Developing Effective Marketing Materials: Brochure Design Considerations
Introduction
Brochures can be a vital communication tool should a business decide to use it in their marketing plan. They can be a highly effective device for attracting attention, providing information or promoting a product or service to a larger target audience while motivating them to take action. Though it is important to focus on a specific audience brochures can be used to remind existing customers about your enterprise or to attract new customers. In addition, when designing a brochure, the words and images used should reinforce an objective you want to achieve. Brochures generally have a longer shelf-life than other marketing materials and are often designed to last one or more years. They require significant time for planning and development.
Developing a Functional Strategy
Brochures are often expected to accomplish multiple tasks as they can be presented to many different audiences with different needs. They should be designed to get consumers exited about your products or services, provide information to influence a purchasing decision and motive to them act. While brochures commonly illustrate a product, product line or service they can serve many functions:
• Direct mailer to potential or existing customers
• Handout to attract new customers
• Included in a press kit or business proposal
• Marketing piece used at fairs, festivals, trade shows or speaking engagements
• Promotional piece left at other businesses with similar target audience(s)
Before designing a brochure, consider the following to develop its functional strategy:
1. Primary Purpose What is the primary purpose of your brochure?
2. Primary Benefit What unique benefit can you offer customers? What primary customer value or need can your enterprise meet?
3. Secondary Benefit What other key benefits will customers receive from your products or services?
4. Target Audience At whom (what target market) are you aiming this brochure?
5. Audience Reaction What response do you want from your audience (come to the operation, visit a website, call an information line)?
6. Company Personality What image do you want to convey in your brochure?
If you only plan to develop one brochure, but have multiple target audiences, then the brochure should be designed in terms of its highest potential financial outcome. Simply put, which audience is most likely to generate the most revenue for your business. The vast majority of the information provided in the brochure should focus on that group.
Collect Useful Information
After determining a functional strategy, the next step is to collect useful information to include in the brochure. Consider the following:
• Descriptions of your enterprise
• Descriptions of your products or services
• Contact information ¾ Mailing address ¾ Phone number ¾ Fax number ¾ E-mail address ¾ Website address
• Hours of operation
• Special events or seasonal calendar
• Directions / map
• Visual elements ¾ Logo ¾ Photographs ¾ Illustrations or clip art images
• Testimonials
• Recent publicity or news articles Once the information and materials to include in the brochure have been gathered, it is often helpful to either draft an outline or create a mock-up version of the brochure on a folded sheet of paper so that it represents the layout of your brochure.
