your ROI for the exhibition and probably the overall future success of your business.

Many people simply walk down each aisle and look at every booth (like doing the grocery shopping), but what I’ve noticed is that so many of the booths just have plain walls, maybe a poster or two and the Company name across the top of the stand – No real Branding. Naturally, most people just walk straight past with barely a glance in their direction. So all the money spent on having a booth is largely wasted.

By comparison, the major companies spend substantial amounts of money on setting up their stand; making it welcoming and attractive; well branded so you recognise who they are, with plenty of staff on hand to look after the volume of enquiries, they often run competitions to help gather data from prospects that will be followed up at a later date and inevitably have ‘Show Specials’.

But that sort of expense is clearly out of reach for many companies so you need to be a bit smarter about what you spend your money on.

Here are my top 5 must-haves…

Sorry I couldn’t keep it to 5 because No 6 this is too important to leave out.

Most people understand that Expo’s are a marketing exercise and like most (if not all) marketing its important to use the services of a suitably qualified and experienced Graphic Designer who has a good understanding of marketing. Design plays a significant role in 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. How effective is the design in your marketing?

So to improve the likelihood of a successful exhibition, you need to ensure that everything is designed to be;
•  Consistent with your Brand
•  Focused on the solutions you provide rather than you
•  Visually appealing and easy to understand (a strong link between your imagery and headlines).

Unsurprisingly, Design is at the core of all printing. And yet it is difficult to find printing companies that offer a quality Design service.

Something to remember

You don’t have to use the suppliers recommended by the organisers of the Exhibition for your marketing material, banners, signage, etc. You can often save money by using an external supplier and you are highly likely to end up with better results using a professional design company who will take the time to understand what your business is all about.

Business Cards are one of the most used marketing items in business and that is evidenced by the 22,200 Google searches every month, in Melbourne alone. So it seems obvious that almost everybody in business uses Business Cards.

The problem is … how do you make your cards stand out?

It’s fair to say that you really only need to stand out from your competitors, however, there are significant benefits for having a truly remarkable card – after all, you don’t know who other people know or who they may pass your card on to.

Great business cards leave great first impressions & first impressions are everything. So how do you create a great business card?

Here are my top 5 must-haves…

1. Easy to read information

Obviously, you want people to be able to read the information on your card so a balance is required between layout, style and text size.

2. Choose your colours carefully

Colour can mean different things to different people/cultures so make sure the colours you choose are relevant to your target audience.

3. Showcase your logo

Business Cards are one of the only marketing items that are ‘all about YOU’ so make sure that you show it off. Having a great logo is a subject for another article.

4. Quality (design, paper, printing and finishing)

This may seem obvious, but even a fantastic design can look ‘cheap’ if the quality is sub-standard, leaving the impression that your service or product may also be ‘cheap’ or sub-standard.

5. Brand Consistency

Whilst you should show off your logo, make absolutely sure that your cards are consistent with your overall brand. When somebody receives your card (whether it’s their first exposure to your brand or not)

if it’s not consistent with your brand, you are likely to confuse them and your brand will not gain the recognition you want and need.

In this takeaway/drive through world it’s very tempting to grab the ‘easy to do-it-yourself’ design and ‘buy online’ cards, but remember you will only ever get what you pay for.

Unless you have training or a background in Graphic Design all you are doing by choosing the DIY option is removing the skill and experience that a Graphic Designer provides. Think about that in relation to your own products & services! A suitably qualified and experienced Graphic Designer typically also has a good understanding of marketing, which is vital to have if you want a good outcome.

In my opinion Marketing is everything that has anything to do with your business – every interaction, connection, advertisement, conversation, etc. and it will all have an impact on your customers (and prospects). Everybody will form opinions about you and your business based on what they see, hear, touch and sometimes smell and taste. And that is often before they ever make contact with you. So naturally its important to make sure all those interactions are as positive and favourable as possible.

Business Cards are part of your overall marketing so when you offer someone your Business Card, you want it to be something special. Something that will give the right impression and be remembered, particularly if you’re at a networking event or a business meeting. Of course, you need to make the connection between your business and what it is that you offer, so that when the people you’ve met see your brand or advertising at some point in the future, they will immediately remember/make the connection with you.

Often before you can create a great business card, you first need to have a great logo. And your logo is usually the centrepiece of your brand and having a good logo that is easily recognisable with a visual connection to who you are and/or what you do is a vital part of your overall branding and marketing.

Brand Consistency then builds your brand identity and is one of the secrets to Brand recognition. Repetition helps people recognize the look, feel and personality of your brand and a consistent face for your brand helps build familiarity, trust and ultimately, brand value.

So the 5th of my must-haves is undoubtedly the most important. Your business cards must be consistent with your brand so they become one of many touch points for your prospects. Business Cards are a reflection of you & your business.

Great business cards leave great first impressions & first impressions are everything.