Brochures and Brochure Design

Brochures and Brochure Design

How to Design Brochures that Sell

Here is a question I received from a reader last week:

"Our company has just added some new products. I want to have an updated brochure that is a cut above the competition. We need something that will reinforce our quality image. Our graphics person has come up with a design that looks good, but the content seems weak. Do you have any suggestions on how we can strengthen it?" -- Regina Vasallo, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

If I were sitting down to help you with brochure design, here are three questions I would ask at the outset:

What’s on the front panel?
The cover of your brochure will be the only part the prospect ever sees if you don't grab their immediate interest. The number one error most brochure writers make is to design a front panel featuring primarily the firm’s name and logo. Have any brochures like that on your desk? Probably not--- you’ve no doubt thrown them away already!

When I assist clients with brochure design, I almost always use a strong headline on the front panel along with a photo illustrating the main benefit I’m communicating. Selling ice chests? Forget about your logo--- Use a picture of a smiling user reaching into one and pulling out an ice cold drink on a hot summer day. If you must put your logo on the front cover, stick it in a lower corner, like a signature. Most logos belong on the back along with your contact information.

Inside, the most persuasive brochures usually have photographs of real people actively using your product to amplify your body copy. Consider using before and after shots (or "with" and "without" pictures) to fully dramatize the benefits of using your product. Selling degreaser? Why not show a pleased mechanic using your product contrasted to one struggling without it?

How do you intend to use the brochures?
Is it a leave behind piece for outside sales reps? Will you be mailing it in response to requests for information about your products? Will retailers be using it as point-of sale material? The reason why this is so important is that your brochure should meet prospects where they are in the sales cycle. For example, outside reps contacting existing customers need a brochure that effectively recaps what they have said during a face-to-face sales call. It might focus more on the new products than on your company, since they are already familiar with your firm. On the other hand, if the brochure is mailed to prospects that are not even remotely aware of your company’s track record, more space might be given over to that to help overcome objections to doing business with an unknown vendor. It is also helpful to know if the brochure will be a stand-alone piece or accompanied by other elements such as a sales letter. That would have a bearing on how much information you include in the brochure itself.

Does it connect the product’s features to its benefits?
Most brochures do a good job of listing product or service features, but don’t tie those features to the benefits of owning or using it. One way to think of your brochure is as a sales letter with pictures. A good sales letter has an objective--- to motivate the reader to purchasing your product or service. Compelling benefits are what move readers to the next step--- be it a purchase, an appointment, or a simple request for more information. Most brochure copy I review these days seems to incorrectly stress features and advantages over benefits:

Features --- "What products and services have"
For example, "This accounting software has a payroll module"

Advantages --- "What those features do"
For example, "This accounting software will allow you to do your payroll in your own office"

Benefits --- "What the advantages mean"
For example, "You will save time and money over using a payroll service"

Benefits appeal to a desire to gain something, such as increased income, social status, security, and love or to help avoid undesirable things like pain, financial loss, unnecessary work, or embarrassment. Contrary to popular thinking, clearly communicated benefits are not vehicles for creating hype or puffery. They are an effective means through which customers can fully understand and appreciate your offering’s true value. Without compelling benefits, they just won’t care.

--Jim McCraigh