Brochures: How To Use Them To Increase Business
It can be easy to become overwhelmed with advertising and marketing possibilities when you are in charge of promotion, whether it is for a business, non-profit club, or event. Even though much of today's world is focused on digital means of communication, it is important that you not underestimate the importance of collateral. These are the items that people in your intended audience can bring with them as tangible reminders. Two of the most used time-tested pieces of collateral that any organization should use are brochures and custom business cards.
Brochures are multi-fold pamphlets that can be distributed to your target audience, whether that is customers, donors, patrons, or volunteers. They contain information and statistics that is most important to your organization. Most brochures consists of three or four panels that are peppered with text and pictures, both front and back.
When the time comes to design and print your company's brochure, consider your business' personality and convey that in the piece. You may want to consider many available options like paper stock (gloss or matte) and print styles and processes (2-color, 4-color or more) that portray just the right message to your customer.
Be sure that you keep your goal in mind when designing the brochure. For instance, if you want people to come to an event, be sure to put all of the pertinent information on the brochure, such as date, time, location, event details and perhaps even a map. If you want people to mail in donation pledges, ensure that one panel of the brochure can be torn off and used as a pledge form.
To cut corners and save on costs, it may be tempting to order cheap business cards. But remember that people will remember your business cards long after they meet you, so quality is key. Ink that smudges or flimsy paper will give people the impression that your organization is also cheap and of lower quality.
Remember that there is a fine line between high quality and extravagance when choosing your materials. Especially if you are working with a non-profit or volunteer organization, you don't want to give the impression that money coming from donors is spent unnecessarily on high cost collateral items. If you work with such an organization it is highly recommended that your goal be to focus on creating sensible brochures and business cards within a reasonable budget.
There is much advertising and promotion of businesses done on the Internet these days. However, other forms of advertising are still extremely important. Although the Internet is convenient, your customer base needs something tangible to remind them that you are available to meet their needs. Two popular and proven forms of this tangible advertising are custom business cards and Brochures. Both of them can be kept on hand by customers for their future needs. Don't skimp on either. It may be tempting to order cheap business cards to save on costs, but potential customers will be more impressed with well-made cards, therefore more likely to use your services.
Published July 25th, 2008
Filed in Advertising